Trump leaves G7 summit early to deal with Israel-Iran conflict; India PM lands in Alberta

World leaders are gathering today in the mountain-flanked pastures of Kananaskis, Alta. for this year’s G7 summit.

Presidents and first ministers will discuss sensitive topics ranging from the war in Ukraine to artificial intelligence over the next two days. Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke face-to-face for the first time since their Oval Office meeting in May.

Here is everything that happened on Monday, June 16.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Alberta for G7

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plane has touched down at the Calgary airport, as he is set join other world leaders for the G7 summit in nearby Kananaskis, Alta.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has been criticized for his decision to invite Modi to the gathering, and there have been protests in Calgary and Ottawa.

Canadian security officials have linked Modi’s government to the murder of a Canadian man two years ago.

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau and the RCMP said there was evidence linking agents of the Indian government to the killing of Sikh separatism activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C.

The Canadian Press

Trump to return to Washington early from G7 summit for ‘important matters’

U.S. President Donald Trump will return to Washington from the G7 summit in Canada on Monday night to attend to many “important matters,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Reuters

Carney, Trump agree to pursue deal within next 30 days

In their meeting, Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to pursue a deal within the next 30 days, a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office says.

The statement adds the two leaders discussed trade pressures and exchanged updates on issues raised in negotiations.

“The Prime Minister and the President also underscored collaboration on further shared priorities at the Summit, such as critical minerals, gun and drug smuggling, illegal drugs, and border security,” the statement read. ”The leaders also discussed possible areas of co-operation on defence.”

Lynn Chaya, CTV News journalist.

‘You’re talking about a war criminal’: former ambassador

Former Canadian ambassador to the United States Derek Burney is denouncing U.S. President Donald Trump’s call to reinstate Russia in the G7.

“You’re talking about a war criminal,” Burney said Monday during a panel segment with CTV’s Power Play. “There’s no way anybody can pretend that Russia is a democracy today.”

Burney said Trump’s comments reflect a comfort with autocratic leaders, saying the U.S. president likes to disrupt every event he goes to that he doesn’t completely control.

“He keeps making this nonsensical statement that the war in Ukraine would never have happened if he’d been president,” Burney said. “He’s catering to Putin every day, and nobody can understand why.”

Tammy Ebrahimpour, CTV News producer

Trump, Starmer say U.S.-U.K. trade deal finalized

U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday said they had finalized a trade deal reached between the two allies last month.

Trump, standing alongside Starmer at the Group of Seven summit in Canada, said the relationship with Britain was “just fantastic,” as he waved, and briefly dropped, a document which he said he had just signed.

“We signed it and it’s done,” he said. Starmer said the proclamation would implement agreements reached on auto tariffs and aerospace, without providing any details.

Reuters

LeBlanc talks after closed-door Trump meeting

Today’s “long and substantive” meeting between Carney and Trump covered a myriad of topics, Canada-U.S. trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Monday, who kept tight lipped on specifics.

Addressing journalists alongside Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s U.S. ambassador, the two said they scheduled another round of talks to occur before the week’s end with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and others.

Asked repeatedly about what was discussed, and when they expect to reach a deal, LeBlanc said team Canada had agreed not to discuss details publicly.

Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist.

What’s not being discussed

Last year’s Group of Seven summit in Italy, when Joe Biden was U.S. president, ended with a joint declaration promising better ties with Africa, action on poverty, and determination to tackle “the triple crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.”

Such subjects are almost totally absent at the G7 talks this year in order to placate Trump, said John Kirton of the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto.

“There’s no point in putting them on the agenda if the Americans will just refuse to discuss them. And if you put too many of them on, Trump wouldn’t even come,” he said.

Kirton added that the schedule was also crowded out by crises from Ukraine to the Middle East, with G7 nations increasingly concerned with defence spending rather than development aid.

AFP

VIDEO: Meloni rolls her eyes

Seated around the summit table ahead of Carney’s official opening remarks, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appeared to roll her eyes during an interaction with French President Emmanuel Macron.

With all the leaders’ microphones muted, Meloni can be seen leaning over while Macron whispers something to her behind a closed fist, prompting Meloni to look up at him. The two then give slight nods, and she makes a thumbs-up gesture.

About 30 seconds later, Macron is again seen whispering to Meloni, before she looks up at him and rolls her eyes. The camera then cut away.

With muted microphones and shielding their mouths, it’s unclear what the French president said to elicit the Italian prime minister’s response.

Spencer Van Dyk, CTV News journalist.

Trump ‘a showman’ before ‘a statesman’: Joe Clark

Ahead of the G7 summit, CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos asked former prime minister Joe Clark what’s been going through his mind in recent months as Trump has levied sweeping tariffs and frequently suggested Canada should be a state.

“He is a showman before he’s a statesman, and we have to bear that in mind,” Clark said, in an interview that aired Sunday. “There’s some degree to that in everyone in public office. You can’t ignore your media when you’re conducting public policy now.”

“But his inclination, as a quite unique kind of showman, is to make his own impact rather than find agreement,” Clark added. “That’s very difficult to deal with, but it’s not impossible.”

Asked about his expectations for the summit and the bilateral confab taking place between Trump and Carney, Clark said the latter’s strength is finding the right time to make his case to the president.

He also said it’s “always essential” for the leaders to have time away from the cameras for private discussions.

Spencer Van Dyk, CTV News journalist.

Carney opens day 1 of official talks

“We will have open, frank discussions,” Carney promised as he and the leaders of the other G7 nations sat down for inaugural discussions Monday.

However, “we may not agree on every issue,” he continued as he addressed reporters. Carney spoke of a “more divided and dangerous” world and remarked that each of the seven nations had pledged significant investments into their militaries.

He then asked reporters to leave the room to allow the first round of talks to begin behind closed doors.

Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist.

Indigenous leader ‘filled with rage’ while speaking with Trump

An Indigenous leader tasked with greeting world heads of state arriving for G7 says he considered leaving before Trump arrived, appalled by the U.S. president’s having “caused much pain and suffering in the world.”

Instead, Steven Crowchild, said he prayed to his Creator, consulted with his people’s leadership and opted to stay on the tarmac in Calgary, where he spoke at length on Sunday with Trump.

“It was really intense to say the least,” Crowchild told The Associated Press on Monday.

Crowchild wore feathered headdress, spoke in his traditional language and showed Trump tribal medals that he told the president were older than the nation of Canada.

Trump wore a white “Make America Great Again” cap.

“I almost didn’t stay. I was filled with rage,” Crowchild said, adding that he decided to remain “considering that visibility is key and diplomacy is important and there was no indigenous representation there at the time.”

The Associated Press

Trump’s comments hurt U.S. tourism: Ford

While Trump and Carney attempt to hammer out more trade details, a group of premiers are meeting with various U.S. governors in Boston to talk Canada-U.S. relations.

During an interview with CNN, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his U.S. counterparts are concerned about a drop in tourism from Canadians, telling him that President Donald Trump’s comments about making Canada the 51st state were insulting.

“Well, as we talk to the governors, a lot of governors are saying it’s insulting, it’s insulting to your closest friend and allies,” Ford said.

“We love the U.S., I love the U.S., Canadians love Americans. There’s one person that is causing this issue, and that’s President Trump. Hopefully, he’ll take another avenue and start mending fences. Because right now, as the governors told us here, they’ve seen a drastic decline in Canadian tourism.”

Ford’s comments come as he and several other premiers meets with a number of U.S. governors in Boston to discuss trade and tariffs.

Joshua Freeman,CP24.com journalist. Read the full story here.

Trump is wearing a Canadian flag pin

During his joint news conference with Carney, the president was photographed with the pin on his lapel.

Along with a larger American flag brooch, a joint Canadian-American flag pin sits just below. It’s a fitting decoration as he and his entourage sit for a bilateral meeting with Carney and his close circle.

On Carney’s team:

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Chief of Staff Marco Mendicino, U.S. Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, Principal Secretary Thomas Pitfield, Deputy Chief of Staff Bradem Caley, Policy Director Tim Krupa, Senior Advisor on Canada-U.S. Relations Lisa Jorgensen, and Scott Gilmore, senior advisor on foreign defence and security policy.

On Trump’s team:

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Pete Hoekstra, U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Trump’s assistant, Kevin Hassett, and Deputy Assistant Nels Nordquist, are also in the group.

Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist.

Carney cuts off questions

Carney just abruptly ended questioning from reporters, saying he would exercise his authority as chair of the G7.

Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist.

Trump says Ukraine war could have been avoided

Trump, responding to questions from the press, said a previous decision to remove Russia from the G7 set the stage for the war in Ukraine.

“You wouldn’t have had the war,” he said if not for former prime minister Justin Trudeau and then-U.S. president Barack Obama pushing Russia out.

The decision to push Russia out of the group came on the heels of Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 – a year before Trudeau was elected.

In response to Russia’s move into Crimea, the seven other member countries, including Canada under then-prime minister Stephen Harper, said they wouldn’t participate in the planned G8 summit in Sochi, which was called the G8 when Russia had a seat.

They instead met in Brussels, Belgium as the G7 that June.

Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist. With files from The Canadian Press.

Trump: I’m sure we can work something out

Trump and Carney are giving a joint news conference now.

The president says he and Carney have “different concepts” on how they would like to move forward in, and eventually resolve, the ongoing trade war.

“I’ve always been a tariff person,” he told a group of reporters.

“I think Mark has a more complex idea,” Trump added, which he called “also very good.”

Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist.

Trump’s mood

“I think they all want to come away with the de-escalation plan,” former foreign affairs minister Peter MacKay said about what he called a series of “tense” meetings to come between Trump and other world leaders. “But at the same time, it will very much depend on the mood of the president.”

MacKay said he has hope that Trump will be in a “good frame of mind” coming off his military parade and birthday celebrations this past weekend.

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.

Christl Dabu, CTVNews.ca journalist. Read the full story here.

Canada likely to join EU military program

European Union officials say Canada is likely to sign a defence procurement agreement with the continent when Carney goes to Brussels later this month.

Carney is set to visit Brussels on June 23 for the Canada-EU summit, where he will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.

Attending the G7 summit in Alberta today, both EU leaders say Canada’s involvement in what they call Europe’s “rapidly evolving defence architecture” is set to deepen.

Von der Leyen says Canada will sign a security and defence partnership with the EU which will allow it to join a European loan program for joint defence projects.

The 150-billion euro program is called Security Action for Europe, or SAFE, and is part of the ReArm Europe initiative that Carney says he wants Canada to join.

The Canadian Press

Trump’s arrival

U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Kananaskis yesterday evening. He is expected to meet the prime minister for a one-on-one meeting today at around 9 a.m. GMT (11 a.m. EDT).

Trump stormed out of the last G7 summit that Canada hosted in 2018. Though, despite tensions between the president and former prime minister Justin Trudeau, Carney and Trump appear to have broken the ice since the former rose to Canada’s top job.

The two have shared calls and text messages in recent weeks as they try to resolve their ongoing trade war against a range of sensitive and deeply-integrated industries, including metals manufacturing and auto assembly.

Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist. With files from The Canadian Press.

Who’s attending the G7 summit?

The Group of Seven comprises Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and Britain. Leaders of each nation will be in attendance.

• Can a convicted felon like Donald Trump enter Canada?

The European Union also attends, as well as other heads of state who are not part of the G7 but have been invited by Carney. These include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who is expected to have her first in-person meeting with Trump, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, was invited but will not attend.

The Associated Press

Fighter jets scramble to intercept aircraft

A civilian aircraft violated Kananaskis airspace restrictions late Sunday morning, Mounties say.

RCMP issued a release about the incident Sunday evening.

The incident happened just after 11 a.m.

“North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), in support of the RCMP-led Integrated Safety and Security Group (ISSG), had to deploy air assets after a private, fixed-wing, civilian aircraft violated the air restrictions centered above Kananaskis airspace,” RCMP say.

According to RCMP, the situation met the criteria for CF-18 Hornet fighter jets to be deployed to intercept the aircraft.

Damien Wood, CTVNewsCalgary.ca journalist. Read the full story here.

Hundreds protest in Calgary

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets around city hall in Calgary on Sunday, hoping to draw attention from G7 dignitaries to a variety of issues.

There were protests against the conflicts in Ethiopia and between Israel and Hamas, as well as Pakistan and India’s latest conflict in Kashmir.

There was a protest against climate change, coal mining and Indigenous issues, including water security–and Trump.

“We are here to protest for justice and peace for Kashmir, because Kashmir is a flashpoint right now between the three nuclear powers, India, Pakistan and China,” said Majid Ishfaq, who organized for Calgary’s Kashmir community.

Stephen Hunt, CTVNewsCalgary.ca journalist. Read the full story here.