Canada has invited Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the upcoming G7 Leaders’ Summit in Alberta, Global News has learned.
It is not yet known if bin Salman has accepted the invitation. He did not attend last year’s G7 summit in Italy despite being invited there as well.
Canada’s invitation marks the third time in recent days that Prime Minister Mark Carney and his government has reached out to leaders of countries whose relationships with Canada have been strained.
Leaders from the world’s largest economies are set to gather in Kananaskis for three days of talks that begin Sunday. It is common practice for host countries to invite other world leaders to the annual summit to discuss pressing global issues.
Saudi Arabia is seen as a key player in Middle East diplomacy. It has been supportive of efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel continues to conduct a military offensive against Hamas that has created a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
The kingdom has also hosted talks involving the United States on finding an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, a conflict that is expected to be among the major topics at the summit.
Yet Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has been criticized by Canada and independent advocacy groups, despite bin Salman’s stated efforts to improve women’s rights.
The country recalled its ambassador from Ottawa and expelled Canada’s envoy in 2018 after Global Affairs Canada called on Saudi Arabia to “immediately release” detained women’s rights and democracy activists.
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That diplomatic spat began months before the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. Saudi Arabia has denied findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that bin Salman had approved his killing.
Canada sanctioned over a dozen Saudi nationals linked to Khashoggi’s murder.
Canada and Saudi Arabia began thawing relations in 2023 by welcoming new ambassadors to each other’s capitals. Saudi Arabia’s national airline also resumed flights to Canada after a five-year suspension.
Before the diplomatic spat, the Liberal government had temporarily paused arm sales to Saudi Arabia over reports the country’s Canadian-made light armoured vehicles were being used in a bloody conflict in Yemen.
Bin Salman attended several events during U.S. President Donald Trump’s tour of the Middle East last month. Trump gushed over the crown prince during that trip, calling him “my friend” and praising his efforts to modernize the country.
Carney personally invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit last week, which Modi has accepted. The move has angered Sikh nationals in Canada — including within Carney’s Liberal caucus — who point to allegations that Modi’s government was involved in the murder of a Sikh activist leader in British Columbia in 2023.
The RCMP is continuing to investigate what it has said are reports of intimidation and violence against Sikhs by Indian agents on Canadian soil.
Carney defended the invitation of Modi on Friday and avoided saying whether he believes Modi was involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, referring to the ongoing “legal process.”
Carney also spoke last week with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, with the Prime Minister’s Office saying the two leaders agreed to regularize channels of communication between Ottawa and Beijing, despite ongoing disputes over trade and human rights.
No officials from China are expected to attend next week’s G7 summit.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Monday she had accepted an invitation to attend the summit.
It will mark the first time the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are together since Trump launched a multi-front trade war over the flow of fentanyl and the North American auto sector.
Negotiations over the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on free trade (CUSMA) are expected to begin next year, but Trump’s tariffs have led Canada to seek a bilateral economic and security agreement with the U.S.
Multiple premiers have also called on Mexico to be written out of any future free trade agreement.
—With files from the Canadian Press
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