Canada’s recent hosting of the 51st Group of Seven summit came at a crucial time for the group, with global tensions on the rise, including within the bloc itself. Indeed, the weekend-long gathering was surrounded by key events and developments in international relations and foreign policy, namely between the United States and Canada, the latter of which recently announced its intention to raise defense spending to meet NATO standards. Prime Minister Mark Carney courted President Trump, signaling the potential for future cooperation and a decrease in friction between Canada and the U.S.
Of course, this represents a massive change in US-Canada relations as they have been since the inauguration of President Trump in January. Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau never hid their mutual dislike, which led to the escalation of tensions in numerous cases. Trump, for example, openly expressed his desire to turn Canada into the “51st state,” which led to widespread opposition towards the President from the Canadian public and was partially responsible for the loss of conservative prime ministerial candidate Pierre Poilievre.
These sentiments were only exacerbated by the trade war launched by the U.S., in which tariffs reportedly resulted in a drop in crossings, which were essential for the tourism sectors of both countries and even many local businesses at the border. In response to Trump’s actions and rhetoric towards Canada, many Canadians even boycotted American products, with many scenes of untouched shelves of imported goods being circulated on social media. Canadians at large, therefore, looked anxiously to the election of Carney as a potential turnaround in relations.
The public remained skeptical that this turnaround could be reached in time for Canada’s hosting of the latest G7 summit, which brought together the heads of state of various nations in Kananaskis, Alberta. This included both the core G7 - Canada, France, the U.S., Italy, Japan, Germany and Britain—as well as other world leaders, including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum. The official agenda items for the conference included safeguarding energy security, accelerating the digital transition, and “securing the partnerships of the future,” although the discussions unsurprisingly pivoted towards recent issues like Trump’s tariffs, as well as the new developments in the Iran-Israel conflict.
Crucially, the summit was preceded by and included close talks between Carney and Trump, in which Carney launched a charm offensive in the apparent hopes of improving U.S.-Canada relations. Previously, Carney had taken a hardline stance in emphasizing his responsibility of protecting Canada’s sovereignty and trade interests, stating how “Trump is trying to break us [Canada].”
However, he recently seemed markedly more favorable towards collaboration with Trump than his predecessor. In an earlier meeting, Carney thanked Trump for his “hospitality” and “leadership,” while calling him a “transformational president.” In addition, he carefully crafted aspects of the summit to cater to Trump’s interests, including steering the agenda away from topics such as climate change, as well as foregoing the use of a communiqué - a joint statement signed by attending parties. At the summit itself, amidst compliments for other heads of state, Carney told Trump that, “the G7 is nothing without U.S. leadership, your personal leadership.”
As a result, the summit went largely smoothly, with the attending countries holding different stances with few public disagreements. This was helped by the fact that the final statements were narrower and dealt with less controversial issues, including AI and migrant smuggling. The disagreements primarily arose from conflict: the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation between Iran and Israel. While Zelenskyy left with a guarantee of additional aid from Canada, there was notably no joint statement of support. Another contentious issue was that of tariffs and trade, although the leaders generally agreed on the importance of working toward trade deals and preventing full-blown trade wars.
While President Trump did leave Kananaskis for Washington, D.C., midway through the summit, citing Middle Eastern security issues that he needed to tend to, he made it clear it wasn’t related to the summit and reflected positively on his time in Canada. This, combined with his earlier exchange with Carney, could signal improved future cooperation. It also came at a crucial time, with Carney announcing plans to increase Canada’s defense spending to meet NATO’s target of 2% of GDP within the year—five years ahead of Canada’s previous commitment. While Carney emphasized that Canada’s “fundamental goal in all of this is to protect Canadians, not to satisfy NATO accountants,” the decision would address Trump’s longstanding grievance regarding the inability of NATO members to meet their spending targets, indicating a potential dual purpose.
Even amidst global tensions and divides within the G7 itself, Canada could be poised to mend its relations with the U.S. while appeasing its other allies within NATO. While the broader summit itself might have demonstrated less unity than previous ones, there is still hope that the attending nations will come to a mutual consensus on matters including conflicts and trade.