Canada says it plans to officially recognise a Palestinian state by September, making it the third country in the G7 to take that step in just over a week.
Prime Minister Mark Carney made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the decision would depend on the Palestinian Authority making major reforms, including holding elections next year without the involvement of Hamas.
Carney’s move comes shortly after similar announcements by France and the United Kingdom, both of which said they would recognise Palestine unless Israel agrees to key conditions, including a ceasefire in Gaza.
“The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable and it is rapidly deteriorating,” Carney told reporters in Toronto.
He said Canada had always supported a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, but “this approach is no longer tenable.”
“The prospect of a Palestinian state is being eroded before our eyes,” he said, adding that the official recognition would be made at the United Nations General Assembly later this year.
He blamed the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel as major factors behind Canada’s shift in position.
Canada’s new policy has drawn criticism from Israel and its supporters. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the move “rewards Hamas” and could make it harder to reach a ceasefire or release the hostages still held in Gaza.
The Canadian opposition party also rejected the move. “Recognising a Palestinian state in the aftermath of the October 7 terrorist atrocities sends the wrong message to the world,” the Conservative Party said in a statement.
Carney confirmed that he had spoken with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas earlier in the day. The Authority, led by the Fatah party, controls parts of the West Bank. Hamas controls the Gaza Strip. Neither territory has held elections since 2006.
Carney said Canada’s recognition would only go ahead if the Palestinian Authority agrees to carry out “democratic reforms” and ensures a “demilitarised territory.”
He was asked if his decision was influenced by the UK and France or if he had consulted with US President Donald Trump, who has supported Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Carney replied that Canada makes its own foreign policy decisions.
His government has come under pressure in recent weeks to take a clearer stand on the crisis in Gaza. A group of nearly 200 former Canadian ambassadors and diplomats had earlier written to Carney, asking him to recognise Palestine as a state.
The letter said Canada’s principles were being ignored in the face of “massive displacement, indiscriminate bombardment and starvation of Palestinian civilians in Gaza” as well as “violent attacks by extremist settlers in the West Bank.”
The announcement also means that if the UK and France follow through with their plans, the United States would be the only permanent member of the UN Security Council not to recognise a Palestinian state.
More than 60,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military response to the October 7 attack, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The Israeli attack followed a Hamas raid on southern Israel that left about 1,200 people dead and over 250 others taken hostage.
