Mark Carney offers support to Middle East peace deal, but no specifics pledged

Carney joined more than 20 other world leaders at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday for the hastily organized summit where U.S. President Donald Trump oversaw the signing of an agreement he brokered to end the war in Gaza. It led to the release of the last 20 living Israeli hostages and, in return, of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, but saw the ceasefire stall Tuesday over the release of Israeli hostage remains and Hamas fighting in Gaza.

At the summit, Trump welcomed Carney’s presence and others on stage, saying “Canada” had asked to come and he was grateful for the “president” of Canada’s attendance — a mistake Carney joked about as an upgrade in title, and Trump shrugged off, saying “at least I didn’t say governor.”

From the Canadian team’s perspective, the official said, the summit allowed frank discussions around logistics and practical actions that should be taken by the international community to keep up the momentum of Trump’s deal before Trump even got there, noting Carney’s meetings with Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Jordanian King Abdullah.

While Trump’s arrival from Israel to Egypt was delayed, a sit-down discussion between Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz morphed into a broader impromptu meeting with most of the other Muslim and Arab world leaders, as each arrived and pulled up a chair to form a circle, with no table between them, said the official.

They talked in depth and detail about what was needed next to turn the agreement into a lasting opportunity for peace in the war-torn territory, the source said.

“Imagine the G20 without the talking points and pomp and circumstance. We all came out of it, staffers, like, ‘wow, that was a useful meeting.’”

The first priority was their agreement on the immediate need to deliver more food and humanitarian aid quickly into Gaza, with leaders agreeing they must co-ordinate their efforts, and the second priority, according to the official, was how to quickly stabilize security in Gaza.

One option for Canada that was discussed is increasing its efforts at the Office of the Security Coordinator, an American-led program that already provides military and police training, as well as some civilian training to the Palestinian Authority security force in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, said the official.

Canada, through what Ottawa calls Operation Proteus, is the next largest contributor after the U.S. to that program, which some have suggested could play a role as a postwar, post-Hamas Palestinian Authority security force for Gaza.

“The Prime Minister is very pragmatic, and his view is, how do we take existing work and try to use it to better drive forward results here? Some countries that are in the region are focused on what they can do to bring immediate stability,” said the official.

Janice Stein, with the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, said the gathering telegraphed a new commitment to ensuring that Hamas and Israel lay down weapons.

“Carney, along with other leaders, went and — along with leaders across the Muslim world, with a few exceptions — sent a strong signal by their presence that they are going to continue to work at this, and that neither Hamas nor Israel is going to be permitted to go back to war.”

Stein said Canada would most likely contribute to humanitarian assistance and to policing, but suggested it is unlikely “that Canada will be putting boots on the ground because of how stretched our armed forces are.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told reporters in a call from India Tuesday that Canada has already contributed $400 million in support to the region, continues to rely on international aid organizations to deliver that aid to Gazans, but may increase its humanitarian assistance with international partners. “We will continue to be there with humanitarian aid, always.” 

Carney returned Tuesday from his travel to the region, having “briefly” spoken to Trump after the formal ceremony, according to the official, but it was unclear if trade was mentioned even in passing between them. All other talks were focused on the Middle East.

Across the international and domestic spectrum, political leaders credited Trump with the breakthrough. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, in a statement on the release of Israeli hostages, said: “We thank President Trump for his leadership negotiating a peaceful closure to this war and hope that it serves to bring lasting, generational peace.”

Trump, speaking to reporters on Air Force One on the trip, said that a new “Board of Peace” will be quickly set up to govern in Gaza, saying “everybody” wants to be part of it, adding he received “calls from all the leaders of countries.”

Asked if Canada is among those seeking to be involved, the senior Canadian official said only that “we are committed to contributing in whatever ways are going to be best.”

“Certainly, Canadians have a good deal of expertise in post-conflict resolution. We have a lot of experts in civil society building. We have tremendous capacity in peacekeeping. So, you know, there are lots of ways in which we can contribute. I think, in terms of in what specific way that manifests, all remains to be seen.”

And while the official said Carney’s team believes Canada’s recognition of Palestinian statehood — along with other nations — helped build momentum for the American-led peace deal, Trump on Monday night sounded an indifferent note about the prospects of a two-state solution to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We’re talking about rebuilding Gaza. I’m not talking about a single state or double state or two state. We’re talking about the rebuilding of Gaza,” Trump told reporters on his plane. “A lot of people like the one-state solution, some people like the two-state solutions. We’ll have to see. I haven’t commented on that.”

No Canadian media were given advance notice of Carney’s trip or permitted to accompany him because time and planning logistics did not allow it, according to the PMO.