Anand says ‘regime change’ in Iran would be required for restarting diplomatic ties

Protesters march in support of regime change in Iran during a demonstration in Toronto, on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada will not re-establish ties with Iran until “regime change” takes place in Tehran.

Anand made the comment to The Globe and Mail Saturday, and her office and department would not repeat that phrasing but has not disputed it.

“We will not open diplomatic relationships with Iran unless there is a regime change. Period,” the newspaper quoted Anand as saying.

Encyclopaedia Britannica defines regime change as “the overthrow of a government considered illegitimate by an external force and its replacement with a new government according to the ideas or interests promoted by that force.”

Global Affairs Canada would not provide the context of those remarks, instead writing that Ottawa will not restore diplomatic ties it severed in 2012 “so long as the Iranian government continues to brutalize its people and deny their legitimate aspirations.”

A day prior to Anand’s comments, U.S. President Donald Trump said a change in power in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen,” as his administration stations military assets near the country and weighs another round of strikes against Tehran.

In March 2023, former foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly caused a diplomatic spat by publicly mulling “potential regime change in Russia,” with Moscow saying the phrase was an unacceptable interference in domestic matters.

Since late December, a violent crackdown in Iran has killed thousands of protesters across the country. That has prompted large demonstrations in Toronto and for Ottawa to unveil yet another round of sanctions against Iranian officials, marking the 23rd round of Canadian sanctions against Iran since 2022.

The Conservatives support an end to the regime in Iran, with leader Pierre Poilievre writing last June that he hoped “the brave Iranian people will rise up and put an end to this appalling regime.”

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

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press