Leaders of the Group of Seven industrialised nations gathered in Kananaskis, Alberta, for a three-day summit that placed economic security, artificial intelligence governance and continued support for Ukraine at the top of the agenda. The meeting, hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — who came to power following Justin Trudeau’s resignation earlier this year — brought together the heads of government of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada alongside the President of the European Commission, against a backdrop of intensifying geopolitical competition and growing economic uncertainty.
The central challenge facing the G7 was the question of how to maintain a coherent collective response to China’s economic practices while managing the internal tensions created by the Trump administration’s unilateral tariff measures, which have affected G7 allies as much as they have targeted China. The communiqué, released on the final day of the summit, attempted to thread this needle by expressing collective concern about “non-market economic practices” and “economic coercion” — language widely understood to refer primarily to China — while also committing to “constructive dialogue” on trade disputes among G7 members themselves.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer used the summit to hold bilateral meetings with US President Trump, French President Macron and German Chancellor Merz, in what Downing Street described as “substantive discussions” on trade, defence and the Ukraine conflict. The UK-US bilateral was particularly closely watched, with both sides seeking to project an image of a strong transatlantic relationship despite ongoing tensions over British steel and aluminium exports subject to US tariffs. A joint statement confirmed that technical negotiations on a UK-US trade framework would intensify over the coming months.
Artificial intelligence emerged as one of the most consequential agenda items, with leaders agreeing to establish a G7 AI Safety Network — a permanent forum for sharing information between national AI safety institutes and coordinating regulatory approaches. The UK’s AI Safety Institute, established in 2023 as the world’s first such body, was recognised in the communiqué as a model for other G7 members. Prime Minister Starmer announced that the UK would host the second Global AI Safety Summit in London in November 2026.
Ukraine remained a unifying issue for the G7, with all seven members reaffirming their commitment to supporting Kyiv for “as long as it takes.” A new package of financial support worth $45 billion for 2026 was formally endorsed, to be funded partly through the interest generated by frozen Russian sovereign assets held in Western financial institutions. Ukrainian President Zelensky addressed the summit in person — his first G7 appearance — and was given a standing ovation by the assembled leaders.
The summit also addressed the global debt crisis affecting developing nations, with G7 members committing to accelerate debt restructuring processes for the most heavily indebted low-income countries. Climate finance was another agenda item, with leaders reaffirming their commitment to mobilising $100 billion annually for developing countries’ climate adaptation efforts — a target that has consistently fallen short of its goal since it was first set at the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009.
— Thomas Hargreaves, London Capital Post
