The world’s richest democracies will spend the next two days tiptoeing around tariffs while they indulge in Alberta beef and mountain views.
What happened: The G7 leaders — responsible for over US$58 trillion of the world’s GDP — arrived in Kananaskis, Alberta, yesterday to talk security, the growing conflict in the Middle East, and share their strategies on how to avoid angering President Trump. But despite not being on the official agenda, the issue expected to dominate the summit is trade.
- Organizers have said there won’t be a joint communiqué at the end of the G7, likely to avoid irritating Trump and risking trade deal negotiations.
- Carney is set to have a one-on-one meeting with Trump this morning and will also sit down with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
Catch-up: Canada is pushing a few priorities — like critical minerals and energy solutions — but the unspoken mission is to avoid a repeat of 2018, when Trump stormed out of the last Canadian-hosted summit and called then-PM Trudeau “very dishonest and weak.”
Why it matters: Trump has threatened to reimpose steep tariffs on July 9 if trade pacts don’t come to fruition. That prospect has sent leaders scrambling — from the G7 and beyond — to try and cut deals (or at least make progress) on the sidelines of the Alberta summit.
- While some experts are optimistic that Canada could spin a U.S. trade deal out of the summit, White House officials told Politico that it’s unlikely anything more than commitments to keep talking will arise from the meetings.
Bottom line: The consensus among experts seems to be that if the three-day summit wraps up without a Trump-related blow-up, it will be considered a win for Carney and the G7.—LA