Canada’s falling on the International stage, despite the positives.
On Sept. 21, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would formally recognize the State of Palestine. In his statement, Carney said the decision was “an affirmation of Canada’s long-standing support for a two-state solution, grounded in peace, security, and mutual recognition.” He argued Palestinian statehood was essential for “lasting peace in the region,” with the requirement that Hamas disarm, and democratic reforms take place in Palestine.
The statement uses the diplomatic style of wording that Canada has long favoured: measured, conditional, and cautious. But this recognition comes after decades of delay, and after one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory has devastated Gaza. As a politics student and as a human being, I can’t help but see this moment as precisely what it is: too little, too late.
To understand why timing matters, you have to confront the current reality in Gaza. According to the United Nations’ (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 90 per cent of Gaza’s population has been displaced over the past year, many multiple times. Families shelter in rubble or overcrowded UN schools, only to face bombardment there as well.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has documented disturbing levels of malnutrition in Palestine, with 18.5 per cent in Gaza City alone as of August, as food insecurity has become outright famine in some areas. Over 845 people have been killed inside UNRWA-run schools and shelters, places meant to be safe. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has called the situation “a stain on our collective humanity.”
Even the act of receiving aid has become deadly. In July, the UN Human Rights Office reported that 798 people were killed while lining up at food distribution sites, an unthinkable act that has become normalized during the current blockade. One UN investigator said this situation was “humanitarian assistance weaponized.”
The toll extends beyond hunger. Gaza’s healthcare system has collapsed under siege. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), fewer than 30 per cent of hospitals remain partially functional, with no access to critical supplies like anesthesia or dialysis equipment. Doctors perform amputations without painkillers. Meanwhile, power outages and fuel shortages have left incubators, water pumps, and refrigeration units useless.
In short, recognition of Palestinian statehood might be diplomatically significant, but it doesn’t fill a child’s stomach or keep the lights on in a neonatal ward. It doesn’t rebuild bombed apartment blocks or bring back thousands of dead men, women, and children.
Let me be clear: I don’t want to dismiss Canada’s recognition of Palestinian statehood entirely. Symbolism has power. Canada’s decision will shift the government’s view of the conflict: Palestinians have become a political entity with legitimate claims. That matters. It also places Canada in line with the 143 UN member states that voted in favour of Palestinian statehood in May 2024 at the General Assembly (UNGA, 2024). As of September 23, 2025, over a year after this General Assembly vote, the State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign nation by 157 UN member states, representing 81 per cent of members.
International law is also reshaped by recognition. Canada’s position now strengthens Palestine’s ability to press claims in international platforms, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC). With this recognition of Palestinian statehood by Parliament, the current conflict must now be viewed as a war of two states, with one having invaded and occupied the other. As Open Canada states, there should be no difference in the treatment of the annexation of the West Bank by Israel and Crimea by Russia.
But symbolism can’t stand alone. Recognition without follow-through does nothing. It risks becoming the political equivalent of “thoughts and prayers,” making us feel virtuous while changing nothing on the ground.
If you read Canada’s statement closely, you’ll notice the emphasis on Hamas’s disarmament, the importance of Israel’s security, and the requirement for compromise on both sides. These caveats aren’t inherently wrong, but they reveal Canada’s priorities. Israel is reassured, while Palestinians are recognized with conditions attached.
This statement is consistent with Canada’s broader pattern of hesitating to act. We condemned Hamas’s October 2023 attacks, but when Israel responded with disproportionate force, including cutting off water, food, and electricity to two million people, Canada went back to using both-sides language. When allies such as Ireland, Spain, and Norway recognized Palestine in 2024, Canada remained silent.
Why? Partly domestic politics: fear of alienating voters, fear of inflaming polarization. Partly geopolitics: Canada rarely strays too far from the United States’ foreign policy, and Washington has been reluctant to embrace recognition of Palestine without strings attached. But partly, it’s also a habit: Canada has long styled itself as a cautious middle power, allergic to bold moral stands unless they’re safe.
That’s what makes this recognition feel hollow. Canada didn’t move when it could have made a difference. It moved now, because it was politically convenient. After all, the scale of devastation was undeniable, and doing nothing would’ve left Ottawa further isolated diplomatically.
If this recognition is to be more than symbolic, Canada must treat it as a beginning, not an end. Here’s what that requires:
First, a push for an enforceable ceasefire and humanitarian access. Recognition means little if Palestinians continue dying in lines for food aid. Canada must use its seat in multilateral forums, like the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, to push for binding resolutions on aid delivery and civilian protection.
Second, there needs to be an end the double standard on accountability. Ottawa’s been hesitant about the ICC’s jurisdiction over Palestine. That must change. If recognition means anything, Canada must support investigations into all war crimes, whether committed by Hamas or by Israeli officials.
Thirdly, Canada can’t continue arms exports to Israel while lecturing Palestinians about reforms. Recognition should mean recalibrating aid and trade, including arms deals, so they align with human rights obligations. In addition, Canada must invest in Palestinian institutions. Statehood isn’t just a proclamation. Canada should support elections, governance training, civil society, and humanitarian infrastructure so Palestine can function as a sovereign state.
Lastly, Canada must sustain attention. Recognition will be meaningless if Canada drops the issue after the headlines fade. It must commit to a multi-year plan across successive governments, not just a single symbolic moment.
If Canada stops here, several risks are clear: including Credibility loss, diplomatic irrelevance, normalization of tragedy, and Palestinian disillusionment.
While Canada brands itself as a champion of the rules-based international order. However, if this recognition isn’t followed by enforcement, Canada will be seen as a country of hollow words. In that void, other actors, including authoritarian powers, will fill the void, reducing Canada’s influence in future negotiations.
Symbolism on its own risks teaching the world that mass suffering can be met with token recognition instead of real action. For many Palestinians, recognition now will feel like an apology without reparations. Unless Canada does more, it risks fueling the belief that diplomacy is useless.
So yes, I welcome Canada’s recognition of Palestine. But I refuse to celebrate it. It came too late to save lives, too late to avert famine, too late to prevent mass displacement. It arrived only once the truth of the situation in Palestine was unavoidable. That doesn’t make it irrelevant; it just means it must be the first part of greater advocacy. Canada has the opportunity to match symbolism with real action: to push for ceasefires, demand accountability, and lay the groundwork for genuine Palestinian sovereignty. If it fails to do so, history will remember this recognition not as bold leadership, but as a hollow gesture issued when it no longer mattered.
Palestinians deserve more than that. And frankly, so do Canadians who want our country’s foreign policy to mean something beyond empty words. Recognition of Palestine shouldn’t be the final word. It should be our first step.
Keira Spurrell is a fourth-year Political Studies and History student.
Tags
Canada, Israel, Opinions, Palestine, UN
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.