CITYnews halifax : PM Carney in Paris to meet with French president ahead of G7 summit

CITYnews halifax / By Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press

PARIS — Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Paris, where he is set to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the G7 summit next week.

A government official who briefed reporters ahead of the trip framed the meeting as Canada passing the G7 presidency baton to France and said the leaders will likely discuss how to advance a strategic partnership between the two countries.

The prime minister will meet Macron at the Palais de l’Elysée on Friday evening, where the leaders will deliver joint statements.

Carney will also hold a news conference before attending a dinner held by Macron.

Sen. Peter Boehm, who served as personal representative for prime ministers Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau for six G7 summits, said Carney’s pre-summit visit with Macron offers an opportunity for the two leaders to strategize.

He added that Carney is expected to demonstrate “pragmatic diplomacy” at the international event, given how his recent Davos speech drew widespread international interest.

In his speech at the World Economic Forum in January, Carney said the world has entered a risky new age of great power rivalries and that Canada is working to expand non-U. S. trade in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies.

The bilateral meeting could be one of the last between the two leaders, as Macron’s second term in office is set to end in May 2027. Boehm said the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains will mark Macron’s tenth and final G7 summit as president.

The G7 member hosting the summit is responsible for setting priorities for the year and organizing ministerial meetings.

The government of France says priorities at the summit will include settling major geopolitical crises, including through G7 support to Ukraine, crime and online protection for children.

Earlier this year, French lawmakers approved a bill banning social media for children under 15. The idea of setting a minimum age for use of the platforms has gained momentum across Europe.

The Liberal government introduced its own online safety legislation this week. If passed, it would require social media companies to block access for kids under 16, though platforms will be able to obtain an exemption if they put sufficient safeguards in place.

Bill C-34, introduced Wednesday in the House of Commons, would also regulate the companies behind AI chatbots by imposing on them a duty to act responsibly. That includes measures to lower the risk of chatbots communicating harmful content and putting in place crisis intervention protocols for cases involving self-harm, suicide or violence.

Macron applauded the move on social media Thursday, saying “thanks for joining the movement.”

Looking ahead to the summit, Boehm said there’s always some carry-on elements from previous years.

“The discussions at Kananaskis on artificial intelligence, for example, and on the global economy will have an impact on the discussions at Evian as well,” he said.

A Canadian government official said this week there will likely not be a comprehensive final communiqué from leaders at the end of the summit.

They said people can instead expect issue-specific statements from leaders throughout the event.

Boehm said the decision to publish several individual declarations, rather than one, is likely due to Trump.

“I think that’s a very big factor, because what’s the point of trying to get consensus when what you’re doing is watering down what you’ve got and then you’re not credible,” he said, adding that statements could be about online harms, AI or various global issues.

Boehm said the geopolitical scene will also be a discussion at the summit, given the ongoing war in the Middle East while the U.S. Agency for International Development has been “gutted” by the Trump administration.

France is Canada’s third-largest merchandise export market in the European Union and its fifth-largest source of foreign investment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2026.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa and The Associated Press

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press