Time for Canada to reassess its G7 membership

Canada has taken over the presidency of the Group of Seven. It looks set to use this power to prolong a devastating proxy war and push back against the growing BRICS alliance.

The US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan are the other members of an exclusive club established 50 years ago. Only containing 10 per cent of the world’s population, the G7 represents around 30% of global GDP. But its share of global GDP has steadily declined since its 1975 creation.

As host, Canada chooses which non-member states leaders are invited to the summit scheduled for June in Kananaskis, Alberta. Ottawa also has greater influence over the G7 agenda since the host coordinates the ministerial meetings that take place throughout the year. The host generally also launches a signature initiative.

In 2018 the Liberals hyped a plan for quality education for girls in developing countries and in 2010 the Conservatives said they would seek to save the lives of millions of mothers and young children. Under pressure from the anti-corporate globalization movement, the Jean Chretien government promoted the New Partnership for Africa’s Development when it hosted the summit in 2002. NEPAD exchanged aid for economic liberalization, reinforcing structural imbalances that consign Africa to a position of economic subservience or “underdevelopment”.

The 2025 summit will no doubt include an initiative purportedly to save the world’s poor that’s at best a public relations exercise. Early commentary suggests Canada will use its chairmanship of the G7 to prolong the NATO proxy war amidst concern Donald Trump may shift gears.

On January 1, both Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal posted about Canada taking over the G7. The Ukrainian president tweeted, “together, we must ensure that Moscow gains no benefit from this war” while Shmyhal noted, “we look forward to continuing close coordination, defence assistance and increased sanctions on Russia, including on the shadow fleet. …We welcome the decision to transfer $50 billion from Russia’s frozen assets.”

The next day foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly tweeted, “As Canada begins its presidency of the G7, my first official call was with [foreign minister] Andrii Sybiha‎. Ukraine remains a priority for the G7. We discussed the current situation and the needs going forward. Canada will always remain a strong ally of Ukraine.” Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials will likely be invited to the summit.

Organizing the G7 is a major logistical endeavor, demanding significant attention from Global Affairs Canada. Participating in the G7 also requires a great deal of foreign policy focus. It’s rarely discussed, but participating in the G7 has a deleterious impact on Canadian foreign policy. Ottawa prioritizes its ties to the G7 over relations with less belligerent mid-sized rich countries like Spain and Norway. The alliance is also an obstacle to Ottawa focussing more energy on relations with India, Brazil, Mexico and other large poorer countries.

The G7 was established in 1975 to deal with the economic disruption caused by the US withdrawing from the gold standard, which pegged currencies to gold, and the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system it caused. Another factor driving G7 discussions was the formally colonized nations pushing for a more just global economic order. The 1974 UN Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order called for a global system “based on equity, sovereign equality, interdependence, common interest, and cooperation among all States.” The G7 has successfully asserted capitalist/NATO influence. But the imperial alliance is facing renewed pressure from the expansion of the BRICS. The Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa recently added Indonesia as a full member and numerous other associate members.

As an expansionist Donald Trump becomes president of the USA, all those who support a truly independent Canada must work towards a multilateral world. We must expand our relationship with other countries and move away from our dangerous economic, diplomatic, social and military reliance on the United States.

A good first step would be Canada withdrawing from the G7.

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