Juno News - Peter MacKay： Canada is risking its relationship with the U.S.

00:00:00.000 From the White House today, U.S. President Trump says most of Iran's military has been

00:00:10.260 knocked out.

00:00:11.080 They have no Navy, it's been knocked out.

00:00:13.820 They have no Air Force that's been knocked out.

00:00:16.040 They have no air detection that's been knocked out.

00:00:18.720 Their radar has been knocked out.

00:00:21.060 And just about everything's been knocked out.

00:00:25.180 Meantime, Ottawa's position on the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran is mixed,

00:00:30.380 depending on which government minister is speaking at any given time.

00:00:34.180 After the attacks began February 28, the Kearney government was firm in supporting the attack,

00:00:39.800 with the PM issuing this statement,

00:00:42.560 Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon

00:00:47.220 and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security.

00:00:53.640 The left-leaning Toronto Star was taken aback and responded with this headline,

00:00:58.680 Trump and Netanyahu have made a dangerous gamble in Iran. Why is Carney cheering them on?

00:01:05.700 It wasn't long before Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand shifted somewhat,

00:01:10.440 saying Canada supports the mission but prefers a diplomatic solution.

00:01:14.360 We prefer a diplomatic solution. This is why I have spent the last two days

00:01:20.620 speaking with my counterparts across the Middle East and in the Gulf states,

00:01:26.040 from Jordan to Qatar to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to UAE and all of my G7 counterparts

00:01:36.620 stressing that Canada believes in a diplomatic and peaceful solution.

00:01:44.120 And as soon as possible, we would like parties to get to the table.

00:01:49.640 What followed that was a further shifting away from the original support for the mission

00:01:54.640 with Defense Minister David McGinty calling for an end to hostilities.

00:01:58.680 The Prime Minister and the government decided from the beginning of this

00:02:03.420 that we would support this incursion.

00:02:06.640 But we're also calling for a diplomatic end to it.

00:02:11.300 We very much would prefer to see peace at a ceasefire.

00:02:15.640 That's what my colleague, Minister Anand, is driving forward now with her colleagues around the world.

00:02:21.540 And so we'll see where this takes us.

00:02:23.620 Well, either you support the mission or you don't.

00:02:25.900 And in three days, Canada has gone from endorsing military action to calling for a ceasefire.

00:02:31.240 Adding to the confusion is Prime Minister Carney coming out again and restating his original position.

00:02:38.080 Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon

00:02:43.820 and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security.

00:02:49.740 And the Canadian government urges the protection of all civilians in this conflict.

00:02:55.440 Well, if Canada now supports a ceasefire,

00:02:58.480 its position on the conflict happens to have flipped in lockstep with that of China

00:03:03.120 because the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued this statement.

00:03:07.020 China urges all parties to immediately cease military operations

00:03:11.120 and avoid escalating tensions and safeguard the safety of the navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

00:03:18.980 The price of oil has now surged.

00:03:21.360 The stock markets have sold off heavily.

00:03:24.300 Joining us on the show is Peter McKay,

00:03:26.020 who served as Defense Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister in the Harper government.

00:03:31.100 Welcome to the show, Peter.

00:03:32.560 Thank you, Mark. Good to be with you.

00:03:34.540 Good to see you again.

00:03:35.760 Now, these events in Iran have hit close to home for you

00:03:39.180 because, of course, your wife, Nazanin, was born in Tehran the year of the hostage crisis, 1979.

00:03:46.160 She's been a prominent human rights activist and author and public speaker.

00:03:50.840 How has this been playing out at your place?

00:03:56.220 And maybe you're privy to some things happening in Iran that many of us are not.

00:04:01.160 Well, thank you for mentioning Nazanin, Mark.

00:04:05.000 As you would expect, this hits her very personally.

00:04:07.360 she has spent most of her adult life advocating for democracy and human rights inside Iran.

00:04:15.820 She still has family there. She has many contacts on the ground. So the events of the last 72 hours

00:04:23.260 have been stunning in terms of the sea of change that this may represent. Now, there are still a

00:04:29.660 lot of uncertainties, to say the least. And, you know, as we speak, the bombs are still falling

00:04:34.680 over parts of Iran, including, and this is something that is just broken within the last

00:04:41.160 few hours, a gathering of an executive that was assembled to determine who would replace

00:04:48.400 the now deceased Ayatollah Khomeini, the head of the IRGC and other senior IRGC leaders,

00:04:57.400 so-called repression forces inside Iran.

00:04:59.660 they were gathering in a secret location outside Tehran, and they have just been

00:05:05.280 also eliminated, 88 in total. And so this, you know, not to sound inhumane, but this clears the

00:05:15.160 path for an even greater opportunity, not for regime change, but for the people of Iran to

00:05:22.560 decide their future, for them to have hopefully free and fair elections. And I don't want to get

00:05:28.920 ahead of ourselves in wishful thinking, but that is obviously the end game. And the last thing I'll

00:05:33.780 say is, you know, the elimination of this murderous regime with oceans of blood on their hands over

00:05:42.620 the last 47 years has to be seen as a positive turn of events, not just for the people of Iran,

00:05:49.680 but for the entire region and arguably the entire world. They are, of course, state sponsors of

00:05:54.640 terrorism. They have been involved in numerous activities, backing groups like Hamas, Hezbollah,

00:06:02.340 the Houthis, and others that have taken the lives of Western allies. And they've been involved in

00:06:09.140 foreign interference right here in our own country and intimidation. So this is a bad, bad bunch of 1.00

00:06:15.320 people. And, you know, the means we can quibble about, but their removal from power is a good

00:06:23.660 thing. The world is a better place without them. And I guess the next step is tricky. I mean,

00:06:30.640 that bunch may be gone, but how do you replace them with people who are like your wife and 1.00

00:06:36.660 yourself, pro-democracy, who want free and fair elections and things like free speech,

00:06:42.100 things that we enjoy in Canada? That's a very delicate, tricky process, isn't it?

00:06:47.180 are you privy to the future in terms of the movement towards a more of a liberal democracy

00:06:55.680 in Iran? Yeah, that's the quintessential question, isn't it, Mark? And I cannot and will not speak

00:07:02.260 for my wife. Of course, we have lots of discussions and have for years about this moment.

00:07:08.400 But what I can say, and it's public knowledge, is that there have been groups that have been

00:07:15.080 gathering. And by groups, I mean mostly Iranians from various different parts of the diaspora,

00:07:24.520 because it is not a monolithic group. It is not just Persian. It's Iranian and involving,

00:07:30.120 you know, Kurds, Baloch, others, other ethnic groups. They have been coming together to discuss

00:07:38.260 what that future looks like, how it can be an inclusive, peaceful, democratic movement inside

00:07:46.000 the country. And I emphasize the inside the country because I think you would see many in

00:07:51.800 the diaspora return. There are some 400,000 plus in Canada, but around the world, not unlike other

00:08:01.640 terrible dictatorships, tyrannical dictatorships, as we saw in Venezuela, I think there were over

00:08:06.980 2 million, maybe more, who had left the country. And that's a common occurrence. So all of that

00:08:13.820 to say there are some very able academics, lawyers, human rights advocates, community-minded people

00:08:21.220 who want to be part of the reclamation of their country. Going back is one addition of 0.99

00:08:29.460 intellectual firepower, but there are still many people on the ground. Although,

00:08:33.780 tragically, I have to add, you know, thousands, literally tens, possibly hundreds of thousands

00:08:41.280 have been, you know, killed, wounded, arrested, eliminated from the possibility to contribute to

00:08:50.140 the greatness of Iran. And Iran, as you would know, was very much a Western oriented country,

00:08:57.640 not without its flaws, not, you know, it was, it was a monarchy, but they were a formidable country,

00:09:04.920 a formidable country and have produced some of the, you know, the top scientists, medical people,

00:09:12.920 researchers. If you go to many of the universities in Western countries, you will find

00:09:17.560 that the top students in many cases are of Iranian descent.

00:09:21.240 So I can take by your comments that you favor the actions by the U.S. and Israeli military

00:09:30.880 to take out that country's ability to get nukes, develop a nuclear program, as well as

00:09:40.520 even though they're not coming out and saying they want regime change, being explicit about it,

00:09:45.420 they're clearly targeting the leadership. So they want leadership change. I take it you think this

00:09:49.680 is a positive thing moving forward, correct? Yes, I do, Mark, and I think many share that

00:09:55.140 sense of it. Many don't want to perhaps talk about it as bluntly, maybe, as you and I are,

00:10:00.560 and we do have the benefit of not being in elected office where these decisions are tough.

00:10:05.660 But I know that Canada has been outwardly supportive, at least from the Prime Minister's

00:10:13.160 office, and the leader of the official opposition has voiced support. Most and many countries

00:10:19.280 have, in fact, for some of the very reasons that we're discussing, because of the external threat,

00:10:26.160 nuclear weapons, but also fostering terrorism. And, you know, the chant of death to America 0.59

00:10:33.040 extends well beyond just the borders of the United States. It includes really all Western

00:10:38.680 countries. And so that military action, while some may feel was without congressional support

00:10:51.940 and without a United Nations sanction like we had in Afghanistan, but it has achieved a historic

00:10:59.440 outcome and has paved the path for the Iranian people to, as I said, reclaim their country,

00:11:08.000 pursue democracy, and not be the force for evil that we have seen emanating from that country for

00:11:17.440 decades. Now, the Prime Minister has, to your point, expressed support for the mission. However,

00:11:26.240 we are getting some, I want to say, mixed messages from the Liberal government. We have Anita Anand,

00:11:32.700 the Foreign Affairs Minister, who has shifted saying, Canada supports the mission, but prefers

00:11:38.260 a diplomatic solution. And then we've had Defense Minister McGinty call for an end to hostilities

00:11:45.460 and a ceasefire. So what do you make of this? We're getting kind of three separate streams

00:11:53.280 of messaging from the government. Yeah, it's unfortunate. And I think it does portray a lack

00:12:00.120 of discipline in terms of messaging on a very sensitive, very sensitive issue. It also has the

00:12:06.980 added knock-on effect of probably irritating the White House even further as if we need to do that

00:12:12.900 anymore. And I can't quite understand how it could happen from, you know, two very seasoned

00:12:21.580 politicians, at least those that have been close to the prime minister and hold high office.

00:12:28.500 It's unusual.

00:12:29.720 I mean, ceasing hostilities cannot and will not happen.

00:12:34.380 They have now sort of kicked the proverbial hornet's nest.

00:12:38.260 And until such time as they know that the people of Iran, who the president has called

00:12:44.320 to take to the streets again and take the necessary internal actions to ensure that

00:12:53.360 the regime doesn't just, you know, remorph itself and come back in some other tyrannical form,

00:13:01.240 it would be folly to suggest that we should stop now, in my opinion. And I'm not sure what the

00:13:08.260 foreign minister is getting at either when they're essentially saying, you know, it's time to step

00:13:16.400 back. I completely understand and echo the sentiment that we don't want to see civilians 1.00

00:13:21.680 harmed. That is the last outcome that anyone wants, although there's also a clear-eyed realism

00:13:28.800 that when you're dropping ordinances, this can and likely will happen. We also know the IRGC

00:13:35.520 are now assembling in schools for future meetings, the same way we saw Hamas use public

00:13:43.520 buildings and schools and hospitals for the very purpose of using their citizens as human shields

00:13:49.420 and then condemning, you know, the Western Satan for having caused civilian harm. 0.68

00:13:55.860 So it's enormously complicated, to say the least.

00:14:01.040 It is a challenging time, but clear communication from our government

00:14:04.700 is something I think our citizens should expect.

00:14:09.320 And, you know, on the point of how this will be interpreted in Washington,

00:14:15.220 I mean, much like taking a contrary position on the Palestinians,

00:14:19.420 you know, speeches in Davos, we're not going to buy the F-35, all of this is creating a narrative

00:14:27.540 that isn't going to help us in June when we finally sit down and try to negotiate the most

00:14:33.120 important trade and economic impact on our country. Yeah, I think I take your point about

00:14:38.940 stopping hostilities now would quite possibly allow the same regime to get back on its feet

00:14:44.960 and continue massacrating their own people 0.93

00:14:48.640 and continue their program of terrorism 0.82

00:14:53.100 and its mission to destroy Israel and the West. 0.82

00:14:58.940 So I think you can't stop.

00:15:01.080 Now, I tend to agree with you completely on that.

00:15:03.720 But from Canada's perspective, if I also heard you correctly,

00:15:06.440 calling for an end to hostilities and the ceasefire

00:15:09.120 might aggravate our relations with the United States,

00:15:11.900 especially at a time when we're trying to restart trade negotiations with that country what do you

00:15:17.060 think of that yeah i think that's right i think we're saying much the same thing mark it's uh

00:15:22.220 that that isn't you know the first and only consideration but those are two very important

00:15:27.060 ones you know not the least of which um as the old saying goes once you've broke it you own it

00:15:33.480 and and the united states and israel have surely broken the regime or at least badly wounded them

00:15:39.020 Which also makes them dangerous, as we're seeing. They're launching rockets and ballistic missiles into neighboring countries, Middle Eastern countries, who were formerly, they thought, their allies, or at least, you know, they had allegiances.

00:15:57.200 and the entire region, and this is something to be conscious of,

00:16:03.380 it could broaden into a wider regional conflict if this isn't handled correctly

00:16:09.420 and limited to these targeted strikes that Israel and the United States are working to achieve.

00:16:17.200 And so that's, I think, job one, to finish what they've started

00:16:21.920 and create the circumstances for the Iranian people to take control of their country.

00:16:29.280 And you have, you know, the former crown prince or the crown prince, son of the former Shah, Reza Pallavi,

00:16:36.740 who is positioning himself as a transitional leader.

00:16:41.500 You have others who I think are also working towards achieving that end as a step to, you know,

00:16:49.340 a democratic election within that country. Again, that may be a step that seems too far at this

00:16:57.220 point to even discuss, but we have to discuss that. I think the international community needs

00:17:01.420 to be supportive. But, you know, we also, as always, have interests and a stake in how we,

00:17:09.160 Canada, positions itself and how that is interpreted by our most important trading ally.

00:17:14.340 And, you know, again, my opinion, I speak for no one but myself here, we're not going to replace that amount of trade or that historic relationship with China, India or anyone else.

00:17:27.060 important nonetheless, different relationship, different set of values, different history with

00:17:35.220 those countries. But it's, again, folly to suggest that we are simply going to pull back from the

00:17:41.020 United States and achieve the same degree of economic security and, quite frankly, familiar

00:17:49.280 relations that we have had with the United States over the entire history of our country.

00:17:54.880 Last question.

00:17:55.860 Do you favor any kind of active role for Canada's military in this conflict

00:17:59.700 or perhaps the rebuilding effort that happens after that?

00:18:04.820 Yeah, that's a great question, Mark.

00:18:06.200 I mean, it's not a dodge, but we haven't been asked.

00:18:08.980 We don't have a lot of assets in the region

00:18:11.740 or even assets that would be available to assist.

00:18:15.760 But rebuilding possibly, you know, on a humanitarian side,

00:18:21.160 which is delivered by military in most instances,

00:18:23.940 you know there is a role that canada could play if if asked i don't expect that we will be asked

00:18:30.980 but uh nevertheless it is something that i think canadians quite frankly are very good

00:18:38.020 at in the reconstruction phase uh we you know have formally had relations uh with with iran

00:18:47.220 pre-1979 and we have a large iranian diaspora in canada who i'm sure are very anxious about

00:18:57.700 their families and friends inside inside the country i know my wife is and you know hopefully

00:19:04.980 uh after the fact and when the hostilities have ceased canada can step up as we have historically

00:19:12.420 in the past and help. Peter McKay, thank you so much for coming on the show. We really appreciate

00:19:17.300 it. It's my pleasure, Mark. Thanks for having me on. Peter McKay. And if you enjoyed this program,

00:19:23.780 you enjoyed the show, well, you have an opportunity to say thank you, in a way,

00:19:29.540 by supporting independent journalism and becoming a premier member of Juneau News. Go to

00:19:34.420 JunoNews.com helps keep us doing what we do. Thank you.

Juno News - March 03, 2026

Peter MacKay： Canada is risking its relationship with the U.S.

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