This article originally appeared in the National Post.
By Alan Kessel, September 9, 2025
When Prime Minister Mark Carney steps up to the podium for a likely appearance at the United Nations General Assembly this month, the world will be listening — and so will Canadians. Any words offered by Carney on whether to recognize a Palestinian state will shape not only Canada’s foreign policy, but also his credibility as a leader at home.
This issue cuts to the core of Canadian values — compassion, justice and peace — but also moral clarity in the face of terror. On October 7, Hamas terrorists slaughtered, mutilated and abducted innocents in Israel, including Canadian citizens who had devoted their lives to peace. To recognize a Palestinian state in the shadow of those atrocities, without firm preconditions, would blur the line between victims and perpetrators and undermine Canada’s moral standing.
Polling shows that many people support Palestinian self-determination. But Canadians also understand nuance. Helping to broker peace is a Canadian value. Handing a political victory to extremists is not. That is why past governments, Liberal and Conservative alike, have made recognition conditional: direct negotiations with Israel, guarantees for Israeli security and a demonstrated rejection of violence. Recognition was always meant to be the culmination of peace efforts, not the starting point.
For Carney, the domestic stakes of the 80th UN General Assembly are real. Typically, Canadian prime ministers take part in the high-level debate, set to begin this year on Sept. 23, after the session officially opens on Sept. 9. Unconditional recognition risks alienating mainstream Canadians who value Canada’s reputation as a principled democracy. It would sharpen divides in communities already under strain and give critics ammunition to paint him as naive on foreign policy. It would also complicate Canada’s counter-terrorism laws, creating contradictions between our designation of Hamas as a terrorist group and our recognition of a state that’s still at least partially ruled by Hamas.
International law reinforces this caution. To qualify as a state under the accepted criteria — reflected in both the Montevideo Convention and customary international law practice — Palestinians must demonstrate: a defined territory, a permanent population, effective government and the ability to engage in foreign relations. The Palestinian Authority currently does not meet those standards. It lacks control over Gaza, where Hamas exercises effective rule, and its leadership under President Mahmoud Abbas is widely discredited and incapable of exercising authority. Pretending otherwise would not advance peace or justice; it would amount to lowering the bar for political convenience.
The safer and smarter path is also the more principled one. Recognition should follow — not precede — concrete and verifiable steps: the release of Israeli hostages; Hamas’s disarmament; reform of Palestinian institutions; and active support from Arab states moving toward normalization with Israel. Canadians will respect a prime minister who says: yes to Palestinian dignity, yes to peace, but no to rewarding mass murder.
This approach also gives Carney political room to manoeuvre. He can appeal to Canadians who are concerned about the suffering of civilians in Gaza, while balancing this empathy with the ongoing agony of hostages held underground and the constant threat of rocket fire and terror attacks faced daily by Israeli civilians. Canadians expect their leaders to hold both realities at once: compassion for Gazan civilians trapped in a brutal conflict, and unwavering solidarity with Israelis enduring Hamas’s relentless campaign of violence.
There is another dimension that cannot be ignored: the impact at home. Already, Canada’s streets have seen rising tensions, open glorification of Hamas and sharp increases in antisemitic incidents. If recognition of a Palestinian state is granted without conditions, it will be read by Hamas supporters and sympathizers in Canada as validation that terrorism works. That message would embolden the most extreme voices, threaten community cohesion and risk further unrest in our cities and on campuses. Canadians expect their prime minister to take this domestic reality into account when speaking on the world stage.
Canada has always prided itself on its principled foreign policy. Whether opposing apartheid in South Africa, promoting the “responsibility to protect” in the early 2000s, or standing with Ukraine today, Canadian governments have built their credibility on moral clarity paired with constructive engagement. Premature recognition of a Palestinian state would run against that tradition. It would not strengthen moderates or bring peace closer. It would instead embolden radicals and diminish Canada’s standing as a country that balances compassion with principle.
At next week’s General Assembly, Carney has the chance to show leadership that speaks not only to diplomats in New York but to families in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver who want Canada to live up to its values. Canadians do not expect their government to solve the Middle East conflict. But they do expect moral clarity: recognition should be the reward for peace, not the consolation prize for terror.
Canada believes in a future where Israelis and Palestinians can live side-by-side in peace and dignity. But that future must be built on accountability, justice and the rejection of violence. If Carney frames his General Assembly message this way, he will not only strengthen Canada’s voice abroad, he will reassure Canadians at home that their prime minister is principled, compassionate and clear-eyed in the face of extremism. That is the Canada the world needs to hear from, and the kind of country Canadians expect their prime minister to represent.
Alan Kessel is a former assistant deputy minister in the Government of Canada, former deputy high commissioner of Canada to the United Kingdom and a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute
