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While Canadians in Cuba are waiting for flights home as an energy crisis worsens in the nation amid a U.S. oil blockade, those who send aid are struggling to do so.
Cuba warned international airlines on Feb. 9 that aviation fuel would no longer be available on the island, beginning Feb. 10, in the latest sign of fast-worsening conditions as the United States moves to cut off the communist-run nation’s oil supply.
Major Canadian airlines, including Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat, have already suspended service to Cuba. All three airlines have confirmed they plan to bring travellers back home to Canada.
Calgary-based WestJet says its decision to wind down winter operations will affect WestJet, Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations, and Vacances WestJet Quebec.
Air Canada has said its decision to cancel service to Cuba comes after “following advisories issued by governments regarding the unreliability of the aviation fuel supply at Cuban airports.”
Venezuela has historically been a major supplier of oil to Cuba but in early 2026, ceased those oil exports as a result of recent geopolitical turmoil after it was taken over by the United States.
The Trump administration is cutting Cuba off from using its traditional fuel sources in an effort to put pressure on the island nation off the coast of Florida, which has been under strict economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. government for decades.
Amid the efforts to get Canadians out, those who provide charitable aid say they are now struggling to send that in.
“The Cuban people are devastated,” said Jennifer Raymer, the director of Together for Cuba. “They rely on tourists coming down there, obviously, for employment and taxi services and hotels and food and, you know, Canadians are known to bring aid.”
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The Ontario-based aid agency sends 600 large duffle bags, weighing about 14,000 kg, full of medicine, surgical supplies and other medical aid to Cuba each year.
“I knew that as soon as this all came down — that all the airlines would stop — we would be stuck here in Canada without being able to get the aid in. I haven’t slept since yesterday.”
Halting shipments will make life even more difficult in the impoverished island nation.
“The Cuban people are going to have an even harder struggle. A lot of our medical bags include prescription medication for heart and diabetes and different things, and as well as surgical bags. These bags are life-saving,” Raymer said.
As the airlines wind down their operations to Cuba, Raymer was hoping one of them would agree to take the medical supplies on one of the empty flights being sent to Cuba to evacuate the more than 7,000 stranded Canadian tourists.
So far, none have stepped up.
“It means that people can’t have surgeries or get the medications that they need. There are surgical packs in there that people are waiting for, and now they’re sitting in London, Ont.,” Raymer said.
“We’re struggling to find a way to get them out.”
NDP interim leader Don Davies said Tuesday that Canada must provide immediate support to Cuba in the face of “escalating aggression” from the Trump administration.
“Recent U.S. actions are provoking a severe humanitarian crisis and disrupting travel across the region, leaving Canadians stranded as airlines suspend flights,” Davies said in a statement.
“By threatening tariffs on any third country that transports fuel to the island, the Trump administration is expanding U.S. economic coercion in dangerous new ways.”
Davies argued that Prime Minister Mark Carney has remained “silent” in the face of Trump’s aggression towards Cuba.
“Canada must stand with the Cuban people and resist the Trump administration’s aggression clearly and directly. This is a defining test of principle and we must not fail it,” he said.
–with files from The Canadian Press
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