As the US-Israeli war on Iran enters its 13th day with no end in sight, Prime Minister Mark Carney is attempting to draw a firm line — telling the House of Commons on Tuesday that Canada is not involved in the conflict and “will never participate in it.” But his statement came after nearly two weeks of shifting positions that have drawn sharp criticism from all opposition parties and even some of his own Liberal caucus.
Carney’s March 10 remarks were his clearest declaration yet — but opposition leaders noted they arrived only after the prime minister skipped a parliamentary debate on the war that his own government had called, choosing instead to attend a community Iftar event.
“In this time of crisis, Canadians deserve to know where their prime minister stands,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said during the March 9 debate, as Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Defence Minister David McGuinty spoke in Carney’s place. “Indeed, they deserve to know where their prime minister is.”
Poilievre said Carney has “taken four different positions on the war in the Middle East in four days.”
When the strikes launched on February 28, Carney initially voiced support for the US-Israeli operation. Days later, speaking at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia during a trade-focused trip, he said he backed the strikes “with some regret” and that they appeared “prima facie inconsistent with international law” — the first acknowledgment from Ottawa that Canada had not been consulted or informed in advance.
The following day in Canberra, he went further, saying he could not “categorically rule out” Canadian military participation if allies called for assistance.
Read: Carney Refuses to Rule Out Military Role in Iran War as Conflict Enters Sixth Day
It was that comment that drew the sharpest backlash at home. NDP interim leader Don Davies called the government’s overall communications on the war “unprincipled, contradictory and incoherent,” while Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet criticized Carney for “travelling the globe like Marco Polo” rather than accounting to Parliament.
Some Liberal MPs told The Hill Times that Carney should have consulted his own caucus before his initial statement of support for the strikes. “What the hell is this?” one Liberal MP said.
The conflict at day 13
The war, launched as part of Operation Epic Fury on February 28, has killed at least 1,255 people in Iran according to the latest Al Jazeera tracker, with Iranian officials putting the civilian toll higher at more than 1,300. The US military says it has struck more than 5,000 targets inside Iran. At least eight US service members have been killed and roughly 140 wounded.
The conflict escalated significantly on Day 12, when Iran and Hezbollah carried out a joint attack on Israel, with the IRGC claiming strikes on more than 50 targets across the country. Israel launched large-scale retaliatory strikes in Lebanon in response. The number of people killed in Lebanon since Israel renewed operations there now stands at 570, with more than 1,444 wounded.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply transits, remains effectively closed. At least two vessels were struck near the strait on Day 12, flying the flags of Japan and Thailand. The International Energy Agency has agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of crude oil to offset supply disruptions; oil had surged to nearly $120 a barrel at the height of the market shock before partially retreating.
Read: Amid Hormuz blockade, a few ships are moving
The war has also produced its most politically damaging moment for the Trump administration: an ongoing Pentagon investigation into a US airstrike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed roughly 175 students. Preliminary findings reported by The New York Times on March 11 indicated the strike used outdated targeting data. UN human rights experts have characterized it as a potential war crime under the Rome Statute.
Canada’s position going forward
Carney’s government has confirmed Canada was not consulted before the strikes and has no intention of joining the military campaign. Foreign Affairs Minister Anand told the Commons on March 9 that Canada “condemns attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure” and that “the focus must be on rapid de-escalation.”
Carney told reporters he had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron on March 10 and that G7 leaders would seek a “common stance on de-escalation.” He also spoke with Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
What remains unresolved is Canada’s posture if the conflict widens and allies invoke mutual defence commitments. Carney has declined to answer that question definitively, and opposition parties say they will continue pressing him in the Commons for clarity on what conditions, if any, would change Ottawa’s calculus.
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