Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – will meet on Sunday within the distant city of Kananaskis, Alberta, nestled within the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, for 3 days of intense discussions.
This would be the 51st G7 summit assembly. The primary befell in 1975 in Rambouillet, France. Again then, it was generally known as the G6 assembly, as Canada didn’t change into a member till the next yr.
Russia joined the discussion board in 1998, making it the G8, however was successfully expelled in 2014, following its annexation of Crimea. Since then, the discussion board has been generally known as the G7.
Tensions at this yr’s gathering, happening June 15-17, are prone to be excessive for a lot of causes.
Intense discussions are anticipated concerning the unfolding crisis in the Middle East after Israel carried out huge strikes on army and nuclear websites in Iran on Friday. This yr’s assembly additionally takes place in opposition to the backdrop of aggressive trade tariffs set – after which paused for all nations besides China, which has now reached a cope with the US – by US President Donald Trump earlier this yr.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney may nonetheless be reeling from feedback by Trump that Canada ought to change into the 51st US state. In Could, Carney stated that Canada was “not on the market … ever” throughout a gathering with Trump on the White Home.
The G7 represents 44 p.c of worldwide gross home product (GDP) however solely 10 p.c of the world’s inhabitants. Inside the group, the US is by far the biggest financial system. Having campaigned for the presidency on an “America First” message, Trump has incessantly expressed displeasure about how a lot it contributes to international affairs.
On the final G7 summit attended by Trump in 2018, his nationwide safety adviser, John Bolton, posted on social media: “Simply one other G7 the place different nations count on America will at all times be their financial institution. The President made it clear at present. No extra.”
So, who’s coming this yr and what’s going to they be speaking about?
Who’s attending the G7 assembly this yr?
Canada is internet hosting this yr’s G7 assembly – it’s the seventh time it has assumed the presidency of the group. Moreover leaders of the G7 nations and the EU, which can also be represented on the summit, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has invited a number of heads of state from non-G7 nations as company.
These embrace Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who confirmed her attendance on Monday after saying in Could that she was undecided, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was invited, however it’s unclear whether or not he’ll attend.
The invitation for Modi has raised eyebrows in Canada. Relations between India and Canada have been strained since former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of assassinating a Sikh separatist leader in Canada in 2023. The World Sikh Organisation mentioned Carney’s invitation was a “betrayal of Sikh Canadians”, and the Sikh Federation of Canada referred to as it “a grave insult”.
However Carney, who’s attempting to diversify Canadian commerce away from the US, defended his resolution, saying it is smart for the G7 to ask India, since it’s the world’s fifth-largest financial system and is on the coronary heart of quite a few buying and selling provide chains.
“As well as, bilaterally, now we have now agreed, importantly, to continued legislation enforcement dialogue, so there’s been some progress on that, that recognises problems with accountability. I prolonged the invitation to Prime Minister Modi in that context,” Carney informed reporters in Ottawa.
In March, Carney additionally invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to this week’s gathering.
Leaders of Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and South Korea are additionally anticipated to attend.
Will they focus on US commerce tariffs?
Throughout his present tenure as president, Trump has imposed broad tariffs on each member of the G7, in addition to on most different nations all over the world, sparking a worldwide commerce battle within the course of. Trump says he desires to reverse massive commerce deficits between the US and different nations.
Nonetheless, it’s unlikely this problem might be formally addressed throughout G7 discussions as Carney will primarily be attempting to stop a fallout over commerce between the member states, lots of whom are nonetheless scrambling to secure trade deals with the US.
The UK reached the first trade agreement with the US in Could, when it agreed to scale back tariffs on US items from 5.1 p.c to 1.8 p.c and supply higher entry for US items. In return, the US dropped larger tariffs, leaving solely its common 10-percent tariff in place.
Each the EU and Japan are hoping to strike their very own agreements earlier than the July 9 finish of Trump’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs.
Trump additionally had a rocky relationship with the G7 throughout his first time period as US president and left the 2018 summit – additionally in Canada – in a huff. On the finish of what was considered a profitable gathering, Trump wrote on social media that he had directed his workers to not signal the ultimate communique – the assertion G7 nations problem in a present of unity on the finish of the summit – and referred to as then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “very dishonest and weak”.
Though the communique isn’t often formally “signed”, the incident pointed to Trump’s unpredictability, consultants say.
John Kirton of the G7 Analysis Group, primarily based on the College of Toronto, mentioned Trump is much less prone to trigger a scene this yr. He informed Indian channel NDTV World that Carney is on higher phrases with Trump and famous that the US is because of host the G7 in 2027. “He doesn’t wish to kill the G7 golden goose earlier than he can produce the ‘greatest, finest summit ever’ for the entire world stage two years from now,” Kirton mentioned.
So, what might be on the agenda for this G7 assembly?
The G7 2025 summit web site lists three core actions on the agenda for this yr’s discussions: “Defending our communities all over the world”; “Constructing power safety and accelerating the digital transition”; and “Securing the partnerships of the long run”.
However G7 leaders are prone to deal with the unfolding conflict between Israel and Iran.
If this doesn’t dominate discussions solely, different objects on the agenda at this yr’s G7 summit are prone to be international commerce points, the Russia-Ukraine battle and China.
Israel-Iran disaster
Julia Kulik, director of strategic initiatives for the G7 Analysis Group on the College of Toronto’s Trinity Faculty, mentioned conversations on international peace that may have targeted on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Israel’s war on Gaza will now seemingly pivot to Iran.
“There might be powerful questions from different leaders across the desk to Donald Trump about what went incorrect with the negotiations and about what he’s going to do to get Israel to de-escalate earlier than issues worsen,” Kulik informed Al Jazeera.
The G7 “was designed to be a disaster response group with the flexibility to behave and adapt rapidly to worldwide challenges … so in some methods it’s good they’re assembly this weekend as they’ll have the flexibility to reply rapidly”, she added.
Robert Rogowsky, professor of commerce and financial diplomacy on the Middlebury Institute of Worldwide Research, mentioned there isn’t any approach G7 members can keep away from the topic of the newest disaster within the Center East. “That assault, counterattack, and the US declaration that it was not concerned and its warning about staying away from American property as targets is prone to be the very first thing mentioned, because it now creates the potential of an actual, all-out battle within the Center East. The key neighbouring events must determine methods to align themselves.” Rogowsky mentioned.
World commerce
Whereas Carney is hoping to cowl uncontroversial themes, comparable to constructing friendlier international provide chains for supplies like crucial minerals, China may be a spotlight of discussions.
Following a gathering of G7 finance ministers in Canada in Could, the group issued a joint communique saying they might proceed to watch “nonmarket insurance policies and practices” which contribute to imbalances in international commerce. The assertion didn’t point out China, however “nonmarket insurance policies” typically discuss with export subsidies and foreign money insurance policies that the Trump administration says present a bonus in worldwide commerce. The assertion was seen as a swipe at China’s commerce practices, specifically its lending practices, which many see as including debt for poorer nations.
Leaders of the G7 are additionally anticipated to debate issues about rising tensions between China and Taiwan within the East and South China Seas, in addition to China’s increasing army presence there.
Russia-Ukraine battle
A joint assertion of G7 overseas ministers following an earlier assembly in Quebec in mid-March expressed sturdy assist for Kyiv. It mentioned finance ministers had “mentioned imposing additional prices on Russia” if Moscow didn’t conform to a ceasefire.
The UK and the EU introduced a brand new spherical of sanctions in opposition to Russia in Could, however Trump, who has been conducting discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, mentioned the US wouldn’t comply with swimsuit.
Sanctions in opposition to Russia and attaining a ceasefire might, subsequently, even be a spotlight of discussions this week.
World growth
This could possibly be a thorny problem.
World growth, significantly in African nations, has lengthy been a major focus of G7 discussions. Nonetheless, this yr, the US has made clear that it needs to de-prioritise financial and humanitarian help for different nations. It has largely shuttered the USA Company for Worldwide Growth (USAID) and says it plans massive cuts to funding for different well being and growth initiatives abroad, as properly.
What conferences might happen on the sidelines of the G7 summit?
US-EU
Donald Trump is predicted to carry conferences with European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen and Japan’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba. Each leaders are wanting to agree on a commerce cope with Trump as quickly as attainable to keep away from reciprocal tariffs, attributable to come again into place following a pause in early July.
US-Canada-Mexico
Trump, Carney and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum may maintain a separate assembly of North American leaders on commerce and border safety. In February, Trump postponed his deliberate 25-percent import tariffs on Canadian and Mexican items on the final minute. Canada’s then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sheinbaum each agreed to extend border safety to stop the trafficking of medicine and migrants into the US, averting a commerce battle. Trump says he has been significantly involved concerning the stream of the drug fentanyl into the US from each Canada and Mexico.
US-South Africa
South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has informed reporters he may have a second assembly with Trump through the G7 summit, following the 2 leaders’ meeting in Washington, DC, on Could 21, when Trump accused South Africa of “genocide” in opposition to white farmers. Earlier in Could, 59 white “refugees” had been flown from South Africa to the US as a part of a relocation plan for white South Africans devised by the Trump administration.
