G7 finance ministers to discuss global economy, Ukraine at Banff summit
Top economic officials from the G7 have locked in for a full day of closed-door discussions in Banff, Alta., to examine pressing topics, including the global economy and the war in Ukraine.
The meeting between the group's finance ministers and central bank governors in the Rocky Mountains is a prelude to the G7 leaders' summit in June in nearby Kananaskis, Alta.
It comes in the wake of global tariffs initiated in early April by the United States, which have caused many countries to reconsider their trading relationships.
With the slopes of Mount Rundle as a backdrop, Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem shook hands and stood for a photo with the group Wednesday morning.
"We brought the sunshine for you, minister — Canadian sunshine," Champagne, flanked by two Mounties, told Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato in the courtyard of the Rimrock Resort Hotel.
Leaders of organizations, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Board, are also at the meeting.
"We've got lots of financial reform on the agenda," Macklem said to Klaas Knot, chair of the Financial Stability Board.
"I love financial stability, today and tomorrow," Knot replied.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, one of the key architects behind President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, is also in Banff, along with Jerome Powell, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, whom Trump has threatened to fire on several occasions in recent months.
Bessent and Champagne exchanged a friendly handshake at the photo opportunity. "It's great to have you here," Champagne said.
In an earlier statement, Bessent's office said he plans to use the meeting to "focus on the need to address global economic imbalances and non-market practices."
Champagne said Tuesday the "spirit around the table is constructive," when it comes to its discussions with the United States.
Ministers did not take questions from media and aren't expected to comment on the meeting until it wraps Thursday.
After photos were snapped, the officials marched toward the doors of the hotel in pairs.
"Let's get to work," Champagne said as he directed them inside.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
28 minutes ago
- CBC
Canada Transport Minister Freeland slams B.C. Ferries deal with Chinese company
B.C. Ferries has drawn the ire of federal Transportation Minister Chrystia Freeland for its decision to contract a Chinese state-owned shipyard to build four new vessels for its passenger fleet. Freeland also expressed concerns about security risks related to the contract. In a letter to B.C.'s Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth released Friday afternoon, Freeland expressed her "great consternation and disappointment" with the ferry operator. "I am dismayed that B.C. Ferries would select a Chinese state-owned shipyard to build new ferries in the current geopolitical context," Freeland wrote. Earlier this month, B.C. Ferries said the winning bidder on the contract is China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards. No Canadian companies bid on the ships, according to B.C. Ferries. But Freeland said, given the value of the contract and the amount of taxpayer money provided to B.C. Ferries' operations, she would have expected Canadian companies to be involved in the bid process. "I am surprised that B.C. Ferries does not appear to have been mandated to require an appropriate level of Canadian content in the procurement or the involvement of the Canadian marine industry," she wrote. Freeland said China has imposed "unjustified tariffs" on Canadian goods, including 100 per cent tariffs on canola oil, meal and pea imports and a 25 per cent duty on Canadian aquatic products and pork. She asked her provincial counterpart to share what it will do to address potential threats to security, including cybersecurity, and determine how B.C. Ferries will lessen "the risks that vessel maintenance and spare parts may pose." "I would like your assurance that B.C. Ferries conducted a robust risk assessment, and I expect them to engage with the relevant provincial and federal security agencies and departments to mitigate any security risk." WATCH | Farnworth worries about B.C. Ferries contract: Transportation minister concerned over B.C. Ferries' construction deal with Chinese shipyard 9 days ago Duration 2:06 Freeland said the federal government has a long record of providing financial support to B.C. Ferries, including a federal subsidy of $37.8 million in 2025-26 dating back to a 1977 agreement. The letter went on to say the Canada Infrastructure Bank is providing the ferry operator with a $75-million loan to finance the purchase of four zero-emission ferries and install charging infrastructure Freeland asked Farnworth to confirm "with utmost certainty" that no federal funding would be used to acquire the new ferries. In an emailed statement late Friday, Farnworth said he has spoken to Freeland about the need to bolster the province's shipbuilding sector. "B.C. has the skilled labour — a partnership with the federal government, provincial governments, and industry is essential for Canadian shipyards to expand physical capacity to build commercial vessels on both coasts," he said. The B.C. Ministry of Transportation said it is reviewing Freeland's letter. B.C. Ferries' response Jeff Groot, executive director of communications with B.C. Ferries, said Weihai Shipyards was selected following a rigorous and transparent procurement process. "It was the strongest bid by a significant margin," he said in an emailed statement. Groot said Canadian companies have acquired around 100 vessels built at Chinese shipyards over the last decade. "Globally, only a few shipyards have the capacity to deliver complex passenger ferries on the timelines and budgets required." Groot said B.C. Ferries has been working with Transport Canada since before the contract was signed, and with Public Safety Canada on safety and security issues. "Also, sensitive systems will be sourced separately and independently certified before the vessels enter service. B.C. Ferries intends that all of our IT networks will be procured from within Canada and installed on the ship by B.C. Ferries' own personnel," Groot said. He added a full-time B.C. Ferries oversight team will be on site at the shipyard.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Tensions high in Village of Anmore as controversial development heads to public hearing
On Monday, mayor and council in the Village of Anmore will hold a public hearing on a large-scale, multi-family development that could more than double the population of the tiny enclave on the shores of Indian Arm over the next 20 years. The development called Anmore South would add 1,750 units of housing– comprised of condo buildings, townhomes and duplexes – on a large plot of forested land in the centre of the village that is owned by Icona Properties. 'Right now, Anmore is all single-family homes with a couple of duplexes, but basically single-family homes and one corner store, so not really commercial,' said Greg Moore, the former mayor of Port Coquitlam, who is now CEO of Icona Properties. 'This helps to bring jobs and create that complete community for the Village of Anmore.' There is fierce opposition to the project, evidenced by signs on public spaces all over Anmore calling on mayor and council to scrap the development. 'It's too dense for a rural area,' said longtime Anmore resident Leslie Hannigan. 'The reason we moved here is because it's quiet. We aren't part of the urban containment boundary, so we're not in those rules of having to make everything really, really dense.' She argues the village's infrastructure is not meant for a large population, and bristles at the suggestion homeowners in Anmore are NIMBYs opposed to any new development. 'We could have done a really nice thing within our rural designation with townhomes, with cluster homes for seniors, there's laneway homes. There's all kinds of things without having to be this thick, dense area that developers seem to be pushing into all these municipalities,' Hannigan said. Anmore Mayor John McEwen says some in his community are opposed to any kind of change to the largely single-family home village, where the average assessed value is a little over $2,500,000. 'So, (it's) tough for young families to get in when you have such a high assessment,' said McEwen. 'And it's starting to show in our elementary school. Enrolment is a little over 100, where it used to be well over 200.' The mayor says the debate over adding condos and townhomes in Anmore has gotten nasty, with many signs targeting mayor and council, and online discourse that he calls disturbing. 'The word that has troubled me the most to my core is when I hear, 'We don't want that type of people here.' And that really, really bothers me,' said McEwen. 'I look at a diverse municipality that I want, I want it to be welcome to everybody.' Hannigan says she has never heard comments like that among Anmore residents. 'We welcome everyone,' she said. 'Nobody says we don't want these people in here. It's all about preserve the trees, keep us rural, small homes that are connected. I mean, this is again just a frustrating spin when they say that we're NIMBYs and we don't want this. That's wrong.' If mayor and council vote in favour of Anmore South on Monday, the developer still has to get Metro Vancouver to change the village's rural zoning designation in order to start construction on the project. 'If everything went yes votes all the way along the path, we probably wouldn't see a shovel in the ground for at least two years. And then at that point, it's going to be another 20 years as this community comes together,' said Moore. 'So there is lots of opportunity to continue to engage the community.' Right now, it's a community divided: remain a small village, or open the door to big-city density.
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Transportation Minister Chrystia Freeland 'dismayed' about BC Ferries' contract with Chinese shipyard
VICTORIA — Federal Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland says she is 'dismayed' that BC Ferries has contracted a Chinese state-owned shipyard to build four new vessels in the current geopolitical context that includes 'unjustified' tariffs on Canada. Article content Freeland says in a letter sent to provincial Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth that she expects BC Ferries to inform her about all measures that it plans to take to 'mitigate any security risks,' including cybersecurity problems that might arise from the decision. Article content Article content BC Ferries announced earlier this month that it has contracted China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards to build four new major vessels following a five-year-long procurement process that did not include a Canadian bid. Article content Article content Freeland adds she is 'surprised' that BC Ferries does not have a mandate for an 'appropriate level' of Canadian content in the procurement given the value of the contract, although the dollar figure hasn't been made public. Article content BC Ferries says in a statement that the Chinese bid was 'the strongest bid by a significant margin' and that security is a 'top priority,' adding that all sensitive systems will be sourced separately and independently certified before the vessels enter service. Article content
