Canada’s parliament urges 2-state solution, but not recognition of Palestinian state

Left-leaning coalition party’s resolution passes 204 to 117 after compromise leaves it in line with policy of Ottawa and G7, while beefing up anti-Hamas language

Illustrative: People stand near an illuminated Canadian Maple leaf as thousands gather in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to show their support for the Palestinians, on May 15, 2021. (Cole Burston/AFP)
Illustrative: People stand near an illuminated Canadian Maple leaf as thousands gather in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to show their support for the Palestinians, on May 15, 2021. (Cole Burston/AFP)

Canada’s parliament passed a non-binding motion late Monday calling on the international community to work toward a two-state solution to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, in line with government policy.

The vote had been delayed by last-minute wrangling over wording supporting Palestinian statehood, an idea that looked set to deepen splits inside the ruling Liberal Party.

The original motion was drawn up by the minority left-leaning New Democrats (NDP), who are helping to keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in power and are unhappy with what they see as his failure to do enough to protect Palestinian civilians amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The amended motion, which also adopted stronger language against the Palestinian terror group, passed by 204 votes to 117 after most of the Liberal caucus and cabinet — including Ya’ara Saks, who is Jewish and an Israeli citizen — voted in favor of the measure.

It was opposed by some Liberal members of parliament — Anthony Housefather, Ben Carr, and Marco Mendicino, a former federal minister.

The initial version called on Canada to “officially recognize the State of Palestine” — a step that no member of the Group of Seven industrialized nations has taken.

Illustrative: Anti-Israeli demonstrators wave Palestinian flags during a protest in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 9, 2023. (Cole Burston / AFP)

After backroom negotiations between the NDP and the Liberals, that wording was dropped in favor of language calling on the international community to work toward the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution.

Liberal and opposition legislators in the House of Commons complained that they had no notice of the new wording and demanded the chance to debate it, so proceedings were briefly suspended.

Last week, Canada said it had paused nonlethal military exports to Israel since January. Trudeau, while asserting Israel’s right to defend itself, has taken an increasingly critical stance over the Israeli military campaign in Hamas-run Gaza after the terror group’s devastating October 7 attack.

File – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ahead of talks with his Polish counterpart in Warsaw, on February 26, 2024. (Sergei Gapon/AFP)

The initial motion had demanded a suspension of all trade in military goods and technology with Israel. It also urged an immediate ceasefire, an end to illegal arms transfers to Hamas, and called on the group to release all the hostages it took during the October 7 attack.

There had been clear signs of division inside the Liberal caucus over policy toward the Gaza conflict, with prominent backbench legislators variously backing and opposing the motion.

Israeli Ambassador Iddo Moed had earlier condemned the original idea of a vote on Palestinian statehood, saying it would “only evoke more bloodshed and jeopardize any peaceful resolution to the conflict.”

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