Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada should reopen embassies in Iran and Venezuela after his predecessors closed them, arguing the lack of diplomatic presence blocks Ottawa’s ability to help Canadians abroad and respond faster to humanitarian crises—especial
TORONTO — Prime Minister Mark Carney raised the stakes on Thursday with a simple message: Canada’s lack of embassies in Iran and Venezuela is making it harder for Ottawa to protect its own people and react quickly when emergencies hit.
Carney said he believes Canada should reopen the embassies that were closed by former administrations—turning what has long been a question of symbolism into one he framed as an operational problem.
“Engagement is not endorsement,” Carney said. “Having an embassy, having consular services in a country, does not mean we endorse the policies of that country.”
His comments came as Carney pointed to Venezuela. arguing that without an active diplomatic presence. Canada can’t provide the kind of immediate assistance it could when crises unfold. He said a lack of representation creates challenges. and he linked the need for change to the speed required in the earthquake-stricken country.
Carney did not say a decision has been made. He described the next step as something that, in his view, has to happen.
“Moving towards that, in my judgement, a decision to be made, is what we need to do,” Carney said.
The embassy question is rooted in earlier breaks with both governments. Former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper shut Canada’s embassy in Tehran in 2012. Harper severed diplomatic relations and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave. saying the Islamic Republic was the most significant threat to world peace.
In Venezuela, Canada suspended operations at its embassy in 2019. At the time, the suspension was tied to the regime of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, with Canada saying the government would not renew visas for its diplomats.
Carney said Canada’s approach leaves the country unable to fully meet what he called a basic responsibility of government, even while acknowledging that there are “very good reasons” for withholding representation.
“There are series of countries with whom we don’t see eye to eye, to put it mildly, where we don’t have representation in the country,” Carney said. “And that puts us as a disadvantage, first and foremost, to helping Canadians that are in these countries.”
He said the conflict between policy disagreements and the need for on-the-ground help is exactly why the current posture must change.
“There is a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and there is a need to act very quickly so in my opinion we must change the way we are doing things,” Carney said.
The push for new diplomacy also landed amid Carney’s U.S. outreach. He said U.S. President Donald Trump called him on Wednesday to discuss the NATO summit next month and the situation in Iran and the Middle East, and that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others were on the call.
For Carney, the message to Canadians is that the government’s ability to offer help shouldn’t be held hostage to the absence of diplomatic offices—particularly when emergencies demand immediate action.
Mark Carney Canada embassies Iran Venezuela consular services humanitarian crisis earthquake NATO Donald Trump Pete Hegseth