Canada will recognize Palestinian province in September, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Wednesday.
“Canada has long been working on a solution for two provinces, alongside the lives of an independent, viable, and sovereign Palestinian state, alongside the state of peace and security,” he said.
The move follows a similar announcement from France and the UK that said in September that it would recognize the Palestinian state. The UK says that this will also occur if Israel does not meet the conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Canada intends to recognize Palestine at the 80th UN General Assembly,” Carney said. “We are going to do so because the Palestinian authorities have committed to leading many necessary reforms.”
Carney added that Palestinian authorities President Mahmoud Abbas has assured him that Hamas will hold a long “no use” election in 2026.
“(Abbas) is also committed to not militarizing the Palestine state,” Carney added.
Canada’s decision is a time of renewed international attention regarding the ongoing hunger crisis caused by the war in Gaza, particularly the lockdown of Israeli humanitarian aid.
“Canada is always living in peace and security, ensuring that Israel is present as an independent nation in the Middle East,” Carney said. “Israel’s path to lasting peace requires a viable and stable Palestinian state and acknowledgement of Israel’s infinite right to security.”
Kearney’s announcement came after Canadian leaders spoke to British Keel Starmer on Tuesday about Gaza.
In their appeal, two politicians discussed “the British statement on the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza and the perception of the Palestinian state,” according to a read from Carney’s office.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has quickly “rejected” Canada’s decision in a post on X, calling it “a reward for Hamas.”
“The current change in the Canadian government’s position is a reward for Hamas and undermines the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and the framework for hostage release,” the ministry said.
“Let us be clear: Israel will not succumb to a distorted campaign of international pressure on it,” Iddo Moed, Canada’s Ambassador to Israel, said in an X-Post from the embassy. “We do not sacrifice our very existence by allowing the imposition of a jihadist state on our ancestor homelands, which seek our ancestors.”
Israel and the US have previously criticised the moves by France and the UK and said they would reward Hamas. Last month, Canada joined the UK, Norway, New Zealand and Australia to approve two far-right ministers of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
“We are determinedly committed to a solution in the two states, the only way to ensure the security and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians and ensure the long-term stability of the region, but are at stake by the violence and widespread reconciliation of extremist settlers,” the five-state joint statement said.
At the time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized the sanctions as useless, saying that “we will not proceed with US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war.”
Access to aid continues to plague the enclave when the latest declaration on the perception of the Palestinian state was born as a crisis of Gaza’s hunger in access to aid. On Wednesday, Israeli forces said they fired warning shots in northern Gaza following reports of dozens of aids killed in the area.
The IDF said the victims were unaware of the incident and that details surrounding the incident were under consideration, but Gaza provincial Yousef Abu Al-Rish said that CNN had killed at least 60 people and about 600 people were injured in northern Gaza after Israeli forces were fired near aid sites.
This story and headings have been updated with additional developments.
