Children of Canadian Diplomats Continue to Suffer Years After Havana Health Incidents

By: Ebenezer Adugyamfi & Emmanuel Ayiku for GhanaianNewsCanada
October 5, 2026

Years after Canadian diplomats and their families began experiencing unexplained neurological symptoms while stationed in Havana, Cuba, some children of affected diplomatic families are still dealing with health problems, according to recent reporting.

The continuing health difficulties have renewed questions about Canada’s handling of what became known internationally as “Havana syndrome” and, more formally in Canadian government documents, unexplained health incidents (UHIs).

The issue first emerged in 2017, when Canadian and American diplomatic personnel in Havana began reporting symptoms including headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, balance problems and other neurological complaints.

Canadian authorities eventually removed diplomatic dependants from Havana, reduced Canada’s diplomatic presence and launched investigations into the possible causes.

However, despite years of medical and security investigations, the precise cause of the symptoms remains unresolved.

Global Affairs Canada says it has never questioned the reality of the symptoms experienced by affected diplomats and their family members. At the same time, the department’s 2024 investigation concluded that it found no evidence that the incidents were caused by a malicious foreign actor.

Children were among those affected

The Havana incidents did not affect diplomats alone.

Some children living with Canadian diplomatic families in Cuba also reported unusual symptoms.

Government records and earlier reporting identified children among those affected, with Global Affairs Canada acknowledging that diplomatic families experienced symptoms during the period.

Some families have continued to deal with the consequences years after returning to Canada.

Earlier reporting revealed that at least five children from Canadian diplomatic families had reported unusual symptoms. Lawyers representing affected families have said some children continue to require medical attention and that families have faced significant costs while seeking specialized treatment.

For the families involved, the issue therefore did not end when they left Cuba.

The symptoms reportedly continued for some people after their return to Canada, raising questions about the long-term medical consequences of the incidents and whether affected families received sufficient support.

What happened in Havana?

The first reports emerged in late 2016 and early 2017.

American officials informed Canada in April 2017 that U.S. personnel in Havana had experienced unusual health symptoms.

Canadian diplomats and family members subsequently reported similar problems.

The symptoms varied between individuals but included dizziness, headaches, difficulties concentrating and other neurological complaints.

At the time, investigators considered a number of possible explanations, including environmental exposure, illness, pesticides and the possibility of deliberate attacks.

The term “Havana syndrome” became widely used because some American officials and researchers considered the possibility that personnel had been exposed to directed energy, sonic or other forms of attack.

Canada, however, never established that explanation as fact.

Canada removed diplomatic families from Havana

As concerns increased, Ottawa took several measures to reduce the potential risks to diplomats and their families.

In 2018, Global Affairs Canada changed the Canadian embassy in Havana to an “unaccompanied post,” meaning diplomats would generally serve without their dependants.

Canada subsequently reduced its diplomatic presence in Havana.

By January 2019, Ottawa announced that it was reducing the number of Canadian personnel posted to Havana by up to half after another employee developed symptoms consistent with those previously reported. At that point, the government said the total number of affected Canadian employees, spouses and dependants had reached 14.

The government also introduced shorter postings, enhanced medical support, rest and respite measures and mandatory health briefings for personnel visiting the mission.

These measures reflected Ottawa’s concern about the safety of its diplomatic personnel even though the cause of the incidents remained unknown.

Years of investigation produced no definitive answer

Canada conducted several investigations into the incidents.

The RCMP conducted a security investigation, while researchers from Dalhousie University and the Nova Scotia Health Authority examined the health effects.

Environmental assessments were also conducted to determine whether conditions in diplomatic residences could have contributed to the symptoms.

The government eventually established an interdepartmental task force to bring together the available findings.

Its conclusion was that investigators had found no clear common cause and no evidence that a foreign government or other foreign actor had deliberately caused the incidents.

Global Affairs Canada also said pre-existing medical conditions, environmental factors and conventional illnesses were likely to have played a role in some cases.

That conclusion has not, however, meant that the affected individuals’ symptoms were dismissed.

The government explicitly states that the authenticity of the symptoms has never been questioned.

Medical research found evidence of brain injuries

The medical investigation produced findings that have added to the complexity of the issue.

According to Global Affairs Canada’s 2024 report, approximately half of the participants in the Canadian health study experienced symptoms associated with mild brain injury.

Researchers found structural and functional evidence supporting the occurrence of mild brain injury in some participants.

The report also found that people with pre-existing health conditions were more likely to develop symptoms.

However, the medical findings did not establish one single cause for all of the reported health problems.

That distinction remains central to the Canadian government’s position.

The symptoms are considered real, but their precise origin remains unresolved.

New revelations raise questions about what officials knew

Recent reporting by The Globe and Mail has added another layer to the controversy.

The newspaper reported new information concerning Canadian intelligence activities in Havana during the same period in which Canadian diplomats were experiencing the unexplained health incidents.

The revelations have prompted former Canadian intelligence officers and retired senior security officials to call for an independent parliamentary examination of what Canadian authorities knew about the circumstances in Havana and how the government responded.

The questions are particularly significant because diplomatic personnel and their families were potentially exposed to risks that were not fully understood at the time.

Recent reporting has also raised questions about intelligence cooperation between Canadian and American personnel in Havana during the period.

Those reports have not established that the intelligence activities caused the health incidents.

Instead, they have raised questions about whether Canadian authorities possessed information that could have changed how the risks were assessed or communicated to diplomatic families.

Lawsuit against the Canadian government

The dispute has also entered the courts.

Affected Canadian diplomatic staff and dependants have pursued legal action against the federal government, alleging that Ottawa failed in its duty to protect them from the risks associated with their postings.

Global Affairs Canada says litigation involving employees and dependants remains ongoing.

According to government briefing material, an earlier lawsuit was filed by Canadian-based staff and dependants who alleged negligence and breach of the government’s duty of care. The federal government has denied liability and argued that the claims are subject to the Government Employees Compensation Act.

The court proceedings have therefore become another avenue through which affected families are seeking answers and compensation.

A difficult question about duty of care

At the centre of the controversy is a basic responsibility of governments: protecting diplomatic personnel and their families when they are sent overseas.

Diplomats regularly work in countries where security risks are greater than those faced by ordinary travellers.

Governments therefore conduct risk assessments before assigning personnel to particular locations and are expected to respond when new risks emerge.

In Havana, Canadian authorities eventually evacuated dependants and changed the status of the diplomatic mission.

The unresolved question is whether the government acted quickly enough in the early stages of the incidents and whether diplomatic families were given enough information about the risks that officials knew or suspected at the time.

That question has become more prominent following recent revelations about intelligence activities in Havana.

Canada continues to monitor affected employees

Global Affairs Canada says the issue is now being managed primarily as a health and occupational-safety matter.

The department says it continues to provide medical support and follow-up investigations for employees and dependants who report symptoms.

Since 2021, government employees worldwide have also been able to report symptoms potentially connected to unexplained health incidents.

Global Affairs says a small number of reports have been received from different locations, most involving experiences that occurred in the past. Each report is assessed individually and accompanied by medical support where appropriate.

Canada has therefore not completely closed the file, even though its major investigation concluded that there was no evidence of a deliberate attack by a foreign actor.

Why the issue remains unresolved

The Havana case remains difficult because several questions have not received definitive answers.

There is medical evidence that some diplomats and their family members suffered symptoms consistent with brain injury.

There is evidence that symptoms affected both adults and children.

There is also evidence that the Canadian government took substantial measures to reduce the risk once the incidents became known.

But investigators have not identified a single cause capable of explaining every reported incident.

The Canadian government therefore rejects the conclusion that the symptoms have been proven to result from a foreign attack.

At the same time, the continuing health problems experienced by some families mean the issue cannot simply be treated as a closed chapter.

Calls for greater scrutiny

The latest revelations have revived calls for Parliament to examine the matter independently.

Former intelligence officials and security experts cited in recent reporting argue that parliamentarians should examine what Canadian authorities knew about intelligence activities in Havana, what information was available about potential risks and how the government responded.

Such an examination could potentially look beyond the question of what caused the symptoms.

It could also examine whether Canadian officials fulfilled their responsibility to properly inform and protect diplomatic personnel and their families.

For families whose children were affected, those questions remain deeply significant.

A story that has lasted nearly a decade

Almost a decade after the first reports emerged, the Havana health incidents remain one of the most unusual and controversial episodes in Canada’s recent diplomatic history.

The Canadian government maintains that there is no evidence of a malicious foreign attack, while acknowledging that affected employees and their families experienced genuine and sometimes lasting health problems.

Recent revelations have now brought renewed attention to the government’s actions and the information available to officials at the time.

For the children and families who continue to live with the consequences, the central issue is not simply what caused the original symptoms.

It is also whether they received the protection, information, medical support and accountability they were entitled to as members of Canada’s diplomatic community.

As legal proceedings continue and calls for further parliamentary scrutiny grow, the Havana file remains unresolved — both medically and politically.