Canada, India reach diplomatic truce as G7 summit ends without communique
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KANANASKIS, Alta. — Canada failed to rally the U.S. to voice the same support for Ukraine as European and Japanese allies, but ended the G7 summit in Alberta on Tuesday with an agreement with India to restore top diplomats in both countries.
The G7 summit came to a close after the group’s leaders issued a series of joint statements on key priorities. As expected, the leaders did not issue a joint communique, the lengthy statement outlining shared views that typically ends G7 summits.
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Instead, there were several statements on individual issues ranging from transnational repression and migrant smuggling to AI and quantum technology.
There was no joint statement on the war in Ukraine, even though Prime Minister Mark Carney had made support for the country one of the summit’s key discussion topics on Tuesday, inviting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend the event in person.
A senior federal government official — who briefed reporters at the G7 on background — said the U.S. was offside with the other countries on Ukraine and sought weaker language than what the other members proposed.
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Canada planned to use the language the other countries agreed to in its closing chair’s statement. Ottawa did not want to release a weak statement, the official said.
The official said that it was challenging to get the U.S. to agree on a statement on Ukraine in part because Washington is trying to negotiate a ceasefire or peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Carney outlined $4.3 billion in new Canadian support for Ukraine’s defence and another set of sanctions on Russia as he met with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit on Tuesday morning.
That sum includes $2 billion for the purchase and donation of weapons and materiel, along with a $2.3-billion loan to help the embattled country rebuild its infrastructure, to be repaid by interest on frozen Russian assets.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Carney fulfilled his mission as G7 host by preserving the unity of the multilateral organization.
“We shouldn’t ask the Canadian presidency to resolve every issue on earth today. That would be unfair. But he held the group together,” said Macron, who will host the G7 next year.
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The G7 leaders note they are “deeply concerned by growing reports of transnational repression,” defined in the statement as an aggressive form of foreign interference which sees states or their proxies try to intimidate, harass, harm or coerce people outside their borders.
The statement condemns all forms of transnational repression, which can include activities ranging from cyber-surveillance to assassination.
It says a G7 initiative led by Canada that tracks online misinformation and threats to democracy, the Rapid Response Mechanism, will have its public reports include updates on transnational repression, and that the group will co-ordinate ways to counter those threats.
The statement was published just before Carney met with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, whose government has been singled out by Canadian intelligence officials as a prolific perpetrator of foreign interference in Canada, including transnational repression.
As their bilateral meeting began Tuesday, Carney said it was “a great honour” to host Modi at the G7.
“It’s a testament to the importance of your country, to your leadership, and to the importance of the issues that we look to tackle together,” Carney said, noting those issues include the energy transition, the future of AI and the fight against transnational repression and terrorism.
Speaking through a translator, Modi said attending the G7 summit offers a great opportunity to serve the world.
“I believe that India-Canada relations are extremely important, and India and Canada should work together,” Modi said, noting that the two countries share democratic values.
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Following their meeting, Carney’s office said the two leaders agreed to designate new high commissioners and restore regular diplomatic services to citizens in both countries.
In 2023 and 2024, former prime minister Justin Trudeau and the RCMP said there was evidence linking agents of the Indian government to the murder of Canadian Sikh separatist activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., in June 2023.
Last October, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said the Mounties had evidence linking Indian government officials to other crimes in Canada, including extortion, coercion and homicide.
Later that month, Canada announced it had expelled six Indian diplomats who refused to waive their diplomatic immunity to participate in the RCMP investigation — including the high commissioner.
India expelled the acting Canadian high commissioner in New Delhi and five other Canadian diplomats in response, and the posts have remained vacant since then.
Carney’s decision to invite Modi to the G7 drew criticism from some Sikh organizations in Canada.
The G7 leaders also signed on to a statement pledging to tackle migrant smuggling, including by exploring the potential use of sanctions to target criminals involved in migrant smuggling and human trafficking operations.
Another statement pledged to explore ways to benefit public services using artificial intelligence, including a Canadian initiative to “increase government efficiency” at a time when Ottawa and most G7 peers seek to cut back spending on their civil service.
A wider group of signatories, which includes Australia, India and South Korea, is committing to working together to invest in responsible critical minerals projects.
Australia, India, Mexico, South Korea and South Africa also signed on with the G7 to a wildfire charter that calls for co-operation to prevent, fight and recover from devastating fires.
The G7 leaders released a statement Monday evening calling for a de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East in response to continued fighting between Israel and Iran.
That came shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump announced he planned to leave the summit a day early to deal with the ongoing crisis. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remained in Kananaskis on Tuesday as the American delegation’s lead.
— With files from Emilie Bergeron in Kananaskis and Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa.
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