Leaders should ignore Trump outbursts at G7 summit: Former PM Chrétien

By Canadian Press on June 12, 2025.

CALGARY — Former prime minister Jean Chrétien says dignitaries attending next week’s G7 leaders summit should pay little mind to U.S. President Donald Trump if he tries to railroad the conversation.

Chrétien says leaders can’t predict what Trump might do, but he can be a bully and it would be best if the rest of the G7 leaders ignored any outbursts.

He also says he supports Prime Minister Mark Carney’s inviting India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi despite the ongoing tension between the two countries over foreign interference and the killing of Sikh separatism activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in B.C. two years ago.

Chrétien is one of two former Canadian prime ministers speaking at a conference today ahead of next week’s summit in Kananaskis.

The conference is being hosted by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy and the G7 research group, and features a series of panels about past summits and international affairs.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is set to speak alongside the public policy school’s director Martha Hall Findlay about the role her province plays in the global energy market.

Former prime minister Joe Clark is to give the closing keynote speech.

The university says the conference is meant to bring experts and officials together to explain key issues G7 leaders are facing heading into the summit.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025.

Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press