The Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council (CMPAC) welcomes Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement of Canada’s recognition of the State of Palestine. This is an important step in Canada’s foreign policy and a long overdue affirmation of the Palestinian people’s right to self determination and statehood.

This development is a testament to the tireless efforts of Palestinian advocates, Canadian advocacy organizations, and global movements who have pressed governments to align their policies with international law and human rights. It is also reflective of a broader international shift. More and more states are recognizing Palestine, strengthening the legal and diplomatic basis for accountability and ensuring that the Palestinian struggle is no longer treated in abstract terms, but as a matter of relationships between states.

Yet, while we acknowledge the significance of this step, the Prime Minister’s statement introduces troubling conditionalities that undermine both the principles of international law and the reality of Palestinian self-determination.

1.1 Recognition within the Framework of International Law

Recognition of a state is not a discretionary favour extended by one government to another; it is a legal act acknowledging an already existing right. The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination has been affirmed repeatedly in international law, including in the UN Charter (Articles 1 and 55), General Assembly Resolution 3236 (1974), and the 2004 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

These instruments make clear that self-determination is an inalienable right of peoples under occupation, not contingent upon negotiations with the occupying power or upon the satisfaction of governance benchmarks set by external actors. Recognition therefore affirms an existing status, rather than conferring one.

Recognition and normalized bi-lateral relations cannot be contingent on domestic reforms, ‘demilitarization’, approval of the occupying power, electoral outcomes, or the exclusion of particular political actors. Canada’s attempt to attach these conditions is inconsistent with international norms and risks perpetuating the very denial of sovereignty recognition seeks to end.

By recognizing Palestine, Canada affirms that Palestinians are not merely a population under administration but a people with the right to determine their political, economic, and social future.

1.2 The Flaws of Conditionality

The Prime Minister’s framing of recognition around Palestinian Authority commitments to elections, reforms, and demilitarization sets a dangerous precedent. Recognition is not a bargaining chip. Self-determination, as articulated in UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (1960) and subsequent jurisprudence, does not permit external states to dictate the internal political arrangements of a people exercising that right. The right to statehood cannot be conditioned on internal governance arrangements that are themselves distorted by decades of occupation, blockade, and systematic fragmentation of Palestinian society.

To predicate recognition on the exclusion of specific Palestinian political actors ignores both international law and the lived reality of Palestinians in Gaza. More fundamentally, it positions Canada as an arbiter of Palestinian politics rather than respecting the principle that sovereignty belongs to the people. Self-determination means Palestinians, not foreign governments, must decide who represents them, through democratic means, free from external interference and pressure.

1.3 Recalibrating Canada’s Foreign Policy

Canada, having now recognized Palestine, must adjust its foreign policy to reflect its obligations under international law and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) framework. A recognized state of Palestine must be defended from genocide, war crimes, and systematic violations of its sovereignty. This includes Israel’s continued aggression, from settlement expansion and annexation votes in the Knesset to the famine and mass civilian deaths in Gaza. It is the ongoing violation of the sovereignty of a recognized state. Recognition should therefore sharpen Canada’s legal and diplomatic response:

  • End all military and security trade with Israel to ensure Canadian weapons and components are not used to support the occupation and destruction of a recognized state.
  • Support accountability through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) for crimes committed against Palestinians.
  • Demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the lifting of Israel’s siege on Gaza.
  • Align Canada’s bilateral relations accordingly, by establishing full diplomatic and consular relations with Palestine. Trade, aid, and development programs must now be structured within a state-to-state framework, ensuring they support Palestinian sovereignty rather than perpetuate dependency or fragmentation.

Recognition must translate into policy as it carries legal and political obligations that cannot be selectively applied. Recognition must also translate into action that would have normally been taken to protect another friendly state from genocide.