Tariffs, wildfires and AI on the agenda as Canada hosts world leaders at G7

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This article was published 15/06/2025 (438 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Mark Carney has tried to pare down Canada’s priorities as the G7 summit host, but there’s still a lengthy list of global issues for leaders to discuss over the coming days.

“Leaders (will) meet at a moment of enormous flux globally, when tensions among G7 members are especially pronounced,” Carney’s foreign policy adviser David Angell told a panel this week.

He did not directly reference U.S. President Donald Trump, who famously walked out of the last G7 summit Canada hosted in 2018.

Here’s a look at what’s on the agenda in Kananaskis, Alta., and what to expect.

Economics

On the formal agenda, the first discussion is about the “global economic outlook,” followed by a working lunch on economic security and supply chains.

Angell said this will include a discussion on “anti-market practices by large, non-G7 economies.” China is among those countries accused of anti-market practices.

“There’s no doubt that important discussion of President Trump’s tariff strategy will take place,” he added.

John Kirton, head of the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto, said the discussion will likely set the tone on how countries balance fiscal stimulus through tax cuts or possibly more defence spending along with cutting back deficits.

He said leaders will need to navigate the difficult reality that Trump’s tariffs are hurting economic growth and likely caused the downgrading of Washington’s credit ratings.

Leaders are set to discuss critical minerals, and Kirton said this might involve setting labour and environmental transparency standards for minerals acquired in fragile countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sen. Peter Boehm, who played a central role in many G7 summits, said he expects Canada to raise the dysfunction of the World Trade Organization, though this might happen in an informal setting instead of part of the structured G7 meetings.

The WTO’s appeal body is the main global enforcer of resolutions in trade disputes, and it has been effectively stalled for years as the U.S. blocks the appointment of panel members, following frustration of how the WTO has ruled against Washington.

In 2018, Canada launched the Ottawa Group, a committee urging WTO reform made up of more than a dozen economies ranging from Kenya to Norway, but it has had limited success.

Wildfires and foreign interference

The second session taking place Monday will involve safety, particularly wildfires, foreign interference and transnational crime.

Canada is set to release a Kananaskis Wildfire Charter, spanning mitigation, response and recovery.

Kirton said discussion around the document will focus on “equipment interoperability” to allow G7 members to support each other during emergencies, as well as the use of satellite imagery to fight wildfires.

He said the topic has become “a burning issue” in part because wildfires in places like Los Angeles and across the Prairies show how the threat is relevant to Washington and its G7 peers.

Leaders might try to raise climate change, but Kirton doubts that phrase will appear in any closing statements, with Trump pushing back on the topic.

A brief circulated among G7 planners from various countries originally included the term “countering migrant smuggling and drug trafficking” but Kirton noted that the term did not appear in later drafts.

Kirton said he expects leaders to discuss tighter co-operation in combating the drug trade, given that the U.S. concern over opioids matches concerns other countries have about heroin trafficking.

‘Making the world secure’

The topic title of the Monday working dinner is broad. While such a session would normally involve conflicts in Israel and the Palestinian territories, North Korea and Sudan, analysts expect that recent strikes between Israel and Iran will dominate this discussion.

Ukrainian sovereignty

Tuesday’s working breakfast will come after G7 leaders have a chance to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and amid concerns from other G7 members that the U.S. might sign a deal from Russia that only encourages further invasion of European countries.

After that, G7 leaders have a larger meeting with the invited guests, which so far includes leaders of Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Ukraine, NATO, the United Nations and the World Bank.

It’s unclear whether Canada’s bid to raise issues of foreign interference will come up in talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose government the RCMP has linked to extortion, coercion and homicide cases.

In January, the foreign interference inquiry’s final report said “India is the second most active” threat actor, which is “clandestinely providing illicit financial support to various Canadian politicians in an attempt to secure the election of pro-India candidates or gain influence.”

Energy security

Tuesday afternoon’s discussion is set to include making energy affordable and creating the infrastructure needed to diversify of energy sources.

Angell said “a number of key leaders” visiting the summit as guests will be part of the talks.

Carney’s office has said Canada is seeking coalitions with reliable partners to open new markets, and generate large infrastructure investments.

AI and quantum tech

Carney’s office says G7 leaders will discuss “using artificial intelligence and quantum to unleash economic growth,” though it’s not clear where in the schedule this will take place.

Experts say quantum computing could rapidly speed up processing times and allow for more accurate or efficient tasks. But they say cryptography might be needed to prevent powerful quantum computers from breaking power grids and banking systems.

Kirton said the discussion will likely include discussion on how to include developing countries in the gains of AI and how it can boost the efficiency of government bureaucracies and business of all sizes.

Something useful — and Canadian

While federal officials have warned that the summit will unlikely end with a lengthy communiqué that has been part of almost every other G7 summit, Boehm has faith Canada will still deliver points of consensus that liberal democracies can act on.

Last month, finance ministers and central bankers agreed on action around cyber threats to the financial sector and the need to assess the possibilities and risks posed by artificial intelligence.

In March, foreign ministers pledged to focus on maritime security, a topic that affects all G7 countries who also happen to share three oceans with Canada, giving grounds to look at everything from unregistered vessels undermining sanctions to illegal fishing and threats to undersea fibre-optic cables.

These were largely seen as ways to bridge the growing gap between Europe and the U.S. and focus on shared goals. It’s a skill G7 allies turn to Canada for, sometimes literally, in the middle of the night.

“There’s often come a time, usually at three in the morning or something, where someone will look at me, or whoever is in the Canadian chair and say … ‘it’s time for the great Canadian initiative to compromise, and get this thing done.’ So we do add value,” Boehm said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2025.