In his recent address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke of a rupture in the established global order, stating that Canada must rethink how it advances its interests in a more fragmented and competitive world. He emphasized the need to build resilient partnerships beyond geography – relationships anchored in shared interests, mutual capability, and long-term strategic benefit.
Thirty years ago, as Canada navigated the disruptions of the post-Cold War global environment, the government was similarly seeking to diversify itself both economically and diplomatically. The 1996 signing of the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA), Canada’s first trade agreement outside North America, marked a milestone that offers important insights for the current moment.
Democratic alignment
Israel was not an obvious choice. Canada’s economic and diplomatic orientation was overwhelmingly North American, while Israel was a small and geographically distant market in a volatile region.
Yet Canadian leaders understood that strategic value is not measured by size or proximity alone. Israel offered democratic alignment, institutional reliability, and a rapidly growing innovation economy that complemented Canada’s strengths. CIFTA was not merely a commercial agreement but an early act of strategic diversification – proof that Canada could extend its reach by partnering with capable, like-minded countries.
The agreement reflected a broader Canadian instinct for pragmatic internationalism: advancing national interests through dependable partnerships. The benefits of this partnership have extended far beyond commerce, spanning culture, technology, security, and the environment.
For the past three decades, regardless of the political party in power, Canada-Israel relations steadily expanded, characterized by clarity, trust, and consistency, reaching their apex under former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper.
When Canadian energy producers faced complex challenges in water management, they turned to Israeli expertise. When the Canadian Forces required advanced radar systems to protect deployed troops, they acquired the technology behind Israel’s Iron Dome and manufactured radars in Canada. And when the Canadian company behind the world-renowned Canadarm sought global leadership in digital satellite communications, it partnered with an Israeli start-up.
Diplomatic low point
Against this backdrop, the current state of the relationship between the governments of Canada and Israel is striking. Diplomatic engagement is at a low point.
Senior-level interactions between Ottawa and Jerusalem have thinned, and trust has eroded. The relationship is increasingly defined by public distance rather than sustained dialogue. Whatever one’s views on specific policy disagreements, this deterioration does not advance either country’s interests.
Carney’s Davos remarks underscore why. Middle powers, he warned, cannot afford symbolic postures that weaken strategic relationships without delivering tangible benefits. Measured against that standard, an exclusively antagonistic posture toward Israel is strategically counterproductive for Canada.
Israel remains a global leader in sectors Canada has identified as priorities: artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, health sciences, defense innovation, and clean technology. Beyond this, the Abraham Accords have reshaped the regional environment, enabling unprecedented economic integration between Israel and parts of the Arab world while opening new trade and investment corridors.
Engagement with Israel offers Canada not only bilateral gains but also access to a broader emerging regional economy.
Other countries are capitalizing on this. Since the conclusion of major hostilities in Gaza, senior delegations from Germany, Japan, India, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates have prioritized visits to Israel.
Canada has not. At a time when Canada faces chronic productivity challenges and seeks new sources of economic dynamism, this is a missed opportunity. Partnership with Israel’s highly skilled workforce and innovation ecosystem should be viewed as an asset, not an afterthought. Ministerial visits and government-to-government engagement in AI, cybersecurity, water technology, and other emerging sectors would be a practical first step.
Surging antisemitism
There is another critical dimension to the relationship that must be considered. Antisemitism in Canada has surged to historic levels, affecting Jewish communities nationwide.
While criticism of Israeli government policy is legitimate in a democratic society, an approach perceived as relentlessly adversarial can have serious domestic consequences. Those advancing antisemitism increasingly instrumentalize hostility toward Israel as a pretext to target Canadian Jews, Jewish institutions, and communal life.
The impact is not abstract; we have seen attempts of arson attacks on synagogues, shootings at schools, assaults at civic festivals, harassment at community centers and long-term care homes, violent attacks on ordinary Canadians, and terrorist plots that have so far all been thwarted.
When Israel is treated as uniquely suspect, or when public discourse blurs the line between policy disagreement and the legitimacy of the Jewish state itself, bad actors are emboldened. This undermines social cohesion and public safety, putting Canadian lives at risk.
The lessons of the past three decades are clear. Engagement grounded in principle serves Canada better than distance masquerading as virtue. CIFTA stands as enduring proof that strategic foresight yields lasting benefit.
At a moment when Canada is being urged to think more clearly about how and where it invests its diplomatic and economic capital, renewing engagement with Israel would advance Canada’s interests abroad while strengthening Canada’s economy, security, and social cohesion at home.■
Noah Shack is CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.