Canadian Prime Minister Defends Israel and the U.S. as they Commit War Crimes
Photograph Source: The White House – Public Domain
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a statement on the unprovoked and potentially catastrophic war of aggression Israel and the United States launched on Iran. And it is as mealymouthed and nauseating as one would expect.
Carney actually has the unmitigated gall to blame Iran for all of this. He makes the claim that “the Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East, has one of the world’s worst human rights records, and must never be allowed to obtain or develop nuclear weapons.”
No one who understands or is committed to solidarity or collective liberation would defend the brutality of the oppressive, theocratic government of Iran. But Carney isn’t interested in “standing with the Iranian people.” If he did, he would demand an end to the sanctions that have crippled the Iranian working class.
Carney has also had nothing to say about Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza or its campaign of ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank. Instead, he repeats the same old tired lie that “Israel has the right to defend itself.”
Does Carney believe that murdering at least 63 school girls between the ages of 7 and 12 is “Israel defending itself?” The primary school was among the first targets of the United States and Israel.
Carney comes from a long liberal legacy of vile capitulation to American and Western imperialism. His much lauded speech in Davos wasn’t a challenge to this order. On the contrary, he was merely pointing out that Canada would just be more honest about its ruthless character and defend that order, nonetheless.
For all the bluster about Carney being a foil to Trumpian fascism and imperialistic ambitions, he said “Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security.”
As Israel and the United States potentially plunge the world into a war that can easily become nuclear, we should not expect Mark Carney to resist any of the barbarism that will undoubtedly follow. His government is as hollow as everyone before it, beholden to the most ruthless, lawless and powerful hegemon the world has ever known, even if it is a rapidly sinking ship being steered by a fascist predator that is dragging everyone it can down with it as it goes.
As Canada’s Mark Carney heads to Australia, how did he become the darling of the global anti‑Trump movement?
THE CONVERSATION
Published: March 2, 2026
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is having a moment.
While every leader in the world has to grapple with the abrupt and arbitrary decision-making of United States President Donald Trump, few have had to do so with such high stakes as America’s neighbour and ostensible ally to the north.
With more than two-thirds of Canadian exports bound for the US, bilateral trade is a matter of economic life and death for Canada. Since his return to office in January 2025, Trump has made repeated references to Canada becoming America’s “51st state” in an effort to put economic and political pressure on its northern neighbour.
Despite this, Carney has met the challenge with rare candour.
In his recent speech at this year’s World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Carney gave the world a word for the transformations now underway, describing a “rupture” in the international rules-based order.
The speech was remarkable in its honesty on other fronts, as well. Effectively, Carney acknowledged what everyone knows, but no one in a position of power has previously admitted: even before Trump’s return to the White House for a second term, the US-led liberal international order was deeply unfair in its distribution of prosperity and security.
Why was Carney able to say what others would not, or could not, on such a high-profile stage?
In many ways, his background and present role give him unique credibility in the eyes of the wealthy and powerful who gather each year at Davos.
Born and raised in northern and western Canada, Carney’s academic and professional career played out on a larger stage. Following a PhD in economics at the University of Oxford in 1995, he pursued a career in finance and banking that took him to the heights of both the private and public financial world.
After more than a decade working at the American multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs, Carney entered Canadian public service, eventually becoming governor of the Bank of Canada in 2008 under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He went on to become the first non-British head of the Bank of England, serving in that role from 2013-2020.
His governorships coincided with tumultuous times in both countries, spanning the sub-prime financial crisis, Brexit and the early days of the COVID pandemic. While not without criticism, Carney’s performance in both countries won significant acclaim, leading to other international leadership roles.
By early 2025, Carney threw his hat in the ring to replace Canada’s beleaguered Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was trailing badly in public opinion polls. Carney won that race convincingly, and shortly after led the revived Liberals to a narrow but definitive victory over the Conservatives in a federal election in April 2025.
Read more: Game change Canadian election: Mark Carney leads Liberals to their fourth consecutive win
The party’s stunning come-from-behind victory was fuelled significantly by Trump’s 51st state talk and other forms of coercion.
Commanding respect
Carney has a remarkable CV by any measure. He has moved from the heights of academia to business, finance and finally, government. In politics, he’s been successful in both Liberal and Conservative political environments. That broad credibility ensured that when he spoke from the podium at Davos about a rupture in an already unequal global political system, his words would be taken seriously.
Carney’s role as prime minister of Canada has also played a role in making him the poster boy of a global anti-Trump movement. Since Trump’s return to office, Canada has been on the front lines of America’s movement away from long-held alliances towards a more mercurial, coercive and even predatory foreign policy.
Trump’s penchant for insulting Canadian leaders, threatening Canadian sovereignty and weakening the Canadian economy in the service of American interests makes Canada an important test case that other American partners can learn from.
Within Canada itself, Carney is popular, though his responses to Trump have not always been without criticism. Some have pointed to a recurring gap between rhetoric and action.
Carney’s swift move to endorse the recent US attacks on Iran fit this pattern, as well. Yet, such appeasement hasn’t been rewarded with reciprocity by the Trump administration.
Seeking partners
As Carney visits the Pacific Rim, including a stop in Australia, there’s no question he’s put himself — and Canada — in the global spotlight for his handling of Trump.
His speech in Davos sketched out a vision of an alternate global order that Canada and other like-minded countries might collectively pursue as a defence against the chaotic and unstable world unleashed by Canada’s former friend and ally. However, that rhetoric is not yet reality.
Accordingly, on his visit to India, Japan and Australia, Carney is looking to find partners for that vision. He’s seeking opportunities to improve relations, expand trade and cooperate on issues of Pacific security.
The old world order is not coming back. What Carney achieves in his foray to the Pacific Rim may help determine what new order, if any, emerges in its place.
Author
Lecturer, Political Science, University of British Columbia
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As the US and Israel once again set the region a light, the Carney government has shamefully expressed “support” for the aggression on Iran. In 48 hours over 5000 have written the PM condemning his support for the attacks and now that the violence is spiralling out of control foreign affairs minister Anand seems to be toning down her initial belligerence and is seeking to head off controversy over Canadians involved in the aggression. Despite Minister Anand's claims, Canadian troops have likely assisted the airstrikes through NORAD, a Canadian base adjacent to the US base in Kuwait and Canadian troops stationed on US bases in the region. Please email the defence minister and opposition critics to call for the withdrawal of all Canadian soldiers assisting the US/Israeli aggression on Iran. Read Our Statement: Condemnation of the Illegal and Unjust War on Iran by the United States |
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