Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network (CWPJN) Statement
August, 2026
US/Israel: Hands off West Asia!
End the Genocide in Gaza!
Canada: Sign onto the UN Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons!
Peace and Prosperity not War and Austerity!
Canada out of NATO!
The Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network (CWPJN) calls on the Carney government of Canada to oppose the expanding war in West Asia. After nearly three years of Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and following the February 28th, 2026, unprovoked and illegal aggression on Iran by the USA and Israel (both of which are nuclear powers), hostilities have now spread to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean. The Zelensky/Ukrainian regime’s recent attack on an Iranian freighter in the Caspian Sea (killing its captain) – at the request (according to Zelensky) of the genocidal Israeli regime – indicates how the West Asian war could easily spiral into a military confrontation among the great powers by linking to the US/NATO proxy war in Ukraine. In other words, WW3 is now figuratively waiting in the wings.
Despite recent public opinion polls which show Canadians are overwhelmingly opposed to Canadian participation in this growing war, Prime Minister Carney has enthusiastically supported the US/Israeli aggression and condemned Iran, which was the target of the aggression. Scores of senior Canadian naval and military officers, serving on routine rotations with the US and NATO militaries, continue to serve in the very command centres throughout Europe and West Asia helping to plot the next military and naval manoeuvres of the US empire. Simultaneously, Carney is cutting funding to social and environmental programs, and laying off tens of thousands of federal civil servants in order to ramp up military spending to unprecedented “peace-time” levels, to satisfy US President Trump’s demand that NATO members devote 5% of GDP to military spending. The increased spending by US vassal states is required to take the pressure off the US empire in waging future wars of aggression around the world.
The hostilities in West Asia, provoked by the USA and Israel, have created a global economic crisis because the flow of oil, fertilizer, and other commodities have been blocked in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. This war, supported by the Carney government, has caused a rise in prices for people in Canada and a consequent fall in our standard of living, which is likely not to be temporary. Combined with Trump’s reckless economic war against the entire planet involving tariffs and coercive economic measures (sanctions), the result could be a global depression.
Why does the war continue?
It continues because the US empire, under Trump’s misleadership, cannot accept that Iran is a sovereign and independent country, filled with proud, courageous, and united people, which refuses to capitulate to unreasonable and illegal US demands. It also cannot accept, at present, that it has lost dominance over energy-rich and strategic West Asia and may have to abandon its numerous military/naval bases in the region, already flattened by deadly and accurate Iranian missiles, and get used to Iran and Oman managing the Strait of Hormuz. In addition, the entire US state machine is geared to serve the military-industrial complex which thrives on (illegal) wars and is increasingly hostile to international multilateral cooperation for peace and development through the UN and other international agencies.
For these reasons, the USA could not abide by the Memorandum of Understanding it signed, under the diplomatic auspices of Pakistan and Qatar, with Iran. It was, as the CWPJN predicted, merely a pause and not a peace, used by the USA to try to regroup its forces and play for time, while Trump manipulated stock markets for the benefit of his billionaire cronies. According to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, the USA has become “agreement-incapable.” So, we are likely to witness further periods of kinetic war in the region, interspersed with diplomatic talks, until the US ruling class finally realizes that it has brought about a catastrophic and permanent strategic setback for itself in West Asia. Frighteningly, however, the US military brass is now reportedly considering the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Iran. It’s frightening because the possibility is real: the USA is the only country ever to use nuclear weapons in war (Hiroshima & Nagaski 81 years ago this month) and Trump has already threatened to wipe out the entire Iranian civilization.
What should we do in Canada?
People across Canada, who overwhelmingly don’t want our country used again as a US vassal, need actively to pressure the Carney government to reverse course, to condemn the US/Israeli military aggression in West Asia, and to withdraw support for it. This resistance could take the form of joining rallies and demonstrations, contacting MP’s, writing letters to the editor, signing petitions, sharing anti-war posts on social media, and joining one of the CWPJN’s 60 member organizations, listed at https://peaceandjusticenetwork.ca/who-we-are/
The Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network demands:
- US/Israel: Hands off West Asia!
- End the Genocide in Gaza!
- Canada: Sign onto the UN Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons!
- Peace and Prosperity not War and Austerity!
- Canada out of NATO!