Liberal MPs introduced a motion on Thursday to consider paths to recognition of a Palestinian state, according to information obtained by CBC News.
The text of the motion, tabled in a closed session of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, urges the government to explore the quickest path towards recognition of a Palestinian state and asks the committee to hold four review meetings on the issue, the sources said.
CBC News agreed not to identify the sources as they were not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.
CBC News reached out to several lawmakers on the committee across party lines, but none responded to comment, citing the confidential nature of the closed-door meeting.
The motion was approved by the committee’s NDP and Bloc Quebecois members but did not come to a vote due to obstruction by Conservative members, according to sources.
The committee is expected to begin considering the provisions again on Tuesday, and if the motion is put to a vote it could be made public, the people said.
One step closer to recognition
The death toll continues to rise in the Israeli-Hamas conflict, which began in October 2023 when Palestinian militants attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing around 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostages. Since then, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health has said more than 40,000 people have been killed in retaliatory Israeli military attacks on Hamas-controlled Gaza.
In the months since, Ottawa has moved one step closer to recognising a Palestinian state.
In March, the House of Commons passed a weakened NDP motion, with the support of nearly the entire Liberal government caucus, calling on the government to work toward “the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of a negotiated two-state solution.”
Then, in May, Canada was one of 25 countries to abstain in a UN General Assembly vote to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestinian representatives, and called on the Security Council to reconsider its request for UN recognition of a Palestinian state.
Palestine is currently a non-member observer state at the United Nations.
Canada has previously voted against similar UN motions, but its abstention marked a new turning point for the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time that Ottawa could not agree with Israel’s resistance to a two-state solution, adding that it was “unacceptable” for Hamas to endanger civilian lives and not recognise Israel.
Recognition will cause controversy
Since October, the Liberal government has been divided over Middle East policy.
Canadian Jewish advocacy groups, such as the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, say there can be no two-state solution without a negotiated peace settlement and that Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist organisation under Canadian law, should not be involved in the issue.
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who is Jewish, had publicly considered leaving the party after a majority of party members voted in favour of the NDP’s amendment motion in March.
As the war in Gaza continues, the government is losing support from both Jews and Muslims.
Earlier this week, the Liberal party lost a fierce by-election in Montreal’s LaSalle-Emard-Verdun electoral district by just 248 votes to the Bloc Québécois. The Liberal party had made a concerted effort throughout the election to win over the Muslim vote.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and local candidate Craig Sauvé visited a local mosque, and Sauvé’s campaign distributed pamphlets featuring a photo of Singh standing in front of a Palestinian flag.
During the same by-election, more than 50 Liberal political staff wrote to party leaders refusing to voluntarily take part in any faction activities, arguing that the government’s Middle East policy was not sufficiently pro-Palestinian.