LA MALBAIE, Que. — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Thursday she's focused on working with Canada's peers to address global challenges as she welcomes her counterparts from the U.S., Europe and Japan to Quebec.
"We must meet the moment," Joly said as she opened the Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting. "We should not be daunted by the task."
While she said in her opening remarks to the ministers that American tariffs would be the focus of her closed-door talks, Joly did not directly mention American economic coercion or U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for Canada's annexation.
Joly spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio individually before opening the G7 foreign ministers' meeting Thursday morning.
Joly and Rubio are meeting with ministers representing France, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union in the Charlevoix region, northeast of Quebec City.
They're starting the gathering with a discussion of the 50-year-old G7's function and of major geopolitical hot spots ranging from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific.
Joly said the G7 has made strides recently on defending Ukrainian sovereignty and countering foreign interference operations.
But the group faces growing instability around the world and a shifting geopolitical climate, especially since Trump's return to the White House.
Trump has broken with allies who have tried to isolate Russia, while also pressing a trade war with Canada and Europe.
This week's meeting comes days after Ukraine said it would be willing to accept a ceasefire if Russia agrees to certain conditions. In a statement issued late Wednesday, Joly said Canada welcomes a possible ceasefire and expects Russia to step up.
“With this agreement, Ukraine has once again shown its desire to end the war as soon as possible, and its commitment to being a constructive partner," she wrote.
"Canada has helped champion these human dimensions of peace, and we cannot agree more with the value of a ceasefire, including such elements as prisoner exchanges, the release of civilian detainees, and of course, the return of Ukrainian children."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he agrees in principle with a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.
But he said at a Moscow news conference that the terms have yet to be worked out and any truce should pave the way to lasting peace. Trump said he was ready to discuss this with Putin.
It was widely reported last weekend that Washington had vetoed a Canadian proposal for the Charlevoix summit aimed at cracking down on Russian "shadow fleet" oil tankers that are evading Western economic sanctions.
A Canadian government official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the diplomatic issue, confirmed these media reports for The Canadian Press.
Joly alluded to the issue in her opening remarks Thursday, citing the need to address "the maritime dimension" of security threats, including "growing shadow fleets, dark vessels, sabotage of critical undersea infrastructure, illegal fishing and the loss of maritime biodiversity."
Japan's foreign ministry characterized the discussions on Ukraine as "a candid exchange of views" that included "the importance for the G7 to work together to have Russia act positively." Japan stressed that how the Ukraine war ends could set "wrong precedents" for the entire world.
"The security of Europe and Indo-Pacific has become more and more inseparable," the ministry noted in another summary of Thursday's talks.
On Wednesday, Joly held bilateral talks with her counterparts from the European Union, France and the U.K. Joly told reporters Wednesday that she'd use "every single meeting" to push back on U.S. tariffs, saying they are aimed at annexing Canada.
Rubio said Wednesday that the G7 gathering "is not a meeting about how we're going to take over Canada."
So far, Ottawa's partners have largely avoided commenting publicly on Trump's ambitions to make Canada a U.S. state.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock suggested Thursday morning that G7 nations should avoid panic.
"We have learned altogether in these shaky geopolitical times ... especially in moments when your heart is really beating, it's important to keep a calm," Baerbock told reporters.
She added that the G7 has been "a powerhouse … for freedom, for our common understanding of peace."
Baerbock and the EU's foreign policy chief used their clothing choices to send a message of support.
Tagging Joly, Baerbock posted a photo on the platform X of herself wearing white alongside European Commission High Representative Kaja Kallas wearing red, with the words, "We’ve got your back" and a Canadian flag.
When asked why he hadn't spoken up about Trump's threat to annex Canada, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said "the answer is very clear. Canada will be Canada in the future."
Vina Nadjibulla, research vice-president for the Asia Pacific Foundation, said Joly's talk of maritime initiatives is a way for Canada to find consensus and be seen as useful to G7 partners.
"It's a really smart way to put a number of things on the agenda, and it's a crosscutting topic that showcases both Canada's capacities but also our positioning," she said. "It brings together our Indo-Pacific, Arctic and euro-Atlantic agenda."
Nadjibulla said these initiatives could respond to freedom-of-navigation issues in the Taiwan Strait, European concerns about undersea cables and broader ocean protection and trade issues.
It builds on Canada's work to combat illegal fishing in places like Southeast Asia and military co-operation with countries like the Philippines, she said.
"A key concern for Minister Joly, and for Canada in general, is to maintain G7 unity and to be able to pragmatically and practically focus on things that are important to all members, and also the U.S.," she said. "It's an issue that is critical to our own national security because of the Arctic."
The ministers are scheduled to hold an early afternoon news conference Friday. It's not clear how this might conflict with Friday morning's swearing-in of Liberal leader Mark Carney as prime minister, along with his cabinet.
Joly is expected to remain as foreign minister and normally would be attending the swearing-in at Rideau Hall, a six-hour drive from the Charlevoix region.
Canada holds the rotating G7 presidency this year and a national leaders' summit is planned for June in Alberta.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2025.
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
