OTTAWA — The Green Party of Canada welcomes Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement that Canada will recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations this September — but warns that recognition must be accompanied by immediate humanitarian action and an end to arms shipments fueling the genocide in Gaza.

“This is a long-overdue shift in Canadian foreign policy,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, speaking on Al Jazeera following the Prime Minister’s remarks. “But between now and September, we must do far more than talk. Canada must move swiftly to end the suffering we are seeing daily — through an arms embargo, full access for humanitarian aid, and diplomatic pressure on all parties.”

May acknowledged that the recognition of Palestine is a departure from decades of Canadian alignment with U.S. policy in the region. “Canadians have felt complicit in this horror for too long,” she said. “We cannot decry Hamas’s atrocities while ignoring the deliberate starvation and collective punishment of civilians in Gaza.”

Carney’s announcement came just hours after the release of a U.N.-backed report confirming that the worst-case famine scenario is now unfolding in Gaza. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, endorsed by multiple U.N. agencies, found that one in five people in Gaza are facing starvation, with children at extreme risk.

In response, the Green Party is calling on the Government of Canada to:

  • End all arms exports to Israel, in accordance with Canada’s legal obligations under international humanitarian law;
  • Demand immediate humanitarian access to Gaza, including food, clean water, fuel, and medical supplies;
  • Recognize Palestinian statehood without delay, as a step toward a two-state solution grounded in peace, human rights, and accountable civilian governance.

May emphasized that recognition alone is not enough. “We promised an arms embargo in the last Parliament, only to see weapons continue to flow. We can’t repeat that pattern,” she said. “We must join like-minded nations in pushing for compassionate assistance now — not in six weeks.”

The Green Party continues to stand in solidarity with humanitarian organizations and the global movement calling for justice, dignity, and an end to the violence.

“There is no point in talking about a two-state solution,” said May, “if one of those states has been reduced to rubble and starvation. Canada must lead — not lag — in defending human rights.”

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