Potential wildcard: After his visit to the White House on June 5, Merz sees himself as the leader in Europe who has the best connection to Trump. But France’s Emmanuel Macron speaks to the U.S. leader regular and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has her own rapport with him. So Merz may find that he’s not necessarily first in line.

Former prime minister Jean Chretien says dignitaries attending next week's G7 leaders summit in Alberta should avoid engaging with the "crazy" from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Face Wildfire Smoke at Canada G7 Summit By Ed White WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) -World leaders may face smoke warnings when they gather next week in Alberta as wildfires burned out of control across much of Canada and caused the country's second-worst fire season in decades.