Donald Trump has sent a warning to Canada that recognising a Palestinian state will make it "very hard" to secure a trade deal between the two North American countries.
It comes after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September, aligning with similar declarations from around the world, including from France and the United Kingdom.
In the wake of Carney's announcement, the US President posted on his own social media platform, Truth Social, saying: "Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine".
"That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them."
He concluded with "Oh' Canada!!!", referencing the country's national anthem.
The threat comes a day before higher tariffs on countries without a US trade deal are set to begin.
Canada is facing 35 per cent tariffs on most goods it sells to the US from Friday, unless a deal is reached today.
The move by Carney follows France President Emmanuel Macron's announcement, along with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's, as the hunger crisis in Gaza continues to worsen.
TRUTH SOCIAL
|Trump's post on his app
The Gaza Health Ministry reported a further seven deaths from malnutrition, and even Trump acknowledged there was "real starvation" in the enclave.
He added that he was working to "get things straightened out" as he met with Starmer during his four-day state visit to the UK in Scotland.
During Carney's announcement on Wednesday, he said the recognition of a Palestinian state would be part of a two-state solution.
That would involve Israel and Palestine living side by side.
The Canadian Prime Minister said his decision was prompted by the "catastrophe" in Gaza and the fate of a Palestinian state was "receding before our eyes".
But, it was under the condition that the Palestinian Authority, which runs part of the occupied West Bank, must commit to "much-needed reform" which involved Hamas "can play no part" in Gaza's future.
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
While Canada is falling in line with its fellow Western nations, 147 of the UN's 193 member states already formally recognise a Palestinian state.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed Carney's decision, labelling it "historic".
The authority's Foreign Affairs Ministry posted on X, saying "this courageous and principled decision marks a significant step towards justice, peace, and the long-overdue realisation of the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination".
The Palestinian Authority has limited governance over the parts of the occupied West Bank which are not under full Israeli control.
But, like condemning Starmer's decision to recognise Palestine, Israel has criticised Carney's stance.
The Foreign Ministry said the move was a "reward for Hamas" and "harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza".
Defence Minister Israel Katz said the plans "give Hamas encouragement and harden its stance".
The news comes as a group of British lawyers warned Starmer's pledge to recognise Palestine could be illegal.
A letter, signed by 40 members of the House of Lords, warned a Palestinian state would be within the bounds of international law.
Such a state, the peers say, would not meet the criteria set out under the Motevideo Convention.
The convention, signed in 1933, sets out the four key criteria for a state to be formally recognised under international law, including a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.