// STRENGTHENING THE G7 SYSTEM
Évian, Miami and beyond: reframing the G7–G20 agenda
after assuming the presidency from Italy on 1 January 2025. Prime Minister Mark Carney – who inherited the summit prepa- rations upon succeeding Justin Trudeau in March – struck a pragmatic tone, wel- coming Trump with an agenda that echoed Trump themes. Although the US president again left before the summit’s second day added guest leaders, Canada had successfully discharged its hosting responsibilities and handed over the lead- ership of the G7 to France. The G7 presidency rotates annually, but the agenda does not reset. Each host inherits a standing docket of geopolitical crises and structural economic chal- lenges, then reframes it through national priorities. Italy translated economic security and development into an Africa– Mediterranean–migration lens. Canada recast similar pressures through a North American frame, emphasising critical minerals, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, energy security, wildfires, infrastructure and trusted partnerships. France is now positioning the agenda in macroeconomic terms: global imbalances, excess capacity, development finance reform, trade rules, digital competition and illicit cross-border flows.
As the G7 has transitioned from Canada to France and looks ahead to a US-hosted G20 in Miami, the question is no longer one of agenda continuity, but of strategic direction
T he 2025 G7 summit in Kananaskis concluded successfully, to the evident relief of its Canadian host. Canada’s previous summit in 2018, at Charlevoix, ended acrimoniously when US president Donald Trump departed early and repudiated the final communiqué. Determined to avoid a repeat, Canadian officials managed the process carefully
Christopher Sands, director, Center for US-Canada Relations, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
136 // G7 FRANCE: THE ÉVIAN SUMMIT 2026
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