Canada rejects Trump's proposal to reinstate Russia in G7

Canada is firmly opposed to having Russia reinstated in the G7 as U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested. During a news conference at an international security conference in Munich, Germany on Saturday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly categorically said, “No we didn’t, and I am telling the position of Canada: No way this will happen,” she said. The meeting of foreign ministers during the Munich Security Conference was the first one under Canada’s 2025 presidency. She confirmed that the G7 collectively agreed on the necessity of having Ukraine and European allies at the table. “Yes, we did,” she said. Joly also announced that G7 will hold a meeting in Canada in Charlevoix, Quebec, on March 12-14.
Russia used to be part of what was known as the Group of Eight until other members suspended Moscow in 2014 over the invasion of Ukraine that resulted in Russia taking over Crimea. Trump argued Thursday that Russia should have retained its membership in the group and suggested it could have prevented the full-scale invasion that Moscow launched in February 2022.“It’s not a question of liking Russia or not liking Russia,” Trump said. “I’d love to have them back. I think it was a mistake to throw them out.”
Joly said the G7 remains committed to supporting Ukraine, and that Ukraine and European allies must have a seat at the table for any peace talks to end the war.During a panel discussion on trade at the Munich conference, Joly said Canada’s plan to retaliate if Trump follows through on his threat to slap Canadian goods with across-the-board tariffs has drawn the attention of the Republican administration and fuelled a recent surge in support for the Liberal party. Joly told European leaders they could learn from Canada’s experiences dealing with Trump.
The minister said there was a “big change” when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to Trump’s initial threats by saying Canada would impose 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on $155 billion worth of U.S. goods and respond swiftly to any steel and aluminum import taxes if they are imposed on Canada.The U.S. government immediately took notice when stock markets started “tanking” and American consumers started fretting about the price of gasoline going up, Joly said.