Canadians wait for flights home as U.S. oil blockade causes energy shortage in Cuba

Canadians in Cuba are waiting for flights home as an energy crisis worsens in the nation amid a U.S. oil blockade.

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.”

The Trump administration is cutting Cuba off from using traditional fuel sources in an effort to put pressure on the island nation off the coast of Florida, which has long been under strict economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. government.

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.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2026.

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The Canadian Press