Rights advocates welcome Canada’s exclusion from Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’

Mark Carney should not join US plan for Gaza that ‘makes mockery of Palestinian self-determination’, rights groups say.Published On 23 Jan 2026Canadian human rights groups have welcomed Donald Trump’s decision to revoke an invitation for Prime Minister Mark Carney to join the United States president’s so-called Board of Peace, saying Canada should not take part in a “colonial scheme”.The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said on Friday that “it is a relief that Canada is no longer welcome” on the Trump-led board.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump revokes Canada’s invitation to join Board of Peacelist 2 of 3Analyst breaks down map of Trump’s Gaza planlist 3 of 3‘Imperial’ agenda: What’s Trump’s Gaza development plan, unveiled in Davos?end of list“At a time of mass war crimes and humanitarian disaster in Gaza, Canada should be trying to align with international law and human rights,” the group said on social media.“The ‘Board of Peace’ makes a mockery of Palestinian self-determination and Canada should have nothing to do with it.”That was echoed by the advocacy group Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), which said Carney’s participation would have given the board “undeserved legitimacy”.“Canadians want to see principled opposition to Trump’s power grab, not mixed messages,” the organisation said on X.Trump announced late on Thursday that he had withdrawn an invitation to Carney to join what the US president said would be “the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time”.Earlier that day, Trump had held a signing ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to unveil the Board of Peace’s charter, alongside the leaders of several participating countries.Washington has presented the initiative as an important part of Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 71,500 people since October 2023.