Mike Le Couteur reports from France, where Prime Minister Mark Carney had a crucial meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the G7 summit.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to Evian-les-Bains in France for the G7 summit, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an agreement had been reached to end the conflict in Iran.
Trump announced the deal Sunday, adding that he authorized an end to the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, but later said the strait wouldn’t open until Friday when the deal is officially signed.
“Canada welcomes the new agreement between the United States and Iran,” Carney said on social media Monday. “We extend our gratitude to Pakistan, Qatar and regional partners for their indispensable roles in facilitating negotiations.”
The prime minister said Canada has been clear that a durable ceasefire must ensure safe and unimpeded transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and address the “pervasive threat” of Iran’s nuclear program.
“As negotiations continue, we urge all parties to maintain good faith dialogue and refrain from escalation,” he said. “Canada remains in close contact with partners and is ready to support efforts to bring stability and lasting peace to the region, including in Lebanon.”
While in Ireland over the weekend, Carney told Irish news outlet RTE that the war in Iran was “topic number one” at the G7, adding that the war in Ukraine is also a key issue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to attend the summit.
On Monday, the prime minister is scheduled to meet with President of the European Council Antonio Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
Later, he will attend a working dinner on geopolitical and economic issues.
Trump is expected to attend this year’s summit, as are other G7 leaders, with the heads of Brazil, India, Kenya and South Korea expected to participate.
While it’s unknown whether Carney will meet with Trump in Evian, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are set to connect on the summit’s sidelines.
French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting the summit — his last as head of state — under the theme of economic imbalances.
Carney told reporters in Ireland that the standards, regulations and responsibility of artificial intelligence will also be part of discussions.
France has said there will not be a joint, overarching communique — a document that used to be issued at every summit but has been harder to produce amid growing geopolitical rifts. France says it will instead release a series of statements over the course of the summit.
Ahead of the summit, Carney said Sunday that the U.S. will play a role in a new world order in which no one institution or country will have all the answers.
“What one can’t do at this point in a rapidly shifting world order is to rely on one set of institutions, one grouping, one country to provide the answers,” he said during a visit to Ireland.
“You have to know what you want, what you need, how you serve your citizens, and then go out and get it.”
The prime minister said a day earlier the “strands” of a new world order could be woven at that upcoming summit.
Asked what role the U.S. could play in that new order, Carney said some countries will be on the same page on issues such as taking action on artificial intelligence and child safety.
“Canada, very much at the forefront, will take child safety seriously and feel that laissez-faire is not the answer to child safety. And so we will take steps. Not everyone around that table will,” he said.
“In some of those circumstances, the United States will be foursquare behind … but not all.”
Earlier this month, the Liberal government introduced an online harms bill that includes a plan to force social media companies to ban kids under 16 from their platforms. Bill C-34 would also regulate AI chatbots.
International support for age restrictions on social media has been mounting since Australia became the first country to introduce a ban, with countries including Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, Britain, France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea introducing or considering similar measures.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer announced Monday that his government is also working to ban social media access for kids under 16.
“These days kids must find their feet in a world where technology intrudes into every area of their life,” Starmer said on social media. “I just can’t let that go on anymore. So we’re giving children their childhoods back.”
The Liberal government is also set to introduce a new privacy bill this week that it has said will include protections for children’s data. It’s also expected to include measures ensuring Canadians’ data is not used for surveillance pricing.
The G7 includes Canada, France, the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy. The European Union also participates in talks, though the bloc isn’t counted in the group’s name.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2026.
—With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington and Dylan Robertson and Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press
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