G7 leaders meet in Canada hoping to avoid Trump clash

BANFF, Alberta - Group of Seven leaders gather in the Canadian Rockies starting on June 15 amid growing splits with the United States over foreign policy and trade, with host Canada striving to avoid clashes with President Donald Trump.

While Prime Minister Mark Carney says his priorities are strengthening peace and security, building critical mineral supply chains and creating jobs, issues such as US tariffs and the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are expected to feature heavily.

US ally Israel launched a barrage of strikes across Iran on June 13, a blow to Mr Trump’s diplomatic efforts to prevent such an attack.

The summit will take place in the mountain resort of Kananaskis, some 90km west of Calgary.

The last time Canada played host, in 2018, Mr Trump left the summit before denouncing then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “very dishonest and weak” and instructing the US delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique.

“This will be a successful meeting if Donald Trump doesn’t have an eruption that disrupts the entire gathering. Anything above and beyond that is gravy,” said University of Ottawa international affairs professor Roland Paris, who was foreign policy adviser to Mr Trudeau.

Mr Trump has often mused about annexing Canada and arrives at a time when Mr Carney is threatening reprisals if Washington does not lift tariffs on steel and aluminum.

“The best-case scenario... is that there’s no real blow-ups coming out of the back end,” said Mr Josh Lipsky, the chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council think tank and a former White House and State Department official.

Mr Carney’s office declined to comment on how the Israeli strikes would affect the summit.

No joint communique

Diplomats said Canada has ditched the idea of a traditional comprehensive joint communique