Canada and the War in Palestine

• Conflict between Israel and Palestine has been ongoing for 77 years (as of 2025)
  
  
• On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was created, sparking the first Arab-Israeli War. The war ended in 1949 with Israel’s victory, but 750,000 Palestinians were displaced, and the territory was divided into 3 parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River), and the Gaza Strip.
  
  
• Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been governed by Hamas, an Islamist militant group, while the West Bank remained under the control of the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.
  
  
• Since 2007, Israel and Hamas, along with other Palestinian militant groups based in Gaza, have been constantly engaged in conflict.
  
  
• Four major wars erupted in 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2021.

 

Canada's Position: 

•  Canada has called for an immediate ceasefire and increased humanitarian aid to Gaza, emphasizing the need for a two-state solution.​

  In November 2024, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will “abide” by an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ¹
  
  

• Canada’s official statements declare:
  
  

• $215 million in international assistance funding to address urgent needs stemming from the crisis in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Israel and neighbouring areas. 
  
  

• This investment would be delivered through “experienced and trusted UN, Red Cross and NGO partners”²
  
  

• This will help provide food, water, emergency medical assistance, protection services and other life-saving assistance.
  
  

• Canada is also providing funding to the United Nations Office for Project Support to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2720, the coordination mechanism for Gaza.
  
  

• Canada will ensure that no money goes into the hands of Hamas
  
  
• Canada continues to stand ready to support efforts toward a 2-state solution, where Israelis and Palestinians can live side-by-side in peace, security, and dignity³. 
  
  

• Canada recognizes:

• The Palestinian Authority (PA) as the governmental entity in the West Bank and Gaza. 
  
  
• The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the principal representative of the Palestinian people. 
  
  
• Canada is working with the government led by the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority in terms of much needed reforms.
  
  

• Israel's right to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks, including through the restriction of access to its territory, and by building a barrier on its own territory for security purposes.
  
  

• However, Canada opposes Israel's construction of the barrier inside the West Bank and East Jerusalem which are occupied territories.
  
  
• This construction is contrary to international law under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
  
  
• Canada not only opposes Israel's construction of a barrier extending into the occupied territories, but also expropriations and the demolition of houses and economic infrastructure carried out for this purpose. ⁴
  
  
• Canada does not recognize Israel's unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem. Canada does not recognize permanent Israeli control over territories occupied in 1967 (the Golan Heights, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip). 
  
  

• Following Trump’s unveiling of his plans for Gaza, Canada’s International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen, Justice Minister Arif Virani and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh were among a dozen MPs who pushed back on Trump’s idea⁵.
  

  
  
• Hussen, Virani and seven other Liberal MPs released a statement calling Trump’s idea “preposterous and a complete violation of international law” and saying that “it amounts to ethnic cleansing.”
  
  
• Singh said that Trump’s comments “destabilize” the Middle East and threaten the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. “Trump’s threats are utter madness. They violate every international law,” he wrote in a post on X.
  
  

• Canada is a State Party to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which bars the transfer of weapons if there is a substantial risk that the recipient of those weapons could use them in violations of IHL – a threshold which has evidently been crossed in the case of Israel. Any further export – either directly or via the United States – of military goods that Israel could use in Gaza would therefore be a violation of Canada’s obligations under the ATT.
  
  

• However, as Canada has long been a major munitions supplier to the US DOD, there remains a significant risk that some of these Canadian-made weapon systems have been sent on to third parties, including Israel.
  
  
• In September 2024 a Canadian Crown corporation signed a contract to provide the US DOD with artillery propellants that were then supplied to Israel. This agreement was finalized while the intensive bombardment of Gaza continued, months before the signing of a ceasefire that ultimately collapsed in March 2025. ⁶

Domestic Reactions:

• During our ongoing federal election, activists and human rights organizations across Canada have formed the Vote Palestine campaign, and are pushing candidates to take a stand on Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which has claimed at least 51,000 lives. ⁷
  
  

• Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on Parliament Hill on April 19, 2025, accusing the federal government of backtracking on its pledge to halt arms transfers to Israel and urging politicians to make foreign policy a central issue in the election campaign⁸.
  
  

  
  
  

• It was endorsed by over 150 organizations, and attended by diverse groups from across the country, said the organizers in a news release.
  
  
• The morning before the protest, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was in Ottawa on the campaign trail and was asked about pro-Palestinian demonstrations in general and the use of the word "genocide" by a Liberal incumbent MP. 
  
  
• Pierre Poilievre (Conservative) said some pro-Palestinian protests have made Jewish Canadians feel unsafe and that the Liberal party has encouraged division.
  

  "The Jewish community feels understandably under siege as these hate marches and antisemitic outbursts have become an unfortunate part of Canadian life," he told reporters. “These are not our Canadian values of empathy, of caring about each other, caring about our people. Our government support to this genocide is a burden.”

Sources

1https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/trudeau-says-canada-would-abide-by-icc-arrest-warrant-for-israel-pm-netanyahu/
2https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/response_conflict-reponse_conflits/crisis-crises/israel.aspx?lang=eng
3 https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2025/03/minister-joly-announces-assistance-for-people-in-gaza-and-west-bank.html
4https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/international_relations-relations_internationales/mena-moan/israeli-palestinian_policy-politique_israelo-palestinien.aspx?lang=eng
5https://halifax.citynews.ca/2025/02/06/mps-reject-trumps-idea-of-clearing-out-gaza-as-israeli-minister-points-to-canada/
6 https://www.ploughshares.ca/publications/canada-under-contract-to-supply-the-idf-with-artillery-propellant
7https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/organizers-are-pushing-to-vote-palestine-in-canadas-federal-election/
8https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/pro-palestinian-protesters-call-out-canadian-arms-transfers-to-israel-1.7508969