Canada’s Conservative Party promised that they would follow in the footsteps of the United States and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel if they win the next general election.
“Canada’s Conservatives recognize the obvious fact that Israel, like every other sovereign nation, has a right to determine where its capital is located,” the party said on its website.
Led by Andrew Scheer, the party currently sits in opposition, but vowed to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital when we form government in 2019,” according to a statement.
The Conservative Party dominated Canadian politics for more than a decade under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper until it was defeated by current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in 2015.
Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December, Trudeau’s government quickly shot down the possibility that Canada would follow suit, with its Foreign Affairs Minister, Chrystia Freeland, saying that “the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute.”
