Washington DC — Canadians have expressed support for Prime Minister Mark Carney's announcement that Ottawa would recognise the State of Palestine during the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September, following similar announcements from the United Kingdom and France.

However, they argue that Canada should not attach any conditions to its decision. 

Trevor Franklin, a rehabilitation worker from British Columbia in Canada, told TRT World that this is a reasonable step to end Israel's carnage in besieged Gaza, in which Israel has reportedly killed over 60,000 Palestinians, displaced almost all 2.3 million Palestinians and created a starvation crisis in the blockaded enclave.

"To me, it (recognising Palestine) seems very reasonable. The carnage has been devastating," Franklin told TRT World.

"Watching those poor children and innocent people caught up in all of this is heartbreaking."

Most countries in the United Nations — 147 out of 193 — already recognise a Palestinian state, which currently has observer status at the UN.

Carney highlighted Canada's intent to recognise Palestine, stating the need for coordinated action to support peace and dignity amid civilian suffering.

"Preserving a two-state solution means standing with all people who choose peace over violence or terrorism, and honouring their innate desire for the peaceful co-existence of Israeli and Palestinian states as the only roadmap for a secure and prosperous future." 

Carney reiterated his commitment to deliver humanitarian aid in Gaza, and said Canada will increase efforts with Ottawa's partners to develop a plan that ensures the security of Palestine.

Another Canadian, Robert Copeland from Ontario state that borders US, also signalled support for the move, expressing solidarity with the Palestinians and what they have been through since October 2023.

"I feel for the Palestinians. What's happening there is wrong… It's tragic," Copeland told TRT World.

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Long overdue 

A recent survey indicates nearly half of Canadians support establishing a Palestinian state. Another 57 percent support public speech that supports Palestinians getting their own state. 

Many, however, argue that recognising Palestine was a long-overdue step.

Dunia Hamou, a Canadian living in the US state of California, told TRT World that this move is "overdue and symbolic." She added that she was surprised that everyone all of a sudden felt safe to speak against Israel's forced starvation in Gaza.

"The general population is who we need on our side, and this might give us a good push. The international community is with Palestine," she added.

Carney has, however, stipulated conditions for Canada's recognition of Palestinian sovereignty.

This includes the commitments by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas "to fundamentally reform its governance, to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarise the Palestinian state."

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a human rights and civil liberties group, has welcomed PM Carney's decision as a step in the right direction but called for unconditional recognition of Palestine’s right to be a sovereign state.

"This is a historic day for Canada. We're glad to see our country join the global majority towards the announcement of an upcoming formal recognition of Palestinian sovereignty in September," NCCM head Stephen Brown told reporters in Ottawa, last week.

"We will never stop recognising the right of Palestinian people to exist and their right to a sovereign state where they can govern themselves, set their own future and their inalienable right to self-determination," he said.

Brown emphasised the inalienable right, stating, "There can be no delays toward recognising this right," adding it "will never be subject to condition."

"This decision is more than symbolic," he added, rejecting false claims by the US and its ally Israel that recognition of Palestine rewards Hamas.

The Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council (CMPAC), an advocacy group, has also welcomed the government's decision but voiced objections to any attached conditions.

"The right to self-determination is not conditional; it is inherent, universal, and enshrined in international law," it said in a statement.

"Canada has no place dictating the terms of Palestinian sovereignty, including who Palestinians may choose to represent them or how they govern themselves."

It argued that references to demilitarisation or "acceptable leadership" undermine the legitimacy of a future Palestinian state and risk replicating past patterns of external control. 

Canada must uphold the principle that Palestine, like all other UN member states, has the right to exist as a fully sovereign, independent, and self-governing state – free from political preconditions or imposed limitations, CMPAC said.

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Palestinians viewed through the lens of Canada's First Nations

Others called for more concrete actions so that past patterns are not repeated.

Copeland said he welcomes Canada putting sanctions on Israel, saying he hopes Ottawa devises a plan to end the bloodshed in Gaza.

"I have no issue with them putting sanctions on them. I have no problem with that at all," Copeland said.

"I'm sure they're trying to work on some sort of solution. I'm quite proud of what Carney's been doing up to now, so I'm hoping for the best."

Hamou said that if Canada wants to be a champion of human rights, it needs to impose a firm arms embargo on Israel and push for an investigation at the International Criminal Court.

"I think Canada should impose an actual arms embargo on Israel. If Canada wants to be a champion of human rights, it could easily push for an ICC investigation into what so many legal, medical and human rights entities have called a genocide," Hamou said.

Recently, researchers from four NGOs — including World Beyond War, the Palestinian Youth Movement, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, and Independent Jewish Voices — claimed to have uncovered data from the Israel Tax Authority showing Canadian goods labelled as military weapon parts and ammunition continuing to enter Israel.

But Canada reaffirmed its ban on military exports that could be used in Gaza, rejecting the report suggesting that arms still flow to Israel from Canada.

Hamou likened Israel's colonial plan in Palestine to Canada's treatment of the First Nations in the country's early years, saying this reflection might change Ottawa's "passive" position.

"I wish Canada would take a look in the mirror and acknowledge our own colonial past, recognise the parallels between Canada's treatment of the First Nations and Israel's colonial plans in Palestine," she said.

"It would shift the narrative from positioning Canada as a passive mediator to a nation reckoning with its own history of settler colonialism."