The full quote gives a different impression.

“You’ve said that Canada will not participate in US military action in Iran. So can you definitively say that will remain the case, even if hostilities broaden, escalate or are prolonged?”

“You’ve asked a fundamental hypothetical in a conflict that can spread very broadly, todays events or recent events point to that, so one can never categorically rule out participation, we will stand by our allies when it makes sense. There’s a distinction between the offensive actions that were taken and are being taken by the United States and Israel, that were taken by them without consultation with Canada or with other allies, and we are not party to those actions. But we will always defend Canadians, we will always defend and stand by our allies when called upon”

It’s rare enough for politicians to even give context to their statements and then when they do it gets clipped and simplified into a different meaning. Aljazeera should know better which is pretty disappointing.

Also, most of you just read headlines which doesn’t do you any favours. There are real things to criticize about Carney, these sort of qualified statements shouldn’t be one of them. If all we do is look for binary no-context answers from our representatives, we’re already doomed.