Carney Says Canada to Contribute to Freedom of Navigation in Hormuz Strait as US, Iran Agree to Ceasefire

A police speedboat patrols the port as oil tankers and high-speed craft sit anchored near the Strait of Hormuz in Muscat, Oman, on March 30, 2026. Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Prime Minister Mark Carney, along with nine European leaders, say they welcome the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, and will contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Carney and the leaders of Denmark, the European Commission, the European Council, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom made the comments in an April 8 joint statement.

“We welcome the two-week ceasefire concluded between the United States and Iran today,” the leaders said. “We thank Pakistan and all partners involved for facilitating this important agreement.”

The two-week ceasefire, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump late on April 7 following mediation led by Pakistani officials, suspends escalating strikes that threatened to disrupt global energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz and escalate into a wider regional war.

The announcement came after Trump warned earlier that day that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran failed to meet the 8 p.m. ET deadline to reach a deal, and after Pakistan’s request that the United States pause the attack.

Trump made the warning a day after he said that the United States could take out Iran in a single night if Tehran refused the terms of the ceasefire agreement. He had been threatening to destroy Iran’s energy sector and infrastructure for weeks in retaliation for Iran’s targeting of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

In announcing the ceasefire, Trump said he would suspend attacks on Iran, provided Tehran agreed to the complete and immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

He noted that Iran’s 10-point proposal was a “workable basis on which to negotiate,” and said almost all of the points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but the two-week period would allow the agreement to be “finalized and consummated.”

The U.S. president also posted a photo of a statement from Iran’s minister of foreign affairs, saying Tehran would cease its defensive operations if attacks against Iran are halted, and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces for the two-week period.

Carney and the European leaders said the goal must now be to negotiate a “swift and lasting end to the war within the coming days,” which they said can only be accomplished through diplomatic means.

“We strongly encourage quick progress towards a substantive negotiated settlement,” the leaders said. “This will be crucial to protect the civilian population of Iran and ensure security in the region. It can avert a severe global energy crisis.”

The leaders said they are in close contact with the United States and other partners.

“Our Governments will contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the leaders said, but did not specify what their contributions might be.

Carney had told reporters on March 26 that Canada might join efforts to ensure ships can move freely through the Strait of Hormuz in the case of a ceasefire.

Canada joined five European countries and Japan earlier this month in announcing their “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts” to ensure the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

The March 19 joint statement came after Trump called on NATO allies and others earlier that week to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and most alliance members initially offered little to no support. The U.S. president criticized the response and later said the United States no longer needed help from NATO allies.

Trump issued a warning to NATO allies on March 18, saying they benefit “far more” from the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz than the United States does, and said he wondered “what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Strait?’”

Israel-Lebanon

Carney and the European leaders are also calling on all sides to implement the ceasefire, including Lebanon.

Lebanon and Pakistan say the ceasefire agreement extends to Lebanon, but Israel—backing Donald Trump’s two-week suspension of strikes on Iran—maintains that the deal does not apply there.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government helped broker the ceasefire deal, said on social media after the deal was announced that Iran and the United States, along with its allies, had agreed to an immediate ceasefire “everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere,” effective immediately.

Meanwhile, Trump told PBS on April 8 that Lebanon was not included in the ceasefire deal “because of Hezbollah.”

Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanon, targeting more than 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites on April 8, according to the Israel Defence Forces, which called the attack its largest coordinated strike in Lebanon.

Iran reportedly closed the Strait of Hormuz again on April 8 in response to the Israeli attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Local media outlets in Tehran have reported that Tehran will withdraw from the ceasefire deal if Israel continues to strike Lebanon.

Sharif said on April 8 that violations of the ceasefire have been reported at a few places across the conflict zone, which he said undermines the peace process.

“I earnestly and sincerely urge all parties to exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire for two weeks, as agreed upon, so that diplomacy can take a lead role towards peaceful settlement of the conflict” Sharif said in a post on X.

The Associated Press, Tom Ozimek, and Victoria Friedman contributed to this report.