Speaking to a meeting of Caribbean leaders in Nassau in the Bahamas, he said the ships will "conduct surveillance, gather intelligence and maintain a maritime presence off the Haitian coast in the coming weeks."

He did not, however, specify the number or class of navy ships that would be sent, nor the exact duration of their mission.

Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, has been mired for years in a vicious cycle of humanitarian, economic and political crises exacerbated by brutal gang violence.

Last Friday, the United Nation's top human rights official Volker Turk called for an international force to be deployed to Haiti to help end this "living nightmare."

Trudeau said after a meeting with Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry that Canada "is very concerned about the ongoing unrest and instability in Haiti."

"Right now Haiti is confronted with unrelenting gang violence, political turmoil and corruption. Armed groups are committing murder, rape and other gender-based violence, kidnapping innocent people and recruiting children to terrorize and subjugate people," he said.

Trudeau also announced Can$12.3 million (US$9.1 million) in new humanitarian aid for Haiti and Can$10 million (US$7.4 million) for the International Organization for Migration to protect migrants in the region.

Canada's deployment of navy ships comes after patrol aircraft with reconnaissance capabilities were sent for a few days earlier this month to assist local authorities.