Kananaskis, Alberta, has traded hikers for heads of state as the Group of Seven rolls into the Canadian Rockies. Roadblocks, drones and Mounties ring the mountain resort while host Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump, Britain’s Keir Starmer, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Japan’s Fumio Kishida, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni. What would normally be a photo-op getaway is overshadowed by Israel’s sudden strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation—an escalation many leaders learned about in mid-flight. Carney, determined to keep attention on “shared prosperity,” must first navigate a world bristling with missiles and tariffs.
Trump’s Presence Keeps Allies On Edge
Air Force One touched down in Calgary late Sunday, the U.S. president emerging in a bright “MAGA” cap and flashing thumbs-up signs before speeding toward the mountains. Inside diplomatic lounges, officials whisper about two wild-card issues: Trump’s renewed threat to impose broad tariffs on allies and his offhand idea that Canada could become America’s 51st state. Macron pre-emptively visited Nuuk, Greenland, to declare the Arctic island “not for sale” after Trump again mused about “pricing” it. Adding to the tension, U.S. officials confirm he vetoed an Israeli plan to target Iran’s supreme leader, signalling how close the Middle East came to an even wider war.
Carney Seeks Consensus Without A Communiqué
Mindful of previous G7 meetings that collapsed into bickering, Carney has scrapped the traditional joint communiqué and will instead issue a personal chair’s summary—immune to last-minute vetoes.
He has also widened the circle, inviting leaders from India, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Australia, Mexico, Ukraine and the UAE to select sessions. Canadian aides say the broader format may blunt bilateral showdowns and pivot talks toward longer-term cooperation on climate finance, artificial-intelligence safety and supply-chain resilience.
Yet the risk remains that the summit degenerates into a carousel of one-on-one meetings as partners jockey to head off new U.S. tariffs before Trump’s election-year campaign rallies.
Broad Agenda From Ukraine To Global Trade
Beyond the Iran flare-up, leaders face an overflowing agenda. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will plead for air-defence systems and reconstruction loans, and a handshake with Trump would mark their first encounter since a bruising March Oval Office meeting.
European capitals want firmer language condemning nuclear brinkmanship, while Tokyo eyes coordinated oil-market backstops if the Israel-Iran clash squeezes Persian Gulf shipping lanes. London hopes to lock down a freshly announced pact cutting U.S. tariffs on U.K. cars and metals—though insiders admit the deal could unravel if Trump “changes mood.”
Meanwhile, Carney’s staff are drafting language on artificial-intelligence guardrails after a briefing from Canadian startup Cohere. Whether any of it survives the summit’s unpredictable dynamics may depend on the host’s ability to keep conversations on track—and the U.S. president’s willingness to stay there.