US president Donald Trump said on Thursday it will be difficult to make a trade deal with Canada after the country announced it is backing Palestinian statehood.
Canada said on Wednesday that it would recognise Palestine as a state, if the Palestinian Authority commits to making certain changes including holding elections.
Prime minister Mark Carney said he had discussed such changes in a call with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and plans to formally recognise Palestine during the United Nations General Assembly in September.
“That will make it very hard for us to make a trade deal with them,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform shortly after midnight.
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The Canadian announcement follows similar ones by France and Britain, increasing the pressure on Israel to end the nearly two-year-old war in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli foreign ministry condemned the decision in a social media post.
“The change in the position of the Canadian government at this time is a reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages,” the ministry said.
Mr Carney said the recognition was contingent on commitments by the Palestinian Authority to exclude Hamas from any government, to return hostages to Israel and to hold elections next year, the first since 2006.
After France said last week it would recognise Palestinian statehood, Mr Carney reiterated his party’s long-running endorsement of a two-state solution with “a free and viable Palestine living in peace and side-by-side in peace and security with Israel”.
[ US says France’s decision to recognise Palestinian state ‘reckless’Opens in new window ]
At the United Nations on Monday, Anita Anand, Canada’s foreign minister, said her country would give the Palestinian Authority 10 million Canadian dollars, about €6.3 million, to help lay the foundation for an independent state.
After France’s announcement, Britain said it would recognise Palestinian statehood, but with a caveat: it would hold off if Israel agreed to a ceasefire.
Mr Carney made his announcement following a call with British prime minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday in which the two leaders discussed “the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza, as well as the United Kingdom’s statement on the recognition of a Palestinian state”, Mr Carney’s office said in a statement.
Before Mr Carney spoke on Wednesday, Canada’s foreign affairs department issued a joint statement from 15 countries, including France, Australia and Ireland, calling on other nations to either recognise the state of Palestine or “express the willingness or the positive consideration” of its statehood before the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Since he became prime minister in the spring, Mr Carney, the leader of the Liberal Party, has ratcheted up Canada’s criticisms of Israel’s actions in Gaza and repeatedly condemned the humanitarian crisis there.
The decision to recognise Palestine as a state will almost certainly strain relations with the United States. Mr Carney’s government is currently in trade talks with the Trump administration that, should they fail, could lead to increased tariffs as soon as Friday.
The move on Palestinian statehood will also likely be divisive domestically. During the recent Canadian election, the Conservative Party, campaigned on a platform that strongly endorsed the policies and actions of Israel in Gaza under prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. It also promised to deport foreign citizens who participated in pro-Palestine demonstrations.
– This article originally appeared in The New York Times
