President Trump warned that it’ll be “very hard” to make a deal with Canada before Friday’s trade deadline after it recognized Palestine’s statehood.
“Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday morning.
The commander in chief’s post comes hours after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada will recognize a Palestinian state at the 80th General Assembly of the United Nations in September.
“Canada has long been committed to a two-state solution — an independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian state living side by side with the State of Israel in peace and security,” Carney wrote in a statement Wednesday.
The Canadian prime minister said that the decision was reached after Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas assured him he was “committed to lead much needed reform” and to “hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state.”
“Canada will increase its efforts in supporting strong, democratic governance in Palestine and the contributions of its people to a more peaceful and hopeful future,” he wrote — emphasizing that Hamas “must disarm” and that Canada “will always steadfastly support Israel’s existence.”
Israel quickly criticized Carney’s announcement, calling the recognition a “reward for Hamas.”
“The change in the position of the Canadian government at this time is a reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Canada is now the third of the US’s allies to announce its intention to recognize the State of Palestine.
Last week, France became the first major Western power to reveal plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September.
On Tuesday, the UK followed France’s lead to recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to a cease-fire in Gaza, allows aid to be brought in, and takes other steps toward long-term peace.
The Palestinian government has been a non-member observer state of the UN General Assembly since 2012. More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including a dozen in Europe.
US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Israel on Thursday to discuss Gaza.
Trump has also said this week that he expected centers to be set up to feed more people in the enclave.
Carney’s announcement to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state comes two days before Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline for countries to make a trade deal with the US or face tariffs.
Trump has promised a 35% tariff on Canadian goods if no deal is reached.
Ottawa exports about three-quarters of its goods to the US, including cars, auto parts and oil.
However, Carney said that he “would not accept a bad deal” with the US after months of stop-start talks.
“Our objective is not to reach a deal whatever it costs,” Carney said in Ontario last week. “We are pursuing a deal that will be in the best interest of Canadians.”
Carney suggested during a briefing in Ottawa Wednesday that trade talks with the US may not be wrapped up by the Friday deadline as officials continued to discuss “a broad variety” of topics.
“There are many areas for cooperation between Canada and the United States, including defense spending, security spending, investments,” he said.
“Which is one of the reasons why we’re having these broader discussions.”
with Post wires
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