Canada joins France and UK in saying it will recognize Palestinian state in September
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the move was dependent on the Palestinian Authority committing to hold elections next year
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, flanked by Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, speaks during a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on July 30, 2025. Photo by Dave Chan / AFP via Getty Images
(JTA) — Canada, too, will recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly in September as long as certain conditions are met, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday.
“The deepening suffering of civilians leaves no room for delaying coordinated international action to support peace, security and the dignity of human life,” Carney, a liberal elected in April, said at a press conference, referring to a hunger crisis in Gaza that has grown acute.
The move adds Canada to the United Kingdom and France as major world powers to announce plans to recognize a Palestinian state this week, marking a sea change among countries with significant Jewish populations. (Malta also announced recognition on Wednesday.) The moves offer a powerful symbol that some of Israel’s allies believe that a negotiated peace is currently out of reach.
As with France, Canada’s recognition is dependent on assurances from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, which Carney indicated he had gotten, to hold elections next year for the first time in two decades and to exclude Hamas from the elections and any future governance. Unlike British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Carney did not make recognition dependent on Hamas’ release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. (Starmer is also requiring Israel to end its fighting in Gaza.)
Israel staunchly opposes the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state and panned Carney’s move as rewarding terrorism. Iddo Moed, Israel’s ambassador to Canada, said in a TV interview, “We will not give in to that pressure because this is our security.”
The announcement drew criticism from Canada’s leading Jewish umbrella organization, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which said it was “deeply concerning” that Carney did not link his plan to the release of the hostages, and President Donald Trump, who threatened a trade retaliation if recognition takes place. Earlier in the week, Trump had indicated that he did not oppose the U.K. recognition plan.
