By The Canadian Press

Palestine activists criticize Ottawa’s go-slow approach to recognition of statehood

Sep 18, 2025 | 12:18 PM

OTTAWA — As Ottawa warns its symbolic recognition of Palestinian statehood next week won’t immediately lead to a full embassy, pro-Palestinian activists say the Liberals should not be imposing conditions on Palestinian sovereignty.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in July that Canada would recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly, taking place next week.

At the time, Carney said Canada’s recognition would be “predicated on” the Palestinian Authority pledging to “fundamentally reform its governance” through anticorruption measures and holding general elections in 2026 without the involvement of Hamas.

The Palestinian state would also need to be demilitarized, Carney said.

In a Wednesday interview with the Toronto Star, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said those conditions must be met before Ottawa fully normalizes relations with the State of Palestine.

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The Palestinian Authority has a diplomatic delegation in Ottawa with an ambassador-rank representative. Like Taiwan, Palestine is not recognized as a state by Ottawa and so does not have full diplomatic relations with Canada.

Anand’s comments suggest that the Palestinian Authority must meet Ottawa’s conditions before its delegation can be upgraded to a full embassy.

The development comes as Ottawa urges Israel to stop its major new ground offensive in Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists the campaign is intended to eliminate the ability of Hamas to further attack Israel — though most of Israel’s allies say the offensive will deepen famine and worsen the death toll in the territory.

This week, experts commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Ottawa says it is waiting for the International Court of Justice to rule on whether that is the case.

Tatiana Harker of the Montreal group Palestine Vivra said the conditions Ottawa is imposing amount to “blackmail” and prevent Palestinians from exercising their sovereignty.

“This recognition is stillborn,” she said Thursday at a news conference on Parliament Hill.

“It is a conditional recognition demanding in exchange (the) renunciation of their inalienable right to self-determination.”

She called Ottawa’s conditions “colonial” and said they amount to “cutting off the Palestinians’ ability to freely choose their legitimate representatives.” She added that Palestinians must have the ability to protect themselves from Israeli attacks.

She said she wonders whether there will still be people left living in Gaza “by the time this bureaucratic machine moves along.”

Her concerns come amid widespread starvation in the territory and as senior Israeli ministers say Palestinians should emigrate. On Wednesday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich touted a coming “real estate bonanza” in the Gaza Strip.

Canada’s ambassador to the UN Bob Rae pushed back on that idea Thursday. “Gaza is not a real estate deal. It is a home of the Palestinian people,” Bob Rae wrote on the platform X.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said in a written statement that Anand’s comments on normalizing relations with the State of Palestine show the concerns Ottawa raised in July still haven’t been resolved. The government’s conditions relate to actions to be taken over the coming months and years, however.

The advocacy group argued that Carney should think twice about what he says about Palestinian statehood before the UN next week.

“Recognition of Palestinian statehood has rewarded Hamas, emboldened extremists, and undermined efforts to secure the release of the 48 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza,” wrote the group’s CEO Noah Shack.

On Parliament Hill, NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said Anand should “immediately” recognize a State of Palestine

“The government’s (use) of recognition of the State of Palestine as some sort of a bargaining chip is appalling,” she said, arguing Anand is “trying to wiggle out of her responsibilities to ensure Canada isn’t complicit in a genocide.”

Nima Machouf, a former NDP candidate who is taking part in a flotilla next week from Italy to Gaza, said in French that Ottawa has imposed “very irresponsible” conditions on statehood.

She said Canada is trailing its European peers on recognizing Palestine “as a fully-fledged independent state.”

At another news conference on Thursday, a Montreal nurse who is part of the group Independent Jewish Voices said Canada needs to further sanction the Israeli government and suspend arms sales.

“As Jews, we remember the Holocaust quite well. We remember what the Nazis did to the Warsaw Ghetto,” said Scott Weinstein.

“It is both shattering and enraging to see these war crimes being repeated again, today, in our name. That is not acceptable.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press