G7 leaders hope to avoid Trump clash
Group of Seven leaders gather in the Canadian Rockies starting on Sunday 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.
The summit is taking place in the mountain resort of Kananaskis, some 90 km (56 miles) west of Calgary.
The last time Canada played host, in 2018, 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 Trudeau.
Trump has often mused about annexing Canada and arrives at a time when 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 Josh Lipsky, the chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council think tank and a former White House and State Department official.
Diplomats said Canada has ditched the idea of a traditional comprehensive joint communique and would issue chair summaries instead, in hopes of containing a disaster and maintaining engagement with the US.
A senior Canadian official told reporters Ottawa wanted to focus on actions the seven members - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – could take together.
Canadian Senator Peter Boehm, a veteran former diplomat who acted as Trudeau's personal representative to the 2018 summit, said he had been told the summit would last longer than usual to give time for bilateral meetings with the US president.
Expected guests for parts of the Sunday to Tuesday event include leaders from Ukraine, Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, who all have reasons to want to talk to Trump. Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Jagmeet Singh apologises to Drake after being called 'goof' for attending Kendrick Lamar's concert
Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh has apologised to rapper Drake after being publicly called a 'goof' on Instagram. The comment came following Singh's appearance at Kendrick Lamar's Toronto concert, where Lamar performed his viral diss track 'Not Like Us' to loud support from the crowd. Drake shared a direct message sent to Singh reading 'You're a goof,' referencing the politician's attendance at a show by his current musical rival. The diss, posted publicly, quickly circulated across political and entertainment media. Photo: Instagram In a social media statement, Singh clarified that he attended the show to see SZA and not Kendrick Lamar. He wrote, 'I shouldn't have gone. I was there for SZA, but I should've thought it through. It's always Drake over Kendrick for me.' Singh's tone aimed to cool tensions while reaffirming his support for the Toronto-born artist. Photo: Instagram Singh, a Member of Parliament and former leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, was reportedly mistaken for another attendee at the Toronto event. However, the resemblance was strong enough to spark a reaction from Drake during the height of his ongoing feud with Lamar. At the concert, Kendrick Lamar performed 'Not Like Us' to a standing ovation, reportedly lasting over two minutes, with fans chanting for an encore.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Iron ore ticks higher on firmer China demand; tariff concerns cap rise
SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures prices edged up on Monday as rising crude steel production in top consumer China bolstered sentiment for the steelmaking material, though US steel tariff concerns capped gains. The most-traded September iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.28% higher at 705 yuan ($98.13) a metric ton, as of 0253 GMT. The benchmark July iron ore on the Singapore Exchange rose 0.25% to $94.4 a ton. China's crude steel output in May gained 0.6% from April as mills boosted their operating rates to take advantage of healthy profit margins spurred by exports. Around 60% of blast-furnace steel mills in China reported positive margins as of June 12, data from consultancy Mysteel showed. Still, average daily hot metal output, typically used as a gauge of iron ore demand, dipped around 0.1% week-on-week to 2.416 million tons as of June 13, according to Mysteel data. On the trade front, a range of imported household appliances, including dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators and more will be subject to Trump's 50% steel tariffs from June 23. Broadly, China's new home prices declined 0.2% in May from the previous month, official data showed on Monday, a sign that the country's property sector remains stagnant despite several rounds of policy support measures. Also pressuring prices was a stronger US dollar, driven by safe-haven buying amid intensifying geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Iron ore dips as market awaits clarity on Sino-US trade talk progress A firmer dollar makes dollar-denominated assets less affordable to holders of other currencies. Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE gained ground, with coking coal and coke up 1.81% and 1.04%, respectively. Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange strengthened. Rebar rose 0.81%, hot-rolled coil was up 0.88%, wire rod edged 0.3% higher and stainless steel inched up 0.04%.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Japan's Nikkei rises as weaker yen provides boost to exporters
TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Monday even as the conflict between Israel and Iran continued, with a weaker yen supporting sentiment. As of 0155 GMT, the Nikkei was up 0.9% at 38,164.07, while the broader Topix rose 0.54% to 2,772.46. 'Investors were less worried about geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and the market saw no need for additional sell-offs,' said Kentaro Hayashi, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities. 'There is an optimism that the conflict will be contained with countries like the United States and Russia stepping in,' he added. Japan's Nikkei climbs for fourth day on US-China trade framework; Hino plunges The Nikkei fell on Friday after Israel launched strikes against Iran, and Wall Street ended sharply lower later in the day. On Monday, Advantest jumped 8% to provide the biggest boost to the Nikkei. The chip-making equipment maker, one of the largest components of the Nikkei, tends to be bought when the market bets the upside of the benchmark index. Automakers rose on the back of a weaker yen, with Honda Motor and Nissan Motor rising 3.4% and 1%, respectively. Toyota Motor was up 0.4%. The yen fell at the end of the week as investors bought safe-haven assets, such as the US dollar. The greenback was last up 0.17% to 144.325 against the Japanese yen. A weaker Japanese currency tends to boost shares of exporters, as it increases the value of overseas profits in yen terms when firms repatriate the money to Japan. Nippon Steel rose 2.4% after U.S President Donald Trump approved its $14.9 billion bid for US Steel on Friday. The sector for steel makers rose 1.77% to become the top performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's (TSE) 33 industry sub-indexes. The shipping sector rose 1.66% on expectations for rising freight rates amid the Middle East conflict. Kawasaki Kisen rose 2.4%. Of more than 1,600 stocks trading on the TSE's prime market, 66% rose and 28% fell with 4% trading flat.
