US President Donald Trump leaves the G7 Leaders' Summit early on June 17, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

US divergence from other G7 members

Israel’s preemptive strikes on Iran on June 13, just before the G7 Leaders’ Summit, cast a shadow over the event, distracting from some of Canada's initial agenda priorities. President Trump left the summit a day early to return to Washington to deal with the Israel-Iran conflict, which has exposed divisions between the US and its European allies. Trump has taken an increasingly hardline stance, while European countries prefer diplomatic dialogue.

Tensions peaked when Trump criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for disclosing information about a potential US ceasefire proposal and Europe’s willingness to reengage in the P5+1 nuclear talks with Iran.

At the summit, Canada and the European G7 members – Germany, France, the UK, and Italy – were unable to convince the US to support tougher sanctions on Russia over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Instead, Trump publicly criticized the G7’s decision to expel Russia from the G8 in 2014, calling it a mistake that escalated tensions between Moscow and the West. He also declined to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had hoped for bilateral talks to rally more US support.

Due to US opposition, the summit failed to issue a joint statement on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. While Canada and its allies announced new sanctions and aid packages for Ukraine, the US refused to take part, with Trump stating that this was not the American approach.

“Because I'm waiting to see whether or not a deal is signed. Don't forget, you know, sanctions cost us a lot of money. When I sanction a country, that costs the US a lot of money, a tremendous amount of money. You're talking about billions and billions of dollars. Sanctions are not that easy. It's not just a one-way street,” he said.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a meeting during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, in Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Amber Bracken)

Trump’s early departure also disrupted plans by EU and Japanese leaders to hold in-depth talks with him on US tariff and trade policies. He only had time to appear alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to announce a previously agreed US-UK trade deal. On his way back to Washington, Trump issued a tariff “ultimatum” to the EU.

Notable outcomes

Despite failing to issue a joint statement, the summit produced joint communiques on some specific issues. Worthy of note is the communique on Artificial Intelligence (AI), which promotes a human-centered approach to AI, emphasizes AI’s role in enhancing prosperity, benefiting society, and addressing urgent global challenges, especially boosting economic performance and national security.

The G7 countries also agreed on a shared vision for the emerging quantum technologies, committing to increased public and private investment in the field.

“We find lots of topics that we wrote at the core of the G7 discussion. I think about migration that we wrote for the first time on the G7 level and that has a joint dedicated declaration in this year. Artificial intelligence is another very important topic of our times. Other topics that in my opinion are very strategic as the one on critical materials," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said. 

The summit introduced the “Kananaskis Wildfire Charter” outlining steps for G7 members and five guest countries – Australia, India, Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa – to take to prevent wildfires, conduct joint research, and support affected communities.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands before posing for a photo during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, in Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Amber Bracken)

G7 leaders also signed a joint commitment to combat transnational human trafficking, which includes considering sanctions against individuals and groups engaged in migrant smuggling and trafficking from source countries.

On the sidelines of the summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced they will end the diplomatic freeze in effect since 2023 and begin to normalize relations.