Washington — President Trump is in Canada on Monday for the Group of Seven economic summit, as his aides will be negotiating with those same allied nations over the tariffs he’s imposed.
The summit, which is taking place just outside of Calgary, comes as tensions between Israel and Iran boil over, now in their fourth day of open conflict. A draft G7 statement on Iran has been floated, but Mr. Trump does not plan to sign the statement, U.S. officials said. One U.S. official said Mr. Trump will continue to work toward ensuring Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. The draft statement discusses monitoring Iran, calls for both sides to protect civilians, and re-ups commitments to peace, according to the officials.
The first thing on Mr. Trump’s schedule Monday is a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whom Mr. Trump met last month at the White House.
“The G7 is nothing without U.S. leadership, and your personal leadership, the leadership of the United States,” Carney told Mr. Trump.
“We’ve developed a very good relationship, and we’re going to be talking about trade and many other things,” Mr. Trump told Carney in response.
“I’m a tariff person. I’ve always been a tariff person,” the president said alongside Carney.
The rest of the day will consist of meetings with the G7 leaders, as well as the traditional “family photo” of those leaders and a cultural event to cap off the night.
Mr. Trump’s attitude toward some U.S. allies as well as the tariffs he’s launched on friends and foes alike have made U.S. relationships with some of her allies more uneasy, an undercurrent of the conversations Mr. Trump has on Monday. Mr. Trump’s musings to acquire Canada and Greenland have also strained the United States’ relationship with Canada.
When Mr. Trump met with Carney at the White House, the newly elected prime minister made it clear that Canada — contrary to Mr. Trump’s public musings — is not for sale.
“As a real estate developer, you know, I’m a real estate developer at heart,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “When you get rid of that artificially drawn line … when you look at that beautiful formation when it’s together, I’m a very artistic person.”
Carney interjected, using language he believed Mr. Trump as a real estate developer would understand.
“As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” Carney said. “We’re sitting in one right now, Buckingham Palace that you visited, as well. And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale, it won’t be for sale, ever. But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together.”
contributed to this report.