Canadian official says Carney will accept role on Trump’s Gaza board of peace

By Canadian Press on January 16, 2026.

BEIJING — A senior Canadian government official says Prime Minister Mark Carney has been asked by U.S. President Donald Trump to join the “Board of Peace” tasked with supporting the administration, reconstruction and economic recovery of Gaza.

Carney’s name was not among the initial list of executive board members, released by the White House earlier today, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East.

But the government official, who spoke on background with reporters travelling with Carney on his trip to China, said an invitation from Trump to join the board arrived on Thursday as the prime minister was in Beijing to meet with Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping.

Carney will accept the offer, the official said.

The “Board of Peace” was part of the Trump-brokered peace plan that saw a ceasefire take hold between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

When first made public in September, Carney called the peace plan “historic” and urged all parties to make it work.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 16, 2026.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press