Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to Europe on Thursday, where he will visit Ireland and France to attend the G7 summit.
The summit runs from June 15 to 17 in Evian-les-Bains, and France says the focus will be on reducing global inequality.
The summit was postponed for a day after US President Donald Trump announced that the White House would host a UFC fight on June 14, which is Flag Day in the United States and Trump’s 80th birthday.
Finn Osler Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University, told The Canadian Press that leaders will have to focus on “the Trump administration” at the summit.
He added: “The real discussions will be between the remaining G6 leaders when Trump is not in the room, regarding how to deal with a hot-tempered and unpredictable president who makes life difficult for everyone,” noting that the president personally insulted many European leaders.
The French government says priorities at the summit will include resolving major geopolitical crises, including through G7 support for Ukraine, protecting children online, crime, and “new rules of the game for global governance.”
However, Hampson said the official agenda generally does not reflect what the main issues will be discussed. These are likely to include conflict in the Middle East, energy security and US tariffs, he said.
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Canada hosted the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., last year. Trump left a day early due to the conflict in the Middle East.
The G7 includes Canada, France, the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy. The European Union is also participating in the talks, although the bloc is not counted in the group’s name.
Before the summit, Carney stopped in Paris and Dublin, Ireland.
A press release from the Prime Minister’s Office said that Carney and Macron will discuss deepening relations in sectors such as defence, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and critical minerals.
Ireland, which has become a major center for foreign investment and business, is scheduled to assume the presidency of the Council of the European Union next July.
The Prime Minister’s Office notes that Carney’s visit will be the first official trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to Ireland in nearly a decade. Carney will meet with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin and Irish President Catherine Connolly as part of talks to deepen cultural and trade relations between the two countries.
Carney met with 150 Irish business leaders in Ottawa last month. The embassy said on social media that the discussion focused on economic opportunities for countries, innovation, investment and growth in various sectors.
Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Ireland will reach $6 billion in 2025. Cereals led Canadian exports of $1.1 billion to Ireland, and imports of $4.9 billion were pharmaceutical products.
Trade between the two countries is underpinned by the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, known as CETA, which has been provisionally implemented but has not yet been ratified by several countries, including Ireland.
Martin met with Carney in Ottawa in September. He said at the time that Ireland would ratify CETA. A joint statement from the leaders said they agreed on the importance of Ireland’s full ratification of the agreement by 2026.
The Irish Times reported late last month that the Irish government was set to approve new legislation to speed up ratification of the trade deal to reduce the country’s dependence on the United States.
There are an estimated 4.5 million Canadians of Irish descent, representing about 15 per cent of the country’s population.
Carney also has deep ties to Ireland, where his grandparents emigrated from County Mayo in the early 1920s.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2026.
-With files from Craig Lord
& Edition 2026 The Canadian Press
