Canada to provide C$250 million to U.N. to address global food crisis, says Trudeau

FILE PHOTO: Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles

(Reuters) - Canada will provide C$250 million ($193 million) to the United Nations to address a food crisis exacerbated by supply chain constraints and high inflation after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday.

"We provided half a billion dollars at the beginning of the year (to the United Nations' World Food Program), and this is an additional C$250 million to address this serious crisis," Trudeau told reporters at the Commonwealth summit in Kigali, Rwanda.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a major global grain grower and exporter, has affected the global economy by driving up gasoline, oil and food prices.

($1 = 1.2979 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Steve SCherer in Ottawa; and Jonathan Oatis)