Prime Minister of the U.K. Keir Starmer will arrive in Ottawa a day before the Group of Seven summit takes place in Alberta.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday that Starmer will visit Ottawa on Saturday and Sunday, before the two leaders head to Kananaskis, Alberta, to attend the G7 summit, which begins on Sunday.
“Canada and the United Kingdom have shared history and enduring ties,” Canada’s prime minister’s office said in a statement. “Prime Minister Starmer’s visit will strengthen the long-standing economic and security partnership between the two nations – and deliver growth and prosperity for our peoples.”
The PMO said the conversations will “carry forward” into the 2025 G7 Leaders’ Summit.
Activists are planning to protest the G7 summit in Alberta this year. The RCMP vowed to livestream the protests to facilitate the Canadian Charter right of freedom of thought, belief, and expression of protesters.
The summit will mark the first time U.S. President Donald Trump has set foot in Canada since his inauguration.
Indian President Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have also been invited to the summit despite neither leader being the head of a G7 economy, according to reports.
Indian-Canadian relations have been stressed since former prime minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being behind the killing of a Canadian citizen and Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. India was also named as a prime offender in foreign interference reports on Canada’s democracy.
Similar to Modi, the Saudi Crown Prince was accused of sending assassins to kill a former Saudi intelligence officer living in Toronto in 2018.