Calgary·Updated
Canada’s Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says there’s a sense of unity after emerging from a summit with his counterparts across the G7.
Ministers and central bankers gathered in Banff, Alta., ahead of G7 leaders’ meetingThe Canadian Press
· Posted: May 22, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 23 minutes ago
Canada’s Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, centre, leaves the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in Banff, Alta., on May 21, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)Canada’s Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says there’s a sense of unity after emerging from a summit with his counterparts across the G7.
The group of finance ministers and central bankers gathered this week in Banff, Alta., ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit set for next month in nearby Kananaskis.
The finance group came out with a joint communique emphasizing a commitment to strong economic relationships in a period of global trade uncertainty.
Champagne says the summit was about finding common ground and going back to basics.
He says the existence of the joint statement is “proof of unity” among the G7.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is among those at the meeting.
The United States continues to wage a trade war sending shock waves across global markets, but tariffs are not mentioned in the communique.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told CBC News Network’s Power & Politics that the meetings in Banff have been “extremely useful.” But she cautioned that “international trade will never be the same again” in the wake of U.S. tariffs.
“What sounded like a complete reshuffling of the cards as of April 2nd [of] this year has also launched a complete review of relationships, of trust, of diversification of sources and destination of both products and services,” Lagarde told guest-host Peter Armstrong.
“I think that our collective objective should be, first and foremost, remove the uncertainty. Second drive to negotiate and agree on rules of the game that will be favourable for all parties, not just for one party.”
With files from CBC
