Trudeau Explains Canada’s Policy Change in Abstaining From UN Vote on Palestinian Membership

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during an announcement near Saskatoon on April 23, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada has changed its longstanding policy by abstaining from a vote on Palestine’s membership to the United Nations.

Canada has traditionally sided with Israel and rejected such U.N. resolutions. Mr. Trudeau said Canada abstained from voting because of its commitment to reaching a “two-state solution” involving the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state that would exist alongside Israel.

“Unfortunately, over the past while, we’ve seen us move further away from that two-state solution. The Israeli government under Prime Minister Netanyahu has unacceptably closed the door on any path towards a two-state solution,” Mr. Trudeau said during a May 10 press conference in Kelowna, B.C. “And we disagree with that fundamentally.”

The prime minister added that Hamas “continues to govern as a terrorist organization in Gaza, continues to put civilian lives in danger, continues to refuse to recognize the state of Israel in ways that are also unacceptable.”

This explains why Canada has “decided to change our position from ‘No’ at the U.N. to abstaining,” he said.

Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from the May 10 U.N. vote on granting Palestine additional procedural rights in U.N. forums and asking the Security Council to reconsider Palestinian statehood. The resolution passed 143 in favour to nine against, with those opposed including Israel, Argentina, and the United States.

Israel’s embassy in Canada commented on the vote on social media saying, “A Palestinian state at times like this, especially after the horrors against innocent Israeli citizens is a prize for terror. It is just wrong!”

The U.S. used its veto on the UN Security Council in April to block the granting of full U.N. member status to Palestine. U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters that while the U.S. supports a two-state solution, it must be achieved with Israel’s security guaranteed.

Along with the abstention vote, Mr. Trudeau announced another policy change related to the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying that peace would not be a pre-condition for the creation of a Palestinian state.

“We now recognize that it may happen sooner than at the end of the process as a way of pushing towards that two-state solution,” he said.

Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the U.N., said during the U.N. vote that Canada will recognize Palestine statehood at a time most conducive to lasting peace, adding that this isn’t necessarily after a final peace accord with Israel.

“We believe there must be continued progress toward Palestinian self-determination and we will not, and cannot, afford to give up,” he said.

The Liberal government has taken other steps that have diverted from Canada’s traditional policy on Israel-Palestine since Hamas conducted its terrorist attack inside Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The raid resulted in around 1,200 Israeli casualties and the kidnapping of over 200 others.

In December, Canada again voted against Israel, supporting a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. The resolution demanded an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” and “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” while stating that it “does not condemn Hamas or make any specific reference to the extremist group.”

Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the Canadian government, issued a statement thanking Canada and other countries for calling for a ceasefire.