Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing criticism at home as he tries to strike a balance on the US-Israeli military action in Iran, as Canada scrambles to get its citizens out of the region and faces the risk of being dragged into a widening conflict.
Carney expressed strong support for the initial strikes when they launched a week ago, arguing for the value of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and its regime "from further threatening international peace and security".
Days later, he said it was a position he took "with regret" because the strikes appeared "inconsistent with international law".
Along with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whom he was meeting, Carney called for a "rapid de-escalation" in the conflict.
And while the Canadian prime minister's response after the initial strikes was more firm than that of the UK, France and Germany - who jointly condemned the Iranian regime, but called for a "resumption of negotiations" - he now appears to be trying to walk more a more narrow diplomatic path.
