Liberal leader Mark Carney’s claim—“I know there is”—in response to a protester yelling about genocide in Palestine is leaving Canadians wondering where the prime minister stands on Israel, especially given the ongoing debate over whether a genocide is or is not occurring in Gaza at Israel’s hands.

Carney’s Tuesday night rally in Calgary was interrupted twice by pro-Palestine activists. More than two thousand people came to hear Carney speak, even though the venue could only hold 900. Many stayed outside, listening through loudspeakers.

“Mr. Carney, there’s a genocide happening in Palestine!” shouted a heckler about 15 seconds into Carney’s speech.

“I know there is,” Carney responded, triggering chants of his name from the crowd, according to the Western Standard. The heckler was removed from the venue but continued yelling about Palestine as he was escorted out. Carney also stated that he was “aware” of the situation and that there is an arms embargo in place against Israel.

Less than a minute later, another protester yelled, “Mr. Carney why are you buying fighter jets from the USA?!”

“We are reviewing the contract,” Carney replied, again met with cheers and chants as the second heckler was removed.

Near the end of his speech, Carney recounted a recent conversation with young children. He said he met some 10-year-olds who “dreamed about the day” when President Donald Trump wouldn’t impose tariffs on Canada.

Carney’s remark agreeing that “there is” a genocide stands in contrast to former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s full-throated defense of Zionism.

“No one in Canada should ever be afraid to call themselves a Zionist,” Trudeau declared at a federally sponsored “National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism” in Ottawa. “I am a Zionist.”

“The increasingly common deafening indifference toward or even rationalisation of rising anti-Semitism is not normal. The term Zionist increasingly being tossed around as a pejorative, in spite of the fact that it simply means believing in the right of Jewish people, like all people, to determine their own future, is not normal,” he added.

The Embassy of Israel in Canada praised Trudeau’s statement. “Indeed, the rise of antisemitism is not normal — it is unprecedented. According to Israel’s Diaspora Ministry, there has been a 670% increase in antisemitic incidents in Canada since October 7 — this startling stat should keep us all awake at night,” the embassy wrote on X.

UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Francesca Albanese, in contrast, has stated that Zionism undermines Palestinian rights. “Antisemitism, like all racism, is repugnant and must be fought as a legal and moral duty. But opposing it should not mean ignoring the rights of others,” she said on X.

“No ideology justifies the dispossession of a people or the denial of their right to self-determination. Canada has legal obligations to support, not obstruct, Palestinian self-determination — failure to do so can have legal consequences under international law. Canadians should be fully aware of this.”