Canada says Board of Peace must address Gaza’s 'immediate needs’

HAMILTON, Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that Ottawa is ready to provide aid to Palestinians but stressed that any involvement in US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative must address immediate needs and deliver tangible outcomes.

Carney participated in a discussion while attending a meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland and was asked whether his country would "write a check" for the billion dollars that the Trump administration is asking countries to contribute to obtain permanent membership to the peace board.

"We would write checks and deliver in kind to improve the welfare of the people of Palestine, but we want to see it delivered directly to those outcomes, those outcomes promoting peace," he said in response.

He confirmed that Canada was invited to be on the board and said the progress made in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal should be recognized.

"This is a positive vehicle. Our view is that we need to work on the actual structure of the vehicle you just referenced. Is it for Gaza? Well, the UN resolution, Security Council resolution 2803, references the 'Board of Peace' for Gaza," he said.

Noting that the board must immediately become operative in Gaza, Carney said: "In our view, it's better to be designed in that way for the immediate needs there."

"Second point, it needs to coincide with the immediate full flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza," he said, noting the dire situation in the enclave.

"We are still not where we need to be. Conditions still are horrific, so that needs to come alongside," he said, adding that Ottawa believes that "there are aspects of the governance and the decision-making process that could be improved."

He further pledged to work with all nations, including the US, "to improve the situation, the horrific situation there, and to move on to a path to a true two-state solution."

Carney recently made similar remarks on the matter during a news conference in Doha, Qatar following his official visit.

In a post on the US social media company X’s platform, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) welcomed Carney's stance and called it "a step in the right direction."

"The Prime Minister's remarks, emphasizing that providing humanitarian assistance was a red line, and his commitment to approaching this Board of Peace with nuance, is a step in the right direction," said the Muslim advocacy group, which pledged to continue urging "Canada to stand for a lasting peace in the region and justice for all people."

Late on Friday, the White House announced the formation of the Board of Peace alongside the approval of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, one of four bodies designated to manage the transitional phase in the enclave.

The creation of the board coincided with the launch of the second phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas that halted Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 71,000 people and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023.

The initiative is part of a 20-point plan proposed by Trump and adopted by the UN Security Council under Resolution 2803 in November 2025.