The new multilateralism: The G7-plus leaders at Kananskis, June 2025/NATO image

As the 52nd G7 gathers in Evian, France, June 15th-17th amid a state of geopolitical upheaval not seen since the Cold War, the meeting is shaping up to be a sequel to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s freshman global diplomacy foray at the Kananaskis G7 in 2025, and a test of the world-order recalibrating doctrine of “variable geometry” he articulated at Davos. Meanwhile, the president of the United States — the country that originated the group in 1975 in response to an energy crisis provoked by a Middle East war — is preoccupied with the Middle East war he launched, provoking an energy crisis. A long-promised resolution to that war may finally be announced just in time for this G7. 

We open with the latest of our annual G7 Q&As with Policy Contributing Writer, six-time Sherpa and chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Sen. Peter Boehm. “Considering that Trump has berated, insulted and/or praised almost all of his participating colleagues, it is difficult for me to imagine how a conversation between leaders could flourish along traditional lines,” Boehm tells Policy Editor and Publisher Lisa Van Dusen. “It will be up to President Macron, with his 10 years of experience leading his country (and having been a Sherpa before that — great credentials) to steer the discussion away from any policy shoals but still cover the essential points.” Here are Peter Boehm and Lisa Van Dusen with Policy Q&A: Peter Boehm on the Evian G7.

From longtime Policy Contributing Writer, former career diplomat, and Global Exchange podcast host Colin Robertson, we have a look at the evolving world order and where the G7 and NATO summits fit into Mark Carney’s vision for a middle-power arrangement that can counter-ballast the predatory hegemons. “This year, more than in the past decade, they are a test of whether like-minded democracies can adapt multilateralism to a world in which great-power rivalry is back, economic interdependence is increasingly weaponized, and American leadership can no longer be taken for granted,” writes Robertson. “For Canada, the stakes are especially high.” Here’s Colin Robertson with The Summer Summits: Canada and the New Multilateralism.

Former Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ambassador to the European Union, Russia, and Italy Jeremy Kinsman, prolific Policy columnist and co-host of the Red Passport podcast, explores the history of the G7 and the role Donald Trump has played in its recent evolution. “Macron will no doubt try to steer the Evian Summit, for as long as Trump stays, as courteously as possible,” writes Kinsman. “The French-authored agenda covers the gamut of 18 issues, within a generalized conference framework of ‘security, economic resilience, social cohesion, in a more fragmented world’ — all global features that Trump undermines every day.” Here’s Jeremy Kinsman with Another G7, Another Bout of Anticipatory Anxiety.

In background on this year’s G7, here’s our Policy Series on the Kananaskis G7 from last year.

And, your G7/pop-culture bonus link, Peter Boehm’s 2024 review of the G7 horror/spoof Rumours, starring Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, and Roy Dupuis. Here’s ‘Rumours’ as a Multilateral Morality Tale: Sherpas Really do Matter, and Canada Saves the Day.

With many thanks to all our Policy writers, readers, sponsors, and donors.

Visit us at Policy, where you’ll find our latest Policy Specials, Columns, Dispatches, Analysis, Book Reviews and Verbatim sections, plus The Week in Policy and all our posted print issues.