‘It will be tense,’ Peter MacKay says of G7 summit

Former foreign affairs minister Peter Mackay discusses the impact of world leaders meeting in Alberta amid global conflicts and trade wars.

Officials from Canada and other countries will face competing priorities this week at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., including dealing with the fallout from the trade dispute, says former foreign affairs minister Peter MacKay.

“It will be tense,” MacKay said in an interview with CTV’s Your Morning on Monday, noting leaders will have to avoid exacerbating the situation during a “volatile time.” “I think they all want to come away with the de-escalation plan, but at the same time it will very much depend on the mood of the president.”

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MacKay expects the situation will be unpredictable, but he has hope that U.S. President Donald Trump will be in a “good frame of mind” coming off his military parade and birthday celebrations this past weekend.

He said Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canadian officials will have the opportunity to have face-to-face meetings with Trump and other leaders about “the issues of our time,” including discussing how to normalize trade relations, the supply chain and the economic fallout from the tariffs.

Along with the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel and the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, world leaders will discuss their relationship with China, as well as the tensions between China and Taiwan over the South China Sea, MacKay said, although it’s not on the official agenda. He said Canada, the U.S. and other allies need to pull together rather than be fractured amid security threats.

“There’s a chance, perhaps slim chance, that some consequential progress can be made,” he said. “The challenge is there is only so much space in the agenda.”

Watch the video above for the full interview.