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Many of Canada’s allies quickly criticized Trump’s move saying it could further prevent any progress on a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Protests almost immediately erupted in major Arab cities.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Canada’s own Liberal government was more muted. Foreign minister Chrystia Freeland said Jerusalem’s status should result from a two-state solution, but reflecting Canada’s walking-on-eggshells approach to Trump, didn’t mention the president or his policy.

As reaction poured in from across the globe, at home New Democrats quickly joined the chorus, with leader Jagmeet Singh telling reporters he thought Trump’s actions were counter-productive. But Conservatives had nothing to say, despite promising a statement early in the day Wednesday.

O’Toole explained the party’s approach outside the House of Commons Thursday.

“We consider Israel as one of our closest and most important allies, and we certainly see the city of Jerusalem as being central to the state of Israel and the Jewish faith, and there’s a historic right of presence to the Jewish community in Jerusalem,” he said.

“We’re going to talk about this with caucus to make sure that we see what all countries are doing, see the timeline the U.S. are proposing and talk to stakeholders about how can we make sure that it’s clear Israel is a strong ally and friend of Canada but without destabilizing the situation.”

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While the U.S. decision is currently “driving the conversation,” O’Toole said he wants to take a more thoughtful approach. He wouldn’t answer questions about whether he personally thinks that Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital. He insisted, “I’m not dancing around anything.”