Who is attending the G7 summit in Alberta this week? A full list of the world leaders attending and invited

Globe and Mail

10 hours ago

Canada will host more than a dozen world leaders at the Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alta., starting on Sunday, with several pressing issues at stake both on and off the agenda.
There are seven member states in the informal grouping of some of the world's most advanced economies, and five have new leaders since last year, including Canada. But in addition to those nations, the host also typically invites leaders from other countries and organizations to shape discussions and encourage global co-operation.
Carney sets out foreign policy shift as G7 convenes under the shadow of Trump's trade war
Prime Minister Mark Carney has already made waves with invitations that have signaled his economic and foreign-policy priorities and, in some cases, stirred controversy ahead of his first G7 leaders' summit.
Here's a look at the world leaders who will attend the meetings in Alberta this week, and those who won't:
U.S. President Donald Trump
The G7 summit will mark U.S. President Donald Trump's first visit to Canada since he returned to the White House in January, launched a trade war and made comments about annexing the country. The summit comes as Ottawa and Washington continue to negotiate toward a new trade and security deal, and many other world leaders will be looking for face time with the President.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
This will be Mr. Starmer's first time visiting Canada and first G7 Leaders' Summit since his party's election victory last year. Mr. Carney announced Wednesday that Mr. Starmer will come to Ottawa for bilateral talks prior to the official summit. The two men previously met in March, during Mr. Carney's first trip abroad as Prime Minister.
French President Emmanuel Macron
Mr. Macron is currently the longest-serving member state leader in the G7. He has represented France at all seven leaders' summits since his election in 2017 (2020's meeting was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and this year will be his ninth.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
Mr. Merz, who was elected Chancellor earlier this year, will be representing Germany at the summit for the first time. Since his election, Mr. Merz has plunged into diplomatic efforts to try to secure a ceasefire and keep Western support for Ukraine intact, as well as improve trade relations with the United States.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
This will be the third summit for Ms. Meloni, who hosted the G7's 50th leaders meeting in her country's Puglia region last year. She and Mr. Carney met for the first time last month when he was visiting Italy for Pope Francis's funeral.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba
This week's summit is also the first for Mr. Ishiba, whose Liberal Democratic Party was elected to power last fall. The Prime Minister expressed his hopes for the summit and strengthening bilateral relations with Canada in a Globe and Mail opinion piece earlier this week.
'This summit will be a crucial milestone. To lead the international community from division to co-operation, we must maintain and strengthen an international order based on the rule of law, not power,' he wrote.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
Mr. Carney, who took office in March, is technically the newest of all the member-state leaders coming to Alberta. But he is no stranger to the G7, having attended many conferences and meetings during his time as Governor of the Bank of Canada and then of the Bank of England.
The Prime Minister has said the priorities guiding the summit are 'anchored' in building stronger economies. He will be seeking co-ordinated action in three areas: 'protecting our communities and the world,' 'building energy security and accelerating digital transitions,' and securing economic partnerships.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
The European Union is considered a 'non-enumerated' member of the G7 and sends either the president of the European Commission or the European Council to each leaders' summit. Ms. von der Leyen has served as Commission President since 2019, and was a long-serving member of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet before that.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
The decision to invite the head of a government accused of meddling in Canadian democracy — after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly accused 'agents of the Indian government' of orchestrating the killing of a B.C. Sikh-separatism advocate —has prompted backlash, including from within the Prime Minister's own Liberal Party.
But last week, Mr. Carney said it made sense for India to be at the table, as it is one of the largest economies in the world and central to global supply chains. He wouldn't comment on the allegations levelled by his predecessor against India, saying 'the rule of law is proceeding as it should.'
He said the invitation to Mr. Modi was extended in the context of continuing dialogue between law enforcement in both countries.
Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico
Ms. Sheinbaum accepted Mr. Carney's invitation to join the summit, and says her team is working to set up bilateral meetings with G7 leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump.
Mexico and Canada have both been targets of Mr. Trump's punishing tariffs, and the three countries are set to begin renegotiating the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade next year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Mr. Zelensky might get another chance to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alberta, as Washington continues to push for an end to the war that started with Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea and escalated to a full-scale invasion in 2022. Their last meeting erupted when the U.S. President berated Mr. Zelensky in front of media in the Oval Office.
Ottawa and its peers fear the U.S. is too obliging to Moscow and that a bad deal will only create more instability in Europe. Mr. Carney and Mr. Zelensky met for the first time last month in Italy on their visit for the funeral of Pope Francis.
NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte
Mr. Rutte, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, will attend his first G7 leaders' meeting since he assumed office last fall. His visit comes amid rising pressure on some NATO member states, including Canada, to increase their defence spending to meet the organization's targets.
President of the World Bank Ajay Banga
Last year's G7 summit in Italy was Mr. Banga's first, and the former Mastercard CEO's attendance this year comes at a time of turmoil and instability as Trump's trade war shakes up global economies and markets.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
Mr. Ramaphosa attended his first G7 summit in 2019, the year he took office, and has attended nearly all leaders' summits since then. His participation this year comes amid tensions with Mr. Trump, who ambushed Mr. Ramaphosa in their Oval Office meeting last month, falsely accusing his government of killing white farmers.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
This will be President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's third G7 since taking office in 2023. He has tried to partner with countries across the Global South while advancing democracy and environmental protections. He'll be taking those themes to the COP30 summit in the Amazon this November, which his office claimed this week Carney will be attending, though Ottawa has yet to confirm.
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will come to Alberta at Mr. Carney's invitation. Canada has described the wealthy Gulf country as 'a critical partner' in humanitarian efforts such as foreign aid projects and the resettlement of vulnerable Afghans.
Sudanese groups have criticized Canada for not publicly calling out the UAE for its role in arming the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary the U.S. has accused of carrying out a genocide in Sudan. The UAE has strenuously denied involvement in the conflict.
South Korea
President Lee Jae-myung is eager to present South Korea as a stable, democratic country following a turbulent period that started with the former president declaring martial law last December.
South Korea has long aspired to join the G7 and argues that its economic and regional clout is similar to that of G7 member Japan. Ottawa and Seoul have pledged deeper co-operation on maritime security, critical minerals and the environment.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who took office in 2022, is a willing partner for Canada as it tries to shore up its trade and defence links across the Indo-Pacific.
In March, Carney announced a deal was in the works to have Ottawa partner with Australia on an early-warning radar detection system to use in the Arctic and across the U.S. border.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto
Mr. Subianto will attend the summit after years of Ottawa pursuing deeper ties with Indonesia — a demographic and economic giant in the Indo-Pacific.
Canada and Indonesia signed a free-trade agreement last year and Ottawa aspires to sell small-scale nuclear technology to the island nation as it helps to develop small reactors for northern Canadian communities.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith
Ms. Smith is set to greet world leaders when they arrive at the Calgary airport for the G7 summit, host representatives from non-member countries at a reception, and hold bilateral meetings throughout the summit.
The premier has already made international relations a hallmark of her administration. She made headlines in January when she visited Mr. Trump's Florida home prior to him taking office, in an effort to stave off his tariffs on Canadian goods.
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will not attend the G7 leaders' summit despite an invitation from Prime Minister Mark Carney. The development may ease some of the tension inside Mr. Carney's Liberal caucus, as some MPs were upset by the invitation.
The MPs say India and Saudi Arabia are in violation of Mr. Carney's own G7 priority of 'countering foreign interference and transnational crime,' and therefore should not have been invited.
China
Beijing was not invited to attend the summit. China warned the Group of Seven members on Friday against 'manipulating' issues related to the world's second-largest economy for their own agenda, after they accused Beijing of unfair business practices a year earlier.
Beijing's criticism of the G7 and what it represents comes amid a surge in global trade tension between the United States and China this year, as well as within the bloc's membership.
Prime Minister Carney is also being urged by 10 pro democracy and human-rights groups in Canada to raise the plight of jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai at the summit, and to join the U.K., U.S. and Australia in calling for his unconditional release from prison over a Beijing-imposed national security law.
– With reports from Stephanie Levitz, Steven Chase and The Canadian Press