(Photo by the World Economic Forum via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0 DEED)
At the 2026 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gave a speech that impressed the attendees and millions watching worldwide. In the address he wrote himself, he discussed the world’s chaotic state following the many controversial policies of the United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump. He argued that Canada and other “middle powers” have often operated with wide latitude in the current global order.
Many liked his honesty about Canada’s complicity in U.S. aggression. Optimists saw this as a sign of a major change in Canada’s foreign policy stances. Yet, when his first test came less than two months later, it suggested he did not intend to depart significantly from Canada’s longstanding alignment with U.S. policy.
On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched pre-emptive strikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran. One widely reported strike hit an all-girls school in Minab, killing at least 165 school girls and injuring many more. Mark Carney’s response to the Iran War is a direct contradiction to his speech at the WEF. A closer look at Canada’s alliances and interests raises questions about Ottawa’s role and responsibility in how it responds to civilian harm.
Carney’s Contradictory Promise of an Equitable World
While international bodies condemned this strike as a violation of humanitarian law, Carney supported the U.S.-Israeli assault. He repeated the same talking points that the U.S. and Israel had used to justify attacks that resulted in civilian deaths. And even argued that Iran was the “principal source of instability and terror in the Middle East” and must not possess a nuclear weapon.
His office repeatedly referenced the human rights abuses charged towards Iran’s leadership, and supported the attacks. This response shows Carney’s willingness to go along with whatever the U.S. wants, but that is not all. The Prime Minister is continuing a time-honoured Canadian, American, and Israeli governmental tradition. That tradition is the repeated Western willingness of powerful states to tolerate large-scale civilian harm when strategic interests are at stake.
Colonialism as Control Over Land
Before we explain how Carney’s response aligns with most of the history of colonialism, a few things need to be established first. Many of us learn in school that colonialists would travel to other countries to steal their resources and kill anyone who resisted them. But something that is less discussed is the concept of land itself being a resource.
When you control land, you also control everything that is part of that land. Whether it is oil in Iran or diamonds in Sierra Leone, the party with control over land controls its resources. We can observe this in the creation of Canada as we know it today.
In the 1600s, French and British settlers began establishing the landmarks of Canada. This was not a peaceful mission, though, as many Indigenous People were impacted through violent state policy focused on assimilation. This process continued for centuries and is now widely recognized as colonial violence and, in some cases, genocide. Economic interests, specifically the ownership of land, were the guiding principle for the westward expansion of Canada. Although colonialism for economic interest is not as blatant today, it still occurs in a different way.
(Painting by John Gast via Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)
One of the main ways this happens today is through the manipulation of information. Many countries have been accused of human rights violations, but colonialists oppose those that do not give them what they want. In the case of Iran, we can see this in real time. I’ve already referenced Mark Carney’s office’s response to the U.S.-Israeli strikes, but even when addressing the public, he contradicts himself.
Canada’s Selective Approach to Human Rights
In the days following the strikes on Iran, Carney held a press conference regarding Canada’s involvement in the operation. He affirmed Canada was not aware of the planned strikes, but reiterated that Iran had committed crimes against their citizens.
Yet, as Numerous international organizations condemn Israel’s bombing of Gaza since October 2023 as a genocide, Carney still refuses to do so. Thousands of reports have come out over the past 80 years detailing the murder and abuse Palestinians face. Canada’s close relationship with Israel reflects strategic and economic ties, including cooperation across defence and security industries. The Israeli military and defence industries around the world are tightly linked, as Canadian and Israeli companies often work together.
For example, Canadian police regularly need to access people’s cell phones when conducting investigations. To do this, they use technology from an Israeli company called Cellebrite to scrape password-protected and encrypted devices. Some reporting has alleged that Israeli surveillance technologies are tested or deployed on Palestinians before being sold abroad.
This is just one of many examples of how Canada benefits from Israel’s existence. Canada is willing to ignore Israel’s crimes against Palestinians as long as they can get the technology for themselves. But Israel does not just sell to Canada; it goes the other way, too.
After the genocide in Gaza began, Canadians had been researching the relationship between Canada and Israel’s defence industries. They demanded an arms embargo on Israel, which the government seemingly honoured. Advocacy groups behind the No More Loopholes campaign allege that Canadian-made military components have continued to reach Israel indirectly through the U.S. export loophole.
This loophole inspired Bill C-233, the No More Loopholes Act, a bill written for Parliament by PM Jenny Kwan. The bill would impose stricter regulations on Canadian weapons sent to the U.S. Despite the government being majority Liberal, Carney’s party, it was still shot down.
How Does this Relate to the Iran War?
When Mark Carney is more than willing to condemn Iran’s crimes but not Israel’s, that is not accidental. He is picking and choosing when to stand on the side of humanity and when to ignore human suffering. He is not unaware of Canada’s violent history, nor are they unaware of the murders they are responsible for today. His economic interests just outweigh the value of thousands of Iranian lives. That is why he continues to support the U.S. and Israel’s war; he values resources more than people.
Still, the reason why it’s important to understand colonialism is that it explains the motivations for the Iran War. This motivation is colonialism, the forceful taking of resources from one country by another. Israel wants to colonize as much of the Middle East as possible to control the land and its resources. The United States and Canada both benefit from Israel being in control of the region, even if people are murdered.
At the beginning of April, President Trump posted a message saying “an entire civilization will die tonight”. Upon finding out about this threat, Carney published a statement urging “all parties to not target civilian infrastructure”. Iran had not threatened to commit genocide against Americans. Yet Carney portrayed them as equally as violent as the leader who threatened genocide. This is colonialism; it prioritizes the violent theft of resources and denies the humanity of the people they are killing.
Canada’s Colonial Legacy Continues
Canada has proven itself in the past to be genocidal toward people of colour if it means enriching itself. They have supported Israel throughout the Gaza genocide, and now again with the murder of thousands of Iranian civilians. Every time a war is waged for colonial interests, Canada stands on the side of the colonizer. This is not because of a moral failing or lapse in judgment, but because Canada needs colonialism to survive. Whether it be Indigenous People in Canada or Iranians abroad, if their deaths make Canada money, they will allow it.
(Photo by the World Economic Forum via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0 DEED)
Despite what he said at his WEF speech, Mark Carney has done nothing to push for a more equitable world. That lack of conviction in his words has made him complicit in the murder of over 3000 Iranians so far. Canada endorsed the normalization of civilian harm when it refused to condemn allies. His words at the WEF should not distract from what his government has chosen to defend.
Edited by Atena Abbaspourbenis
FXD.jpg){kind=link}
