Armenian ambassador praises Canada as group accuses Carney of dialing down peace push

OTTAWA — Armenia’s ambassador in Ottawa is praising Canada’s ongoing support for democratic reforms in the Caucasus nation — even as a group representing Armenian-Canadians says the federal government is easing up on efforts to bring peace to the region.

“For us, democracy is not just a simple slogan. It was a choice in a very difficult geopolitical reality,” Ambassador Anahit Harutyunyan told The Canadian Press.

“Everyone in Armenia understands how important it is. That’s why we have the engagement of countries like Canada, closely supporting Armenia’s aspiration.”

Harutyunyan spoke after Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the Armenian capital of Yerevan earlier this month.

Armenia has for decades been locked in a territorial dispute with Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Canada and other countries recognize that region as part of Azerbaijan, despite its population being largely ethnic Armenian.

As tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh were rising in 2023, Azerbaijan restricted access to the region and cleared out more than 100,000 residents. Canada described those residents as having been “forcibly displaced to Armenia.”

That same year, the government of Justin Trudeau opened an embassy in Yerevan and weighed in multiple times on the conflict. Ottawa also joined an EU security mission to deter escalation along Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan.

Ottawa also has sought to support what it called “fragile” democracies in former Soviet states such as Armenia. That includes efforts to counter Russian disinformation.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia has tried to position itself as a European democracy. Freedom House has tracked significant improvement in Armenia over the past decade, as well as some backsliding in recent years, such as corruption and political influence in courts.

The International Observatory for Democracy in Armenia, meanwhile, has accused Yerevan of suppressing opposition voices and consolidating power ahead of a June 7 election. Canada is likely to send observers to monitor that election.

“We have a lot of work to do, and that’s why we’re engaging closely with Canadian authorities,” Harutyunyan said.

The Liberals have rarely mentioned issues in the Caucasus region since Carney took office.

Sevag Belian, head of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, said the Armenian diaspora is “a bit confused” about Ottawa’s approach to the region. He pointed out that Carney did not publicly call out Azerbaijan’s approach to the peace process or the power consolidation undertaken by Armenia’s government during his visit.

“The visit to Armenia really was just a photo-op,” Belian said, noting Carney did not publicly raise concerns about Azerbaijan’s detention of Armenians or its destruction of Armenian cultural sites.

Belian said the Carney government only raised these publicly in a statement last August. Carney touched briefly on what he called “humanitarian issues” during his visit to Yerevan earlier this month.

Speaking in the capital on May 4, the prime minister noted that there had been no hostilities along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border for months.

“A peace process is proceeding. We’re encouraged by that. We will do what we can, as Canada, in supporting it,” Carney said.

Belian said his community is concerned about Canada strengthening its ties with Turkey, a country Canada says committed an act of genocide against Armenians a century ago. Turkey denies that claim.

Carney is likely to visit Turkey in July for a NATO summit. Just seven years after Ottawa restricted arms sales to Turkey — and five years after it tightened those restrictions over concerns Turkey was diverting arms to Azerbaijan — Turkey has pitched the idea of a strategic partnership with Canada.

Belian said Carney’s visit to Yerevan suggested a shift away from standing up for democracy and human rights.

“He sort of fell short of addressing them, the way they were being addressed by Ottawa over the last several years. That is a bit concerning to us,” he said.

Harutyunyan said her country is committed to human rights and political reforms, and to living in peace with its neighbours.

“Canada’s support matters because it strengthens the resilience of Armenian democratic institutions, and sends a message that democracies like Armenia should not be left alone and must be supported,” she said.

Harutyunyan said Armenia is also trying to capitalize on Carney’s focus on trade diversification. Armenia sent representatives to a recent major mining conference in Toronto.

The ambassador noted U.S. President Donald Trump is brokering a peace agreement that would involve a large American investment across borders to create strategic trade corridors in the region that might deter further conflict.

“We would like to see more engagement in Canada, but I think having this high-level political engagement creates a very good ground, for turning this collaboration into something concrete and result-oriented,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2026.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press