Leading up to the Group of Seven summit in Canada, some began dubbing the annual meeting the “G6 plus one.”
It was a recognition of an American partner who, instead of being a steadfast ally within the group of the world’s most advanced economies, has now placed tariffs on partners and staked oppositional positions in the postwar order.
In the end, the three-day summit concluded Tuesday evening as a G6 of sorts – after President Donald Trump left the the snow-capped Rocky Mountains early. He said he needed to return to Washington to deal with the worsening war between Iran and Israel.
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Donald Trump’s agenda posed an obstacle to solidarity at the Group of Seven summit. But under host Canada’s guidance, and with the participation of non-G7 democracies, the group was still able to make progress.
Still, as he departed, he signed a joint statement he initially said he wouldn’t, urging a resolution to the Iranian crisis that “leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.”
It was an important show of unity for the group on a crisis that has overshadowed the annual summit. But on another front, leaders abandoned a statement on the Ukraine war due to resistance from the United States. That left the remaining summit leaders to forge ahead – perhaps more quietly – on lower-profile global challenges like migrant smuggling, energy security, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence.
That work was made possible with a long list of invitees from non-G7 states, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
A photo taken on the last day showed 18 faces – in some ways a reflection of a shift in global alliances and a new status quo in the business of international governance.
“Our partners are going to have to get used to moving ahead without us,” says Philip Luck, a former deputy chief economist at the U.S. Department of State and expert of international trade at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“I don’t think this is an either-or type of situation. This isn’t ‘if the remaining leaders decide to push ahead on things, they are rejecting a world where they can work cooperatively with the U.S.’ They’re just pushing ahead when the U.S. sits on its hands for a while.”
Not a G6 plus one, but a G17?
The summit concluded with seven narrow statements issued by the G7 members, rather than the usual joint communique – a rare omission, though not unheard of. A joint communique wasn’t produced in 2019 when France hosted the G7 (which is composed of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States), amid rifts between the members over key global issues. Now, with Mr. Trump back in office and Russians invading Ukraine, divisions are even deeper.
But John Kirton, founder and director of the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto, says it’s also a sign of sleeves rolled up and work getting done.
As host, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed leaders of South Africa, Brazil, India, Mexico, Ukraine, South Korea, and Australia. Nations from other countries are often invited to join, but this is intentional nod about “power and democracy,” Dr. Kirton says.
These are rising middle powers whose influence is key to this group. While some were calling it “the G6 plus one,” Dr. Kirton says it’s effectively a G17: the democracies at the table along with top officials from the European Union and NATO. Mr. Carney intended this G7 to “magnify the power and shared purpose of the G7 on a much greater global scale with the democracies of the G17,” Dr. Kirton says.
The G7 turned 50 this year. As the summit began, Mr. Carney acknowledged five decades of American influence over the group. “The G7 is nothing without U.S. leadership,” said Mr. Carney.
But then Mr. Trump began condemning the group for kicking Russia out after its annexation of Crimea. He also said that he was open to China joining the table. Mr. Carney shut down the press conference after only a few minutes.
Mr. Trump did help leaders accomplish goals on the sidelines. Canada and the U.S. agreed to finalize a trade deal within 30 days. The U.S. and the United Kingdom finalized their trade deal.
His early departure left other heads of state without the opportunity to press their cases. After Mr. Zelenskyy met with the rest of the group, it was Mr. Carney’s words that carried the moral authority, condemning “barbarism” by Russia for attacks on Kyiv. Mr. Carney also announced new military support from Canada to Ukraine.
For Lori Turnbull, a professor in political science at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this year’s summit is not about the “show that everybody is united. It’s not a love-in,” she says. “It’s a ‘we have agreed on a set of action items.’”
And that list is long, regardless of whether the U.S. is at the table. “We are at a change moment, when you can’t take other countries’ agreement for granted,” Dr. Turnbull says. “We’re charting new courses.”
