OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to Europe on Thursday, visiting Ireland and France for the G7 summit.

The summit is running from June 15 to June 17 in Evian-les-Bains and France says the focus will be on reducing global inequalities.

The summit was delayed by a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the White House would host a UFC fight on June 14, which is Flag Day in the United States and Trump’s 80th birthday.

Fen Osler Hampson, an international affairs professor at Carleton University, told The Canadian Press the leaders will have to focus on “managing Trump” at the summit.

“The real discussions will be among the remaining G6 leaders when Trump isn’t in the room, in terms of how you deal with a president who is irascible, unpredictable and making life difficult for everyone,” he said, noting that the president has personally insulted several European leaders.

The government of France says priorities at the summit will include settling major geopolitical crises, including through G7 support to Ukraine, online protection for children, crime and “the new rules of play of global governance.”

However, Hampson said the official agenda generally doesn’t reflect what the key issues of discussion will be. He said those are likely to include conflict in the Middle East, energy security and U.S. tariffs.

Canada hosted the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., last year. Trump left a day early due to the conflict in the Middle East.

The G7 includes Canada, France, the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy. The European Union also participates in talks, though the bloc isn’t counted in the group’s name.

Before the summit, Carney is making stops in Paris and Dublin, Ireland.

A news release from the Prime Minister’s Office says Carney and Macron will discuss deepening ties in sectors such as defence, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and critical minerals.

Ireland, which has become a major centre for foreign investment and businesses, is set to assume the presidency of the Council of the European Union in July.

The PMO notes Carney’s visit will be the first official trip for a Canadian prime minister to Ireland in nearly a decade. Carney will meet with the Taoiseach of Ireland, Micheál Martin and Irish President Catherine Connolly as part of talks to deepen cultural and trade ties between the nations.

Carney met with 150 Irish business leaders in Ottawa last month. The embassy said on social media that the discussion focused on economic opportunities for the countries, innovation, investment and growth across sectors.

Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Ireland reached $6 billion in 2025. Canadian exports of $1.1 billion to Ireland were led by cereals and imports of $4.9 billion were led pharmaceutical products.

Trade between the countries is underpinned by the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, known as CETA, which has been provisionally applied but has not yet been ratified by several states, including Ireland.

Martin met with Carney in Ottawa in September. At the time, he said Ireland would be ratifying the CETA deal. A joint statement from the leaders said they agreed on the importance of Ireland’s full ratification of the agreement by 2026.

The Irish Times reported late last month that the Irish government was set to approve new legislation to accelerate ratification of the trade deal to reduce the country’s reliance on the United States.

There are an estimated 4.5 million Canadians that have Irish ancestry, representing almost 15 per cent of the country’s population.

Carney also has deep ties to Ireland, with his grandparents immigrating from County Mayo in the early 1920s.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2026.

— with files from Craig Lord

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press