Canada will recognize a Palestinian state in September, the prime minister says

AP (Toronto) Prime Minister Mark Carney declared Wednesday that Canada will recognize a Palestinian state in September, the most recent in a string of symbolic declarations that are a part of a larger worldwide movement against Israel’s practices in Gaza.

To address the situation in the ravaged Palestinian area, Carney called a meeting of the Cabinet. He claimed it happened after speaking with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the problem, who on Tuesday declared a similar action.

As images of famine in Gaza have appalled people worldwide, leaders are coming under increasing pressure to address the problem.

Carney stated that the amount of hardship endured by people in Gaza is unacceptable.

In September 2025, during the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly, Canada plans to recognize the State of Palestine.

The goal, according to Carney, is to demilitarize the Palestinian state and organize general elections in 2026 in which Hamas will not be allowed to participate.

The extent to which Carney’s warning meant that an election in the damaged strip is unlikely to happen anytime soon was not immediately apparent.

Since French President Emmanuel Macron declared in September that his nation will be the first major Western power to recognize a Palestinian state, pressure has increased for the formal recognition of Palestinian independence.

Although Canadian recognition, like that of France and the United Kingdom, would primarily be symbolic, it would be a part of a larger worldwide movement against Israel and might raise diplomatic pressure for the conflict to cease.

A Palestinian state is recognized by more than 140 nations, including 12 in Europe. With Macron’s declaration last week, France became the largest country in Europe and the first member of the Group of Seven to do so.

Although it has stated that recognition should be a part of a negotiated two-state solution to the problem, Canada has always supported the idea of an independent Palestinian state coexisting with Israel.