United States President Donald Trump has expressed difficulties in making a trade deal with Canada after it announced its intention to back Palestinian statehood, following the examples of the United Kingdom and France amid growing international condemnation of Israel’s war on Gaza. “Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday.
This development comes as Canada and the US work on negotiating a trade deal by August 1, the date Trump is threatening to impose a 35 percent tariff on all Canadian goods not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Carney announced on Wednesday that Canada is planning to recognise the State of Palestine at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September if certain conditions are met.
Recognising Palestinian statehood, Carney said, is necessary to preserve hopes of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a longstanding Canadian goal that is “being eroded before our eyes”. The prime minister emphasised that the worsening suffering of civilians in Gaza leaves “no room for delay in coordinated international action to support peace”.
However, Carney’s decision is predicated on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to much-needed reforms. The Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, would have to “hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarise the Palestinian state” for Canada to go ahead with recognition.
Canada’s move follows similar announcements by France and the UK. President Emmanuel Macron said France would formally recognise a Palestinian state during the same UN meeting, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the UK will formally recognise the State of Palestine in September unless Israel takes various “substantive steps”, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Carney stressed that Canada has been an unwavering member of the group of nations that hoped a two-state solution “would be achieved as part of a peace process built around a negotiated settlement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority”. Regrettably, this approach is no longer tenable, Carney said, citing “Hamas terrorism” and the group’s “longstanding violent rejection of Israel’s right to exist”.
The Israeli embassy in Ottawa criticised Canada’s decision, saying “recognising a Palestinian state in the absence of accountable government, functioning institutions, or benevolent leadership, rewards and legitimises the monstrous barbarity of Hamas on October 7, 2023”. In contrast, the Palestinian Authority’s Abbas welcomed the announcement as a “historic” decision.
Meanwhile, the US Senate has rejected bids to block arms sales to Israel, with the most recent vote occurring on July 31, 2025, where the proposal failed by 73 to 24 and 70 to 27 in the 100-member chamber. This move underscores the US’s unwavering support for Israel despite growing international condemnation of Israel’s actions in Gaza.