Pope watch: who's next up?
What's going on behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel this week, as the Catholic Church's cardinals meet in Rome to choose the next pope?
It's a centuries-old tradition, but this time, the college of cardinals is bigger than ever, with a growing contingent from Africa and Asia — many of them attending their first conclave ever. That means lots of different priorities, and of course the lingering question of whether to continue the liberal legacy of the late Francis, or to opt for more stability and traditionality.
Charles Collins is the managing editor of the Crux, an independent publication covering the Catholic Church. He is our guest to break it all down.
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CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
Can the G7 leaders still find anything to agree about?
Fifty years ago this fall the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States met in a castle outside Paris for three days of meetings, at the conclusion of which they issued the Declaration of Rambouillet, a 15-point statement of principles and commitments. Noting that they were "each responsible for the government of an open, democratic society, dedicated to individual liberty and social advancement," the Group of Six said they had come together because of "shared beliefs and shared responsibilities." The leaders pledged to "strengthen our efforts for closer international co-operation and constructive dialogue among all countries," "restore growth in the volume of world trade" and "restore greater stability in underlying economic and financial conditions in the world economy." In June 1976, with Canada at the table to create the G7, the leaders met in Puerto Rico and declared that, "The interdependence of our destinies makes it necessary for us to approach common economic problems with a sense of common purpose and to work toward mutually consistent economic strategies through better co-operation." Last year, when the leaders of the G7 met in Italy for the 2024 summit, they agreed to a nearly 20,000-word joint communique, covering their shared stances on an expansive array of global issues, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, food security, climate change, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, migration and the global economy. The pronoun "we" appeared dozens of times. Even if it's fair to ask how much all the words really amount to, there is something to be said for the value of the world's seven most powerful democracies coming together to express common views and beliefs — in addition to the specific, tangible initiatives that often flow from their annual gatherings. But in 2025, on the occasion of the 50th of these meetings, it's unclear on how much the seven leaders of these countries can still agree. Such lack of consensus would at least underline how much the world has changed in the last few months. The ghost of Charlevoix It's unlikely that the 50th meeting of the G7 will produce an expansive communique. A senior Canadian official, speaking to reporters this week, suggested the leaders will sign off on some number of narrower statements on specific issues. In that case, the results of the 2025 summit might resemble the output of the 2019 summit in France, which produced a succinct 259-word declaration agreed to by all leaders, alongside specific statements on gender equality and Africa, and a pair of chair "summaries" reviewing the discussions that were had. That summit in Biarritz was notably the last time Donald Trump attended a G7 summit. It was also the first after the G7's infamous blow-up in Charlevoix, Que. And the memory of that 2018 summit — the last time Canada played host — hangs over this year's gathering in Kananaskis, Alta. At Issue | What Carney's G7 invite list says about his priorities 1 day ago Duration 21:51 The Charlevoix gathering is most remembered for what happened shortly after it had seemingly concluded. Trump, apparently aggrieved by statements Justin Trudeau made in his closing news conference about American tariffs on steel and aluminum, used Twitter to blast the prime minister and declare that the United States was renouncing the summit's communique. But those tweets were just the culmination of what had been a fractious 48 hours as the leaders and their advisers haggled over the wording of the communique. The United States wanted the concluding statement to refer to "a" rules-based international order, not "the" rules-based international order (essentially a disagreement over the current existence of a rules-based international order). The United States didn't want to make any reference to the Paris Accords on climate change (Trump had pulled the U.S. out of the agreements in 2017). There were other differences over Iran and plastic pollution. A final communique was ultimately produced — agreed to just moments before Trump departed — but not all of the differences could be papered over: the split over climate change was explicitly acknowledged in the text. The example of Charlevoix may have influenced Biarritz. And it may be helping guide the approach to Kananaskis. The amount of work needed to get a consensus document "would really mean a race to the bottom" for what would be included, Peter Boehm, who was Trudeau's top negotiator at the Charlevoix summit, said in a recent interview with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. This is also, of course, a summit that will be held amid a trade war being waged between some of the countries at the table. The first goal for Carney — who has some experience with international summits as a former central bank governor and finance official — at next week's meetings might simply be to avoid another blow-up. And that might mean aiming for a lower level of agreement, perhaps in line with the official priorities the prime minister announced last week — which included countering foreign interference and transnational crime, improving joint responses to wildfires, fortifying critical mineral supply chains and harnessing artificial intelligence. "There is value in keeping the U.S. engaged by pursuing co-operation on a narrower set of priorities," says Roland Paris, a professor of international affairs and a former adviser to Trudeau. What message will this year's G7 send? But if the seven leaders can no longer agree about many things — including big, fundamental things like climate change or the war in Ukraine — it's tempting to ask whether the G7 still makes sense as a group. "The G7's internal strains mirror the larger fragmentation of multilateral governance, at a moment when the world urgently needs more, not less, co-operation," Paris says. Kim Nossal, a foreign policy scholar at Queen's University, says there is still value in the leaders of these seven nations coming together in person to take a measure of each other and discuss global issues. "It seems to me that, from the perspective of one of the other [leaders], that it remains a useful institution to keep going until or unless the United States under Trump trashes it and burns it down," Nossal says. WATCH | Will there be a final communique?: Why won't there be a leaders' communique coming out of next week's G7? | Power & Politics 1 day ago Duration 2:50 He said a relatively narrow agreement could send an implicit message about the state of the world (Nossal and I spoke last week, before government sources began to suggest a broad joint communique would not be forthcoming). "A good outcome is one where there is a relatively anodyne general communique at the end that the Americans sign off on that demonstrates quite clearly to the world just how far removed the Americans are from engagement," Nossal says. "That provides then an incentive for the remaining members of the West to double down on working with each other to address questions that the Americans no longer are interested in such as, for example, climate change." If there is no longer a unanimously held belief among the G7 in shared responsibilities, that will put an even greater onus on those nations who still believe in common purpose.
CBC
15 hours ago
- CBC
Canada to join major European rearmament deal as early as June 23: sources
Social Sharing Prime Minister Mark Carney plans on joining a sweeping European plan in Belgium this month to rearm the continent and provide more military aid to Ukraine, CBC News has learned. Last month, Carney signalled to CBC's Power & Politics that he hopes to sign on to the new defence initiative by Canada Day as he tries to move away from relying on the United States for weapons and munitions. Now sources with knowledge of the matter say Carney is expected to join the rearmament deal as early as June 23, when he meets with European leaders in Brussels at the EU-Canada summit. Carney hinted on Monday this summit will "be more important than ever." "Canada will arrive at this summit with a plan to lead, with new investments to build our strength in service of our values," Carney said. WATCH | Why ReArm Europe would want Canada: Why Europe would consider inviting Canada into a defence pact 3 months ago Duration 5:07 With the Western Alliance eroding under U.S. President Donald Trump, could Canada's defence support shift to Europe? As CBC's Evan Dyer explains, the country's understrength military doesn't offer much in the way of troops presence, but it does have other things Europe needs. The prime minister has said he's been in talks with European countries for months about closer defence co-operation. Carney wants to build up Canada's defence capabilities and expand its military suppliers beyond the U.S. as President Donald Trump wages a trade war on Canada and most of the world. "Over 75 cents on every dollar of capital spending for defence goes to the United States. That's not smart," Carney told Power & Politics host David Cochrane on May 27. Carney said it would be better to "spend more at home" with "diversified partnerships." CBC News is not naming the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal. European Union President Ursula von der Leyen first proposed the plan called ReArm Europe in March to bolster the continent's military capabilities during global threats, Russia's ongoing invasion in Ukraine and uncertainty with the United States. 'The first step is joining the club' The plan, renamed Readiness 2030, includes boosting European defence spending by up to 800 billion euros, including a 150-billion euro loan program to pay for more military technology and weapons. It's unclear how much money Canada would contribute. Carney announced more than $9 billion in new military spending this fiscal year on Monday — and said Canada must further increase defence spending in the years to come. Once Canada joins the European deal, the government will have to decide what initiative it wants to launch and which countries it will partner with. The list of potential projects includes air and missile defence, drones and anti-drone systems, artificial intelligence and electronic warfare. "The first step is joining the club. The next step is deciding what projects you want to work on with other club members," said Dave Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Support for Ukraine Ahead of the EU-Canada summit, Carney is also expected to announce more support for Ukraine. As part of Carney's promise to increase defence spending this year, supplementary estimates this week show the government has earmarked $2 billion for military aid to Ukraine and to expand defence partnerships. A source told CBC News the government is expected to reveal how much of that money will go toward Ukraine at the G7 meeting in in Kananaskis, Alta., next week. Carney is hosting this year's summit and invited Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who hopes to urge Trump to move forward with a stronger sanctions package on Russia. WATCH | Carney says Canada will hit 2% NATO spending target by March: Canada will hit 2% NATO spending target by March: Carney 4 days ago Duration 2:46 Canada will hit NATO's two per cent defence spending target this year, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Monday, promising billions in military upgrades. Three years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it continues to push forward in the Donbas region where Ukrainians are progressively losing "more and more" territory, Perry said. Ukraine needs armoured vehicles, artillery systems, ground-based air defence systems and munitions, he said. "They need help repairing all of the critical infrastructure the Russians are going after," he said. "They need the funding to basically keep the government of Ukraine solvent … they need a whole range of things."
CTV News
19 hours ago
- CTV News
EU trade surplus with U.S. grows in April despite tariffs
European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic arrives for a meeting of EU trade ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana) BRUSSELS — The European Union's goods trade surplus with the United States expanded in April even after U.S. tariffs, data released on Friday showed, while the bloc's exports to China dropped for a ninth consecutive month. The EU's surplus in goods trade as a whole declined to 7.4 billion euros (US$8.5 billion) from 12.7 billion euros in April 2024, data from EU statistics agency Eurostat showed. The EU goods surplus with the United States increased, as it has done every month since January 2024. Both exports to and imports from the United States increased for a fourth consecutive month in April, although the growth was lower than in previous months. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced wideranging tariffs on trade partners, and wants to reduce the U.S. goods trade deficit with the EU. In March, EU exports to the U.S. rose by 59.5 per cent, implying U.S. importers were building stocks of EU and other goods ahead of tariff increases. European Union exporters faced 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum from March 11, on cars from April 3 and on car parts from May 3. Washington doubled the rate on metals to 50 per cent on June 4. It also imposed so-called 'reciprocal' tariffs on most EU goods on April 5, initially at 20 per cent, but almost immediately cut to 10 per cent until July 8. The bloc's surpluses with Britain, Switzerland and Mexico fell, while its deficits with China, Norway and South Korea widened in April. EU exports of machinery and vehicles to the rest of the world fell by 4.3 per cent. There were also declines of its exports of raw materials and energy products, while food and drink and chemicals exports were higher than in April 2024. --- US$1 = 0.8681 euros Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Toby Chopra
