Montreal, April 20, 2026 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is reiterating its opposition to Canada’s new surveillance drone from Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems, which is deeply complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. With the drone recently transferred from Transport Canada to National Defence, CJPME is concerned that its “civilian” role could easily evolve into lethal applications, amounting to a disturbing creep from its stated purpose. CJPME urges Canada to break all ties with Elbit Systems and ban future procurement from Israeli weapons companies complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation, apartheid, and genocide against the Palestinian people.

“Canada’s contract for this Israeli drone, which benefits from Elbit’s legacy of ‘battle-testing’ its weapons on Palestinians in Gaza, should have been cancelled years ago. These are blood-soaked weapons that have no business in Canadian airspace. Now that it has arrived, it will serve for years as a shameful reminder in our skies of Canada’s complicity in genocide,” said Michael Bueckert, Vice President of CJPME.

Elbit’s Hermes drones have been used routinely by Israel to kill Palestinian civilians in Gaza, including children. A Hermes 450 drone was used to assassinate a Canadian aid worker in Gaza in 2024. 

In late 2020, Canada signed a $36M contract with Elbit for a Hermes 900 StarLiner drone, ostensibly for surveillance purposes. Although the StarLiner is supposedly a modified “civilian” version of Elbit’s other Hermes drones, it is “suitable for military and commercial applications.” Ownership of the drone has now been transferred to the Coast Guard, which is now under the Department of National Defence and will be given expanded “security” roles if Bill C-2 is passed. CJPME is concerned that the changing ownership structure of this drone means that initial assurances about its civilian use may not hold forever. 

CJPME is calling on Canada to firmly rule out any future possibility of military uses for this drone, and cancel any ongoing relationship with Elbit related to the contract. CJPME further urges Canada to ban the procurement of military goods from Israeli weapons companies that are responsible for war crimes and genocide against Palestinians. 

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Media Backgrounder: Elbit Systems and Canada

Canada’s $36M contract for an Elbit Hermes 900 Starliner

In December 2020, Transport Canada signed a $36m contract with Elbit Systems, Israel's largest weapons company. The contract is for the Hermes 900 StarLiner, a “civilian” version of Elbit’s lethal military drone the Hermes 900. The contract also includes services such as communication links, ground control stations, sensor packages, and more. The purpose of the drone is for surveillance in the Arctic. The drone was expected to be delivered by December 2022, but it was not delivered until September 2025. 

Despite the supposedly "civilian" nature of the purchased drone, the Hermes 900 StarLiner is reportedly “suitable for military and commercial applications” and can carry “electronic warfare payloads to provide airborne electronic attack capability.” Some of the optional Elbit payloads that can be added to the drone boast of being "battle-proven."

Although the drone was originally purchased by Transport Canada, as of April 1, 2026 its Aircraft Services Directorate (ASD) was transferred to the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), which itself has been absorbed by the Department of National Defence (DND). The CCG remains a civilian agency, despite being under DND, and CBC reports that the federal officials claim to have “no plans to militarize the coast guard or assign it an enforcement role” and that the coast guard will “remain outside of the military chain of command.” There are no guarantees that this will remain the case, however, and C-2 (the Strong Borders Act) would “expand the [CCG]’s services to include security activities” including “security patrols.” 

Elbit Drones and Israel’s Genocide in Gaza

Elbit Systems proudly claims that the drone Canada has purchased draws on the “legacy” of its military drones. In fact, Elbit is the main supplier of drones used by the Israeli military to monitor and attack Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The Hermes 900 was first tested during Israel’s assault on Gaza in 2014, when Israeli drone strikes alone killed 840 Palestinians, including 164 children. Infamously, it was a missile launched by a Hermes 450 drone which murdered four children playing soccer on a beach that year. During the bombing, Elbit’s profits skyrocketed. 

In May 2021, during Israel's attack on Gaza ("Operation Guardian of the Walls") which killed at least 253 people including 66 children, Elbit technology played a major role in the violence. Elbit's command and control technology system was used by the Israeli military to "accelerate the targeting process" that Israel used to coordinate its attacks on Gaza. Elbit's armed Hermes 450 and 900 drones were also used by the Israeli military to bombard Gaza with missiles. During this assault, 22 Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli drone strikes.

During Israel's 3-day assault on Gaza in August 2022 ("Operation Breaking Dawn") which killed at least 49 people including 17 children, Israeli commanders boasted of hitting "dozens" of targets, "mainly using the Elbit Hermes 450," in addition to the role of the drones in performing extensive surveillance for the purpose of military targeting: "The whole of Gaza is ‘covered’ with UAVs that collect intelligence 24 hours a day."

Elbit drones have been critical to Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza from 2023 to present, which has killed a minimum of 70,373 people including 20,179 children. In April 2024, Israel used a Hermes 450 drone as part of a series of airstrikes on a World Central Kitchen aid convoy, killing Canadian aid worker Jacob Flickinger alongside 6 international and Palestinian volunteers.  

In addition to drones, Elbit Systems produces white phosphorus munitions (a chemical weapon), cluster bombs (illegal under international law), sniper bullets, and components of tanks and fighter jets. 

Beyond Drones: Canadian Procurement from Elbit Systems

The Canadian government lists 47 contracts above $10,000 with Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries since 2004, with most of them signed with National Defence. 

In December 2021, Canada also awarded an $8.6m contract to Elbit Systems for its Torch X "battle management" technology, which is marketed as "field-proven" and had been used in Gaza in 2021. This will be used to support Canada’s “air missions” and “joint-task force operations.”

In 2023, Elbit was awarded a contract (undisclosed amount) with Airbus Defense and Space to supply missile warning systems and countermeasures on Canada’s military refueling aircraft.