Canada relocates some Haiti diplomats

Canada has reduced the number of diplomats at its embassy in Haiti to less than half its normal cadre, citing an increasingly unpredictable security situation in the Caribbean country.

“The security situation remains volatile,” Sébastien Beaulieu, Global Affairs Canada’s chief security officer, told reporters Thursday.

He said most Canadian staff at the Port-au-Prince embassy were airlifted in a chartered helicopter early Thursday to the neighbouring Dominican Republic, where they will work remotely. The helicopter also brought in security experts who were assigned to the embassy in Haiti but were abroad and found themselves unable to re-enter the country when gangs took over the main airport in recent weeks.

The move to limit Canada’s diplomatic presence to only essential employees comes a week after peer countries made the same move. Since then, Canada had already closed access to the embassy and required staff to work remotely.

Beaulieu would not say whether Canada has emulated a U.S. decision to deploy Marines to protect its embassy.

“The drawdown is also part of that rationale, in terms of being able to focus our security, our assets, our life support, to support that core team that remains in place,” he said. “We are satisfied of the measures that are being taken to protect our core team and to ensure their safety and security.”

Canada has advised all Canadians in Haiti to leave since late 2022, but Beaulieu said there are still close to 3,000 Canadians officially registered as remaining in the country.