G7 foreign ministers start talks in Quebec, as Joly pushes back on U.S. coercion

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LAMALBAIE, 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.

The G7 started as a forum to encourage liberal democracies to set policies through consensus in response to economic and social challenges. The group has set the tone for United Nations discussions and has been focused in recent years on Russia’s war on Ukraine.

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.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov wouldn’t comment on Moscow’s view of the ceasefire proposal.

Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser, complained in televised remarks Thursday that a ceasefire would grant a “temporary break for the Ukrainian military.”

Joly held bilateral talks Wednesday 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 ministerial “is not a meeting about how we’re going to take over Canada.”

So far, Ottawa’s partners have largely avoided public comment on Trump’s ambitions to make Canada a 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.”

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.

Article written by Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2025.