KANANASKIS – Escalating violence in the Middle East overshadowed movement on trade deals within the G7 on Monday, as U.S. President Donald Trump announced late in the day that he would be leaving the leaders’ summit early because of the crisis in Israel and Iran.
The abrupt plan to depart was announced by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on social media.
Unlike Trump’s early departure at the last G7 summit hosted in Canada seven years ago, he did not storm out in a huff.
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“President Trump had a great day at the G7, even signing a major trade deal with the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Keir Starmer,” Leavitt said. “Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with heads of state.”
Canada and the United States have not yet reached a new economic deal, but Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said he and Trump agreed to a mid-July deadline for finalizing a partnership they have been negotiating for more than a month.
“Prime Minister Carney and President Trump discussed immediate trade pressures and priorities for each country’s workers and businesses, and shared updates on key issues raised in negotiations on a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the U.S.,” said Canada’s formal summary following a morning meeting between the two leaders.
The news came despite Trump telling reporters at a photo op that he and Carney have “different concepts” of what that deal might look like.
The two met privately at the summit Carney is hosting in Kananaskis, Alta. Canadian officials initially described the meeting as a productive conversation about a possible trade deal and security partnership.
But Monday afternoon, Canada’s formal summary of the meeting said Carney and Trump “agreed to pursue negotiations toward a deal within the coming 30 days.”
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The White House was asked to confirm its understanding of what the leaders agreed to, but did not respond.
The two leaders met after weeks of exchanging phone calls and text messages in an ongoing attempt to resolve the economic conflict triggered by Trump’s tariffs. The president said their meeting would largely surround trade.
“I’m sure we can work something out,” Trump told reporters.
“I’m a tariff person. I’ve always been a tariff (person). It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s precise and it just goes very quickly. And I think Mark has a more complex idea, but also very good,” Trump said.
In brief remarks, Carney welcomed Trump to the summit and wished him a happy birthday. The president turned 79 on Saturday.
“This marks the 50th birthday of the G7,” Carney said. “And the G7 is nothing without U.S. leadership.”
The summit officially began Monday. Following a welcome ceremony, Carney said while G7 countries don’t always agree, they still face shared threats in an increasingly dangerous world.
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“Nostalgia isn’t a strategy,” Carney said in his opening statement to a roundtable of G7 members.
“We will have open, frank discussions over the course of the next two days. We might not agree on absolutely every issue, but where we will co-operate, we will make an enormous difference.”
Carney’s office confirmed talks took place at the summit on a possible statement on Israel and Iran but would not disclose the nature of the discussions.
American media outlets, including CNN, reported Trump pushed back on signing such a statement. The Canadian Press could not confirm that report.
Stefan Kornelius, a spokesperson for the German government, told media at the summit that Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke about the Middle East.
On the potential for a joint statement on the Middle East, he said “the goal might be to have a joint declaration by the G7 here, because that would serve a purpose that would unfold some impact.”
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“We’ll see in the end, it’ll be up to the American side to decide whether we’re going to have a G7 statement on the Middle East or not,” he said.
In a social media posts, Trump called for the immediate evacuation of the Iranian capital of Tehran and warned Tehran needed to curb its nuclear program before it was “too late.”
He said Iranian leaders would “like to talk,” but they had 60 days to reach an agreement on their nuclear ambitions and failed to do so before an Israeli aerial assault began four days ago.
Carney also met one-on-one with other G7 leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
He met Sunday with Starmer and Merz.
Following their meeting, Trump and Carney sat down with a wider group that included Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
LeBlanc and Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., told a news conference that talks with their American counterparts accelerated in recent weeks.
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LeBlanc said both countries have agreed to keep details of those discussions private and to reconvene before the end of the week.
“The important thing is that we collectively think we’re making progress in coming to a deal that would be in the economic interest of both countries, but we’re not there yet,” he said.
Hillman said she has a sense the Americans are “understanding us better,” as Canadian officials call for all the tariffs to be removed.
“We have a president who is very convinced of the policy that he has around tariffs in order to achieve some of his policy goals,” she said.
“We are very convinced that applying that policy to Canada is actually detrimental to his overall goals, and we are trying to get there with him and his officials.”
Hillman and LeBlanc didn’t answer repeated questions about whether Trump again raised the idea of making Canada a U.S. state.
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Trump stormed out of the G7 summit that Canada hosted in 2018. He pulled out of a joint leaders’ statement and issued a statement of his own, calling then-prime minister Justin Trudeau weak and dishonest. It came after Trudeau announced countermeasures against U.S. tariffs.
Trump and Trudeau had a notoriously poor relationship. On Monday, Trump said he and Carney have “a very good relationship.”
Carney’s formal summary of the meeting also said the leaders discussed summit themes, including critical minerals and defence, border security and gun and drug smuggling.
The war in Ukraine is one of Canada’s top priorities as summit host. Carney also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend.
— With files from Sarah Ritchie and Catherine Morrison in Ottawa, Emilie Bergeron in Kananaskis and The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025.
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