OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says if his party forms government in 2019, it will follow Donald Trump's lead and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Scheer's declaration comes in the form of a pledge posted to the Conservative party website designed to gather signatures from members of the public.
It marks the leader's first definitive statement on the issue since it became a renewed matter of public debate late last year.
That debate was prompted by the U.S. president's decision to not just recognize Jerusalem as the capital, but to promise to move the American embassy there as well.
Scheer's pledge makes no mention of whether or not Canada would follow suit and move its embassy from Tel Aviv, but a spokesman says that would be discussed once the party forms a government.
In the days following Trump's announcement, the Tories found themselves scrambling to define their policy on Jerusalem, since they'd not previously taken a public position on the issue.
