Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declined Thursday to categorically exclude Canada from military participation in the expanding war between the United States, Israel, and Iran, as the conflict entered its sixth day and showed no sign of slowing.
Speaking alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a joint press conference in Canberra, Carney left the door open when asked whether Canada would stay out of the fighting.
“One can never categorically rule out participation,” Carney told reporters. “We will stand by our allies when it makes sense.”
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The prime minister drew a careful distinction, however, between Canada’s political alignment and direct military involvement. He noted that Washington and Jerusalem launched the February 28 strikes without notifying or consulting Ottawa, and said the attacks “prima facie appear inconsistent with international law.”
The US and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes against Iran on February 28, targeting leadership compounds, nuclear sites, and missile infrastructure in and around Tehran. Iran has since responded with waves of missile and drone strikes against Israeli territory, US military installations across the region, and, according to Azerbaijani authorities, two drones that struck its Nakhchivan exclave Thursday — making it the 11th country drawn into the conflict.
Carney has navigated an increasingly complicated position since the war began. He initially expressed support for the US objective of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, calling Canada’s stance one taken “with regret,” framing the conflict as “another example of the failure of the international order.”
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand separately described Iran as a “perpetrator of state terrorism” and said Ottawa had begun arranging charter flights and other evacuation options for more than 2,000 Canadian nationals who contacted the government for help exiting the Middle East.
Thursday’s remarks drew immediate criticism at home. Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong called Carney’s position “inherently incoherent,” arguing the prime minister was simultaneously condemning the legality of the strikes while leaving open Canada’s potential participation in them.
The conflict has rapidly widened beyond Iran’s borders. A US Navy submarine torpedoed and sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena on March 4 in the Indian Ocean off the southern coast of Sri Lanka — the first torpedo kill by an American submarine since World War II, and the first by any submarine since the Falklands War.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike from the Pentagon podium, calling it a “quiet death.” Meanwhile, the US Senate blocked a resolution that would have required President Donald Trump to withdraw American forces from the conflict absent explicit congressional authorization.
Canada has joined Australia, Germany, Finland, and more than a dozen other countries in expressing political support for the US-Israel campaign, while stopping short of committing troops or materiel. Carney reiterated Thursday that any path forward required de-escalation and an end to strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
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