Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated he would uphold former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to enter Canada, in accordance with the International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
Carney made the statement during an interview with Mishal Husain on Bloomberg’s The Mishal Husain Show, aired on Sunday.
When asked directly whether he would be prepared to arrest Netanyahu, Carney replied: “Yes.”
Addressing the future of Canadian policy on Palestinian statehood, Carney said, “The end goal is a free and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel.”
He accused the Netanyahu government of acting against that vision. “We saw that the actions of the Netanyahu government were explicitly designed to end any possibility of a State of Palestine, in violation of the UN Charter and going against Canadian government policy of whatever political stripe since 1947,” he said.
He acknowledged Washington’s opposition to the Canadian position but emphasized that the international community shares a common aim. “Yes, the US disagrees with the decision that we took, that Spain took, that France took, the United Kingdom took, [and that] 150 other countries in the UN have taken, but our common objective is the same.”
Carney’s remarks came following the latest ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
The fate of the ICC, ICJ case post-ceasefire
There are currently no indications that Netanyahu or Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will have their ICC records cleared as a political gesture or reward for ending the conflict, nor in exchange for an apology. While such ideas once featured in global conversations around “transitional justice,” they have largely faded in recent years.
If Netanyahu loses power in the 2026 elections, his legal exposure may increase. In some jurisdictions, sitting heads of state enjoy immunity from prosecution – a protection they could lose upon leaving office.
Although the ICC’s Appeals Chamber undermined the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant in April, the cases remain active. Legal filings submitted to the court over the summer indicate that the warrants are likely to be upheld, with a final decision potentially expected soon.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.