Canada to Recognize Palestinian State at UN in Major Policy Shift, Says PM Carney

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday that Canada will formally recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025 — a landmark policy shift aimed at salvaging the prospect of a two-state solution.

“Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025,” Carney declared at a press conference in Ottawa. He said the decision reflects Canada’s “long-standing” support for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through two states.

The move places Canada in alignment with France, whose President Emmanuel Macron recently made a similar pledge. France is the most influential European country to signal such recognition so far. Macron’s announcement drew sharp criticism from Israel, which said it “rewards terror,” while former U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed it as a futile gesture.

Carney defended the shift, arguing that hopes for a negotiated peace have steadily deteriorated. “The possibility of a two-state solution is being eroded before our eyes,” he warned, citing Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza, the deepening humanitarian crisis, and the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

“For decades, recognition of Palestine was expected to emerge from a peace process between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority,” Carney said. “Regrettably, this approach is no longer tenable.”

He emphasized that Canada’s decision was not meant to undermine Israel’s right to security but to reassert international consensus on a just and lasting solution that includes a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel.

The announcement marks a turning point in Canadian foreign policy and is expected to draw both praise and criticism on the global stage as the international community reassesses the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.