Canada’s position on having Russia back in G7: ‘No way this will happen,’ Joly says

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister says Canada is firmly opposed to allowing Russia to rejoin the G7 (formerly known as the G8) as U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada is firmly opposed to having Russia reinstated in the G7 as U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested.

During a news conference at an international security conference in Munich, Germany on Saturday, Joly was asked if she and her international colleagues discussed re-admitting Russia into the group.

“No we didn’t, and I am telling the position of Canada: No way this will happen,” she said.

The meeting of foreign ministers during the Munich Security Conference was the first one under Canada’s 2025 presidency. Joly also announced she will host her counterparts in Charlevoix, Que., on March 12-14.

Russia used to be part of what was known as the Group of Eight until other members suspended Moscow in 2014 over the invasion of Ukraine that resulted in Russia taking over Crimea.

Trump argued Thursday that Russia should have retained its membership in the group and suggested it could have prevented the full-scale invasion that Moscow launched in February 2022.

“It’s not a question of liking Russia or not liking Russia,” Trump said. “I’d love to have them back. I think it was a mistake to throw them out.”

Federal Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has said Russia should not be let back in.