Canada’s Liberal government has proposed an emergency debate in the House of Commons on the escalating conflict involving Iran, as Prime Minister Mark Carney convened senior ministers and spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump to assess the growing crisis in the Middle East.
Government House Leader and Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said the government has asked opposition parties to support a debate Monday evening focused on the hostilities in Iran and their implications for Canadians abroad.
The Prime Minister’s Office also confirmed that Carney spoke Sunday afternoon with Trump about developments in the Middle East, along with economic and trade issues. According to the PMO, the two leaders “agreed to remain in close contact.”
I spoke with President Trump this afternoon on a range of issues, including the economy, developments in the Middle East, and trade relations between our two countries — and we agreed to stay in close contact.
Earlier Sunday, Carney convened the federal government’s Incident Response Group with ministers and senior officials to evaluate the evolving conflict and its impact on Canadians.
The PMO said the meeting “focused on efforts to protect Canadians in the region and work with partners to de-escalate the conflict.”
Officials also discussed measures to help Canadians leave the region safely if the situation worsens. The meeting further examined security implications within Canada, including what the PMO described as “changes to the threat landscape” and the need for vigilance to strengthen domestic security.
The Prime Minister’s Office stressed that Canada has not been involved in the recent military actions targeting Iran.
“Canada was not consulted, did not participate, and has no plans to participate in the offensive actions against Iran that are being undertaken by the U.S. and Israel,” the PMO readout stated.
“The initial conflict has spread widely as a result of attacks by Iran and its proxies on other countries across the broader Middle East.”
Tensions in the region have intensified since airstrikes against Iran on February 28. In response, Tehran has launched missiles and drones targeting U.S. and Israeli positions across the Gulf.
Iranian state television reported Sunday that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the country’s late supreme leader who was killed in the February attack, has been named his successor.
The Liberal government’s position on the conflict has drawn mixed reactions in Ottawa.
Several Liberal caucus members publicly expressed unease last week after Carney initially voiced support for the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Speaking during a news conference in Australia days after the attack, Carney later said the airstrikes likely violated international law while expressing support for the mission with “regret.”
Interim NDP Leader Don Davies also criticized the government’s stance, describing it as “unprincipled, incoherent and contradictory” in a social media post.
