Group of Seven leaders are meeting in Canada, with issues such as the Israel-Iran conflict and U.S. tariffs high on the agenda, while nations hope to avoid clashes with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to annex the host nation.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his priorities are strengthening peace and security, building critical mineral supply chains and creating jobs. But Trump’s tariffs on countries around the world and the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are expected to receive heavy attention during the summit.
Israel and Iran launched new attacks on each other overnight into Monday, raising the death toll in the conflict that began with an Israeli offensive on Friday.
A G7 official said the leaders plan to issue a joint statement calling for de-escalation in the conflict.
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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters his goals for the summit include for Iran to not obtain nuclear weapons, ensuring Israel’s right to defend itself, avoiding escalation of the conflict and creating room for diplomacy.
“This issue will be very high on the agenda of the G7 summit,” Merz said.
Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful, and U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency have said Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon.
The last time Canada hosted the summit in 2018, Trump left before denouncing then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “very dishonest and weak” and instructing the U.S. delegation who stayed behind to withdraw its approval of the final statement endorsed by the leaders of Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Canada.
“I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communiqué as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!” Trump posted on X, which at the time was still known as Twitter.
The notable image from that summit was of Trump seated with his arms folded defiantly as then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel stared daggers at him.
This time, Trump’s severe tariffs on many nations risk a global economic slowdown and the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and now between Israel and Iran do not see an end in sight.
Other issues impacting world leaders include immigration, drug trafficking and new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Diplomats said Canada ditched the idea of a traditional comprehensive joint communiqué and would issue chair summaries instead in an attempt to avoid a diplomatic disaster and maintain engagement with the U.S.
A senior Canadian official told reporters that Ottawa wanted to focus on actions the seven members — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S. — could take together.
Asked as he was leaving the White House on Sunday if he planned to reveal any trade agreements at the summit, Trump said: “We have our trade deals. All we have to do is send a letter, ‘This is what you’re going to have to pay.’ But I think we’ll have a few, few new trade deals.”
The U.K. reached a trade framework with the U.S. that included quotas to protect against some tariffs, but the 10% baseline would remain.
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A senior U.S. official said on Friday that working discussions would cover trade and the global economy, critical minerals, migrant and drug smuggling, wildfires, international security, artificial intelligence and energy security.
“The president is eager to pursue his goals in all of these areas, including making America’s trade relationships fair and reciprocal,” the official said.
Trump will have at least three scheduled bilateral meetings during the summit with other world leaders, including with Carney, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
