A few days before stepping down as Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau defiantly told an Ottawa gathering “I am a Zionist’. It was the same day that Israeli minister Eli Cohen said he would stop all electricity from entering Gaza, effectively shutting down vital infrastructure including its water supply. Read more.
“No one in Canada should ever be afraid to call themselves a Zionist”, declared a solemn looking Justin Trudeau, at a federal government sponsored “National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism” in Ottawa. ‘I am a Zionist”.
His full remarks can be seen and heard in this CPAC video clip which were immediately praised by the Israeli Embassy in Ottawa.
But Palestinian human rights commentators zeroed in on Trudeau’s continuing confusion of anti-Zionism and antisemitism. “Trudeau misrepresented Zionism as meaning a belief in the right of Jewish people, to determine their own future. He did not highlight that it is a racist ideology which has called for and led to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their lands,” argued the Middle East Monitor.
While both Trudeau’s “nobody should be afraid” and “I am a Zionist” statements sound shocking to some, each is consistent with the policy, objectives and analysis of the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine.
Should Zionists be afraid in Canada?
OFIP’s mission statement reads in part that “OFIP recognizes that many Canadians have firm views about the Middle East that may, or may not, be based on a good understanding of the issues.”
OFIP encourages a full and frank public discussion about Zionism. That discussion and debate over Zionism should be carried out openly and freely “through a calm and respectful conversation with Canadians, clearly based on the fundamental principles of equality and dignity.” OFIP supports the human rights of all Canadians, whatever their religion and whatever their political beliefs.
We agree completely with Mr. Trudeau’s assertion that “No one in Canada should ever be afraid to call themselves a Zionist”. That does not mean they should not have to face serious pushback from those concerned about the genocidal Israeli mission in Gaza. Feeling “uncomfortable” in the face of trenchant critique is not the same thing as being “unsafe”.
By the same token, we would have liked to see the PM make the same declaration about the right to free speech of those who oppose Zionism. Trudeau’s successor Mark Carney should make it clear that no one who opposes Zionism should be subject to intimidation or harassment of any kind, including expulsion from a university, firing, demotion or other discriminatory treatment.
Is the Prime Minister of Canada really a Zionist?
In his speech, Trudeau defines what he means by “Zionism”. “It simply means believing in the right of Jewish people, like all people, to determine their own future“, he said.
That might be what he thinks, but OFIP finds the simple definition provided by the Encyclopedia Britannica more accurate.
Zionism definition: Jewish nationalist movement with the goal of the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, – Encyclopedia Britannica.
In 2025, in the real world, to be a Zionist means to defend the State of Israel which privileges the rights of Israelis over those of Palestinians, while ignoring its program of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza.
Shortly after becoming leader, Trudeau committed his new government to “defending Zionism”.
Over the ten years he was in power, Trudeau has shown in words and actions his complete support of the State of Israel. A CTIP blog post over 6 years ago outlined more than 27 ways that Canada has supported Israel under Mr. Trudeau’s leadership. Particularly since October 7th, 2023, his government has deployed efforts at the UN and elsewhere to protect Israel from legitimate and mounting international criticism.
OFIP has rarely agreed with Prime Minister Trudeau on mid-east policy. But we agree completely with his declaration that he is a ‘Zionist”.
FOOTNOTE: A Canadian tradition going back to 1947
While few Canadian Prime Ministers have stated their attachment to Zionism as baldly as Prime Minister Trudeau, EVERY SINGLE CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER since the creation of the State of Israel has supported the Zionist idea of creating a Jewish state in what was previously Palestine over the objections of the Palestinians. Here are a few examples:
- Prime Minister Lester Pearson was a Zionist long before he became Liberal leader. As a Canadian diplomat Pearson was actively involved in the UN Special Committee on Palestine . He promoted confiscating half of Palestine and giving it to European Jews. Canada supported the resolution (called the “partition resolution”) when it came to vote at the UN General Assembly in November 1947.
- Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had Canada oppose a UN resolution declaring “Zionism is racism” in 1975.
- Prime Minister Brian Mulroney received the Hertzl award from the World Jewish Congress for his steadfast support of Israel.
- Prime Minister Steven Harper got a heroe’s welcome in Israel for his staunch support of the Jewish State. There is even a Steven J. Harper Bird Sanctuary named after him in northern Israel!!
- Prime Minister Jean Chretien was somewhat less enthusiastic about Israel and its supporters in Canada. (Chretien kept Irwin Cotler out of his cabinet despite insistant lobbying by the lobby, for example) but he never challenged the basic idea of a Jewish State.
- Under Prime Minister Paul Martin, Canada’s voting pattern at the UN took a decidedly pro-Israel turn.
- And, Justin Trudeau found dozens of ways – open and hidden – for Canada to support Israel.
- Where will Mark Carney stand? Will he break tradition? His nomination of Marco Mendocino, whose Zionist views are well known, does not bode well.
Canada Talks Israel Palestine (CTIP) is the weekly newsletter of Peter Larson, Chair of the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine (OFIP). It aims to promote a serious discussion in Canada about Canada’s response to the complicated and emotional Israel/Palestine issue with a focus on the truth, clear analysis and human rights for all. Readers with different points of view are invited to make comment.
Want to learn more about us? Go to Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine.ca
Canada Talks Israel/Palestine 
I had such high hopes for Mark Carney which makes his appointment of Mendicino that much more disappointing.
It is worth noting both that Zionism has changed over the years and the term is a vague umbrella that includes people with many different views.
The Zionist movement is usually said to have started with Austrian Theodor Herzl who published Der Judenstaat in 1896. The word does not appear to have been in the book but there is a mention of something called a Zion Association. The book begins by discussing the growing antisemitic movement and propaganda. It suggests that the best solution to the “Jewish Problem” is for the Jews to leave their present state and establish one of their own. It did not focus on taking over Palestine. In fact, at the start it suggests two possibilities for the location Argentina and Palestine. Much of the pamphlet was a discussion of how the state might be obtained (financed) and organized. I interpret Herzl as saying that the Jews were not welcome where they were, needed to find asylum, were often unwelcome in other countries, and therefor needed a country of their own. I cannot find the idea that they would eject those who were already there or treat others the way that they were being treated. The events of the next 50 years showed that Herzl was not wrong when he argued that Jews would not be safe in Europe. In today’s parlance, Herzl saw our people as asylum seekers. Today’s version of
In the 1930s it became clear to many Jews that they needed to find a safe place and they thought of Palestine. My own father was one of those people. His idea of Zionism was one of immigrating to live among the people already there. He chose to study medicine because the British Embassy told him that Arab Palestinians needed, and would welcome, Viennese trained doctors. He expected to learn Arabic. He was a member of a group with similar plans that considered themselves Zionists. He was not able to follow that path and immigrated to North America (learning English as he would have learned Arabic). As a child, he made it clear that he hated what happened in Palestine as he saw the injustice in the way Israelis interpreted Zionism.
I tell this story to make it clear that not all Zionists saw themselves as conquerers who would expel most sof the previous inhabitants of Palestine and turn those who remained into second class citizens and others who did not even have that much status. While he obviously believed that he and his fellows should be immigrate and contribute to the older society (as he did here), the idea of taking over was not part of his worldview. While he obviously believed that he and his family should be able to determine their own future, he knew that those already in Palestine had the same right and that they had to respect each others rights.
I would like to ask Mr. Trudeau, Mister Carney, and Mr. Poilievre which version of Zionism they support.
Hi David,
thanks for your thoughtful (and informative) note. I doubt either Trudeau, or Carnet or Poilievre are aware of the evolution of (or variations on) the meaning of Zionism. But I think that TODAY there is really only one effective meaning of Zionism – that Jews deserve and have the right to keep and dominate most of (if not all of) historic Palestine. I think when Trudeau announces “I am a Zionist”, that is what he is supporting.
But – please go ahead and ask any of them, if you can, what they mean by Zionism. Best.
Hi Peter,
As I am sure you know, I do not have a channel to any of those people that would allow me to ask a direct question and get a straight answer.
I can ask those who are reading this blog to remember that when someone claims to be a Zionist, one should try to make sure what they mean by that. Do they mean that it is fine to kill tens of thousands of people and drive millions from their homes? Do they mean that it is right to disenfranchise people who have lived in a land for generations and deny them the human rights that we demand for ourselves? Do they support ethnic cleansing? Are they saying that people fleeing generations of anti-semitism and years of genocide have a right to find a place where they can find safety?
I don’t think that a bunch of extremists who are ignoring the basic precepts of the religion that they profess to believe have a right to redefine a term with a long history. Before we judge someone we have to make sure that we (and they) know what they are really saying.
I am, most definitely, not a Zionist myself but I want to know what individuals mean when they say that they are one.
I never agreed with Theodor Herzl but I think he was a sincere person who did not realize how some would interpret what he wrote. He was addressing a real problem but he did not have a solution. The realization of his proposal, the creation of another ethnically biased state has made things worse not better.
Thanks for this post Peter. I learned a lot from this one
I recommend to Mr. Justin Trudeau that he see the film No Other Land.
I agree. IN fact, I recommend it to anybody. I saw it last night at the Bytowne theatre in Ottawa. full house.
It can be an eyeopener to people who don’t really follow closely what is happening in the WEst Bank
While there may be relatively benign versions of Zionism, support for Israel today is terrorism pure and simple. Of course in the upside down Zionist narrative it’s victims become terrorists. Certainly Hamas has a right to defend itself. In Canada only a fool would not connect the dots from Housefather, Lantsman and Mendicino to the slaughter of civilians in Gaza. Statistically, this lobby is stronger in Canada than the US. Jews feeling unsafe is the inversion of reality. Virtually every institution in Canada is rife with voluntary spooks getting Palestinian supporters censured, fired or even jailed (Engler). I can only conclude that CBC be wound up as it has lost any relevance.
I have copied a heading from political science Prof. John Mearsheimer giving his opinion on Zionism which I would assume the Christian version:
On 13 March 2025, I appeared on “Judging Freedom” with Judge Napolitano. We talked about Putin’s deft handling of the US-Ukrainian ceasefire proposal. He did not dismiss it out of hand, but instead diplomatically said that he liked the idea in principle, but that the devil is in the details. His discussion of some of the key details made it clear that Russia would only accept a ceasefire on its terms, which means there is not going to be a ceasefire until Russia deems that the time is right and the details are to its liking. The Judge and I also talked about Israel and free speech in the United States. I made the argument that Israel and its lobby are the greatest threat to free speech in the United States, one of our core liberal values.