Senior officials from the world's top economies held a three-day summit this week in Banff, Alta, which will cover topics including the global economy, the Ukrainian war and artificial intelligence.
The meeting comes a time when U.S. President Donald Trump continues to drive tariffs with tariffs to bring the industry to U.S. land, leading many countries to reconsider their trade relations with the U.S. and other trading partners.
The gathering will also be a pioneer in the meeting to be held when European and Japanese leaders gather in North America from June 15 to 17, with European and Japanese leaders attending the G7 Leaders' Summit.
Kananaskis presided over the meeting in 2002.
Rookie Canadian Finance Minister François Philip Champagne and Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem will host meetings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
A Champagne spokesman said the finance department is working closely with the Prime Minister’s Office to participate in the priorities of the meeting and leaders’ summit. The Ministry does not provide detailed information on the specific agreement to be reached.
The spokesman said that despite the ongoing tension in tariffs, the meeting will be an opportunity for countries to work together.
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The White House has not confirmed who will go to Banff to attend the meeting. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have been the main architects behind Trump's economic strategy, at least likely to participate.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has been the regular season of the conference since he was nominated for leading the U.S. Central Bank in 2018. Trump has been sacking interest rates in recent months and has threatened to fire him.
In recent years, support for Ukraine has been the core focus.
Last year, in Italy, leaders worked to freeze and redirect Russian assets to provide financial support to Ukraine. Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko will attend the meeting even if the country is not a member of the G7.
A lot has changed over the past year, with Trump re-electing the world's most powerful office.
Since taking office in January, the U.S. president has threatened to reject Ukraine's funds and forced it to sign a key mineral agreement in exchange for continuing to support Russian aggression.
Two hours later last week, direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia broke down. Before the meeting ended, all countries released 1,000 prisoners of war.
The G7 countries will also discuss artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and the global economy at this week's meeting.
The heads of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also went to Banff.
The G7 includes Canada, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
– Documents with the Associated Press
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
