The Alberta Rockies are set to host world leaders for the G7 Summit later this year but more than 50,000 Canadians say U.S. President Donald Trump should not be allowed to attend.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to welcome Trump, along with other G7 members, including President of France Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer, to Kananaskis this June.
The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal grouping of seven of the world’s advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, in addition to the European Union.
A petition that went up a little over a month ago on Change.org calling for Trump to be blocked from visiting Canada for the G7 Summit in Alberta has amassed more than 53,000 signatures as of writing, pointing to Trump’s convicted felon status.
“Trump is a convicted felon who is threatening Canada’s Sovereignty. He has also stressed that border security along the Canadian border is a priority for him, and we agree. We can’t allow convicted felons from other countries across our border,” the petition stated.
“Under Canadian law, convicted felons are inadmissible to Canada. There are exceptions, but we do not feel that Donald Trump fulfills these requirements. He is not rehabilitated, he has not received a pardon, and he poses a serious risk to Canada. Also, let’s be honest, we just don’t want him here,” it added.
The idea even made it to then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month, but he quickly shot it down, calling the proposition “facile” after it was floated by NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
Alberta last held the meeting in June 2002, when Prime Minister Jean Chretien welcomed G8 world leaders to Kananaskis, including U.S. President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Donald Trump visited Canada just once during his first presidency, spending time in La Malbaie, Quebec during the 44th G7 summit.
