End military strikes on Iran

AI summary

Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to call for an immediate ceasefire in Iran, pursue multilateral diplomacy, and protect Iranian prisoners and civil society. The government responds it supports diplomacy and seeks accountability.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the Government of Canada Military strikes on Iran have caused significant civilian casualties and widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure - including hospitals, schools, water systems, heritage sites, and oil and gas facilities - raising grave concerns under international humanitarian law and the United Nations Charter; This war threatens irreversible harm to civilian populations, including children, women, and political prisoners, poses grave risks to regional stability, and forecloses the conditions necessary for democratic progress in Iran; Iran’s future must be determined by Iranians themselves, free from both foreign military intervention and domestic repression, including the suppression and prosecution of civil society under the cover of war; Canada has a strong tradition of multilateral diplomacy, peacekeeping, and leadership in international humanitarian law; and Many Iranian Canadians - including those committed to peaceful democratic change - are profoundly affected by, and opposed to, this war. We, the undersigned, residents and citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. Urgently advocate for an immediate ceasefire and an end to all military strikes on Iranian territory; 2. Exercise Canada’s influence to facilitate a durable regional peace through multilateral engagement; 3. Prioritize the protection of Iranian political prisoners, civil society activists, and environmental defenders in Canada’s international human rights policies; and 4. Pursue these objectives in alignment with Canada’s commitments to multilateralism, human rights, and international law.

Government response

Response by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Signed by Parliamentary Secretary Rob Oliphant The Government of Canada thanks the petitioners for raising these concerns. Canada welcomes diplomatic efforts between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the recent Memorandum of Understanding. As G7 Leaders agreed at the Évian, France meeting, the Memorandum of Understanding is a diplomatic breakthrough that represents a historic opportunity to bring lasting peace to the entire Middle East. Canada commends Pakistan, Qatar, and other parties for facilitating negotiations. Canada, alongside likeminded partners, issued a joint statement welcoming the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran on June 14, 2026. On June 17, 2026, Canada joined G7 counterparts in issuing a similar leader-level statement. Looking ahead, the Government of Canada supports a robust second phase of negotiations, including discussions toward a framework to address the proliferation concerns of Iran’s nuclear program, supported by International Atomic Energy Agency verification. Canada also remains concerned by Iran’s use of proxy agents and criminal networks to silence critics—including through harassment, surveillance and planned acts of violence in Europe and North America. Canada issued a joint statement on Iranian state threats and HAYI-claimed attacks with 21 other nations on June 10, 2026, condemning Iran’s lethal plotting and other malign actions in Europe, North American and Australia, including attacks targeting Jewish communities, Iranian journalists, and United States interests. Canada will continue to work with international partners, to support a return to regional stability and to address Iran’s destabilizing actions in the region, including its support to terrorist organizations, ballistic missile and nuclear programs, and its systemic human rights violations. The Government of Canada believes that perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses must be held accountable, and that victims and their families are entitled to truth, justice, and redress. To this end, Canada works closely with international partners to pursue independent investigations and accountability through multilateral mechanisms. For example, for the last 23 consecutive years, Canada has led a United Nations General Assembly resolution on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which condemns the regime’s serious and ongoing violations, urges improvement, and calls on Iranian authorities to cooperate with human rights mechanisms. On December 18, 2025, this resolution was adopted with 78 votes in favour at the General Assembly. Canada also recognizes the critical role played by Iranian human rights defenders and other advocates in documenting human rights violations, calling for accountability, and ensuring sustained international pressure on Iran’s violations despite severe repression and censorship. Canada is a steadfast advocate for the release of human rights defenders, political prisoners, and all those arbitrarily detained for exercising their human rights and regularly underscores the importance of creating and maintaining safe and enabling environments for civic participation, online and offline. On February 13, 2026, Canada condemned the Iranian regime’s additional sentencing of human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi and called for her immediate release on X and Facebook. Canada further called for the release all those arbitrarily detained for exercising their human rights and demanded the Iranian regime to allow human rights defenders to speak without the fear of reprisal – in accordance with international human rights obligations. Canada supports efforts to counter impunity through relevant international justice mechanisms. Canada works with partners to explore all viable avenues to advance accountability, including through evidence-sharing, support for documentation initiatives, and engagement with international courts and investigative bodies, where applicable. In addition to actions taken internationally, Canada continues to leverage domestic legal and policy tools to impose consequences on Iranian individuals and entities responsible for nuclear and weapons proliferation activities, gross and systemic human rights violations, and regional and global destabilizing activities. Since July 22, 2010, Canada has imposed sanctions on nearly 500 Iranian individuals and entities across all levels of Iran’s security, intelligence, and economic apparatus pursuant to theSpecial Economic Measures Actand the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law). On December 15, 2025, Canada sanctioned four additional senior Iranian officials for their direct roles in implementing repressive policies to violently suppress protests and/or for serious violations of the rights of prisoners, including arbitrarily detained protesters and political opponents. On February 14, 2026, Canada announced new measures on seven individuals linked to Iranian state bodies responsible for intimidation, violence and transnational repression targeting Iranian dissidents and human rights defenders. On March 26, 2026, Canada announced additional sanctions under the (Iran) Regulations (Iran regulations) against five individuals and four entities for their direct or indirect involvement in procurement networks that produce and supply technology supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s weapon production and transfers to proxies, including to Russia for its use in its war of aggression against Ukraine. These measures build on Canada’s broader efforts to maintain pressure on Iran, including: Listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Codeon June 19, 2024. Canada has also listed the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations under theCriminal Code; Designating the Government of Iran as a regime engaged in terrorism and systematic or gross human rights violations under theImmigration and Refugee Protection Act, rendering any senior official who served since June 23, 2003, inadmissible to Canada; Designating Iran as a state supporter of terrorism under the State Immunity Act. The Government of Canada reconfirmed this designation on December 4, 2025. The Government of Canada will continue to stand with the people of Iran in their calls for respect for human rights, accountability for violations, and an end to repression. Canada remains committed to working with international partners to pursue independent investigations and meaningful accountability for mass killings and other violations, and to ensure that those responsible for grave violations are held responsible.