Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians in Lebanon to leave as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified in October 2024. Canada had arranged additional seats on flights from Beirut, while officials warned that commercial access and consular assistance could deteriorate without notice.
More than 1,000 people had already departed
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said on October 5 that about 1,000 Canadians had left on Canada-coordinated flights from Beirut to Istanbul. More flights were planned for the following Monday and Tuesday.
Officials were reserving or augmenting commercial capacity rather than conducting a military evacuation. Eligible travellers still had to reach the airport safely and were generally expected to pay a commercial-equivalent fare, with emergency loans available in some circumstances.
Many offered seats had not been taken
Joly said roughly 6,000 Canadians had registered to receive information about the flights, yet some seats went unused when officials contacted people. She appealed to those offered a place to accept it while departures remained possible.
The government estimated that close to 45,000 Canadian citizens and immediate family members might have been in Lebanon as violence escalated. Registration figures were lower because the service is voluntary and do not provide a complete census.
The security situation was worsening
Israel had expanded air strikes and begun ground operations in southern Lebanon after nearly a year of cross-border fire with Hezbollah. Strikes near Beirut and routes from the south heightened the danger for civilians trying to move.
Two Canadians were reported killed while attempting to flee violence in southern Lebanon in September. Trudeau said their deaths underscored the risk but maintained that the government had to keep offering ways to reach safety.
Canada repeated its ceasefire demand
Trudeau called for an immediate ceasefire by Israel and Hezbollah, protection of civilians and respect for United Nations resolutions. He also said Beirut’s airport and port were critical infrastructure that should not be targeted.
A call for a ceasefire did not erase responsibility for attacks on either side. Hezbollah’s indiscriminate fire and Israel’s conduct of hostilities each remained subject to international humanitarian law, including duties to distinguish civilians from military targets and take feasible precautions.
Travellers were asked to register
Canadians were advised to use the Registration of Canadians Abroad service, keep contact details current and ensure that passports and family documents were available. Anyone needing urgent help could contact Canada’s embassy in Beirut or Global Affairs Canada’s emergency centre.
Registration helped officials send instructions and identify demand, but it did not guarantee extraction. People had to assess whether travel to an airport was safe in their location and follow local emergency directions.
The operation ultimately used several routes
Government reporting later recorded 1,311 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and eligible relatives assisted out of Lebanon between September 26 and October 22. Nine charter flights and seven flights with augmented commercial capacity travelled to Istanbul, Doha and Larnaca, with more than 3,300 seats made available.
Those final totals were not known on October 5, but they clarify the scale of the completed operation. They should not be substituted for the contemporaneous figure when describing what officials knew that day.
The warning was direct because options could close
Canada had advised against travel to Lebanon and urged citizens to leave for months. The October appeal became more urgent as the conflict expanded and independent bookings became difficult.
The essential message was practical rather than political: people who could safely use an available departure should not assume that later flights, open airspace or government assistance would remain available. Accurate reporting also distinguishes a coordinated departure from an unconditional promise of rescue.
