G7 finance officials begin 3-day summit in Banff to discuss global economy

Top finance officials from G7 countries gathered in Banff, Alberta Tuesday morning, for a three-day summit set to cover the global economy, war in Ukraine, and tariffs.

This is the first G7 meeting for Francois Philippe Champagne in his new role as finance minister.  He’ll lead the next two days of talks alongside Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem.

Ukraine’s finance minister is also in attendance, despite not being part of the G7.  Ukraine is looking for monetary support from its western allies, especially as the European Union is moving ahead with new sanctions against Russia.

Moscow’s war on Kyiv is expected to be a focus of the talks over the next two days as well as U.S. tariffs.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is representing the states in Alberta this week, and an expert we spoke with expects he’ll speak privately with ministers from each country, including Canada, to lay the groundwork for a trade deal.

Experts say don’t expect many announcements to come out of this week in regards to tariffs. Leaders will likely still have to negotiate with the U.S. President himself.

Donald Trump is expected to attend the full G7 summit coming in June, that will also be hosted in Alberta.