Canada won’t unilaterally recognize Palestine after all, as NDP walks back key demand

Late Monday night, March 18, 2024, Canada’s lawmakers voted to keep a key part of the country’s foreign policy on Israel-Palestine the same as it’s been for decades. The controversial opposition-led motion, originally put forward to the House of Commons by the NDP’s foreign affairs critic and a longtime Palestinian advocate, Heather McPherson, called for Canada to immediately recognize Palestine as a state. She and others donned keffiyehs and watermelon pins during the House vote. But a last-minute deal with the Liberal government saw the NDP agree to remove that seemingly critical demand. In the end, the motion simply restated Canada’s longstanding view that a Palestinian state must be contingent on a two-state solution, and should come only as part of a negotiated peace between Israel and Palestinians. The motion, which is non-binding and purely symbolic, nonetheless passed 204-117, leading to celebrations from the NDP, Green Party and Bloc Québécois—while Jewish communal organizations swiftly expressed outrage over the motion’s call for an immediate ceasefire, continued funding for UNRWA and a ban on weapons sales to Israel. (The motion also calls for the immediate release of Israeli hostages and blames Hamas for the murders and kidnappings of Israelis.) On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we bring you highlights from the fiery debate, including words from Jewish MPs who voted against the motion—including Anthony Housefather, Melissa Lantsman and Marty Morantz—as well as Jewish MPs who voted in favour, such as Liberal Julie Dabrusin and the NDP’s Leah Gazan. (Karina Gould and Ya'ara Saks also voted in favour, while Ben Carr voted no.)