By Canadian Press

In the news today: World leaders, former PMs and protestors expected ahead of G7

Jun 12, 2025 | 1:17 AM

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Groups planning protests for G7 summit in Alberta

Protests during the upcoming G7 leaders summit in Kananaskis, Alta., may be starkly different than demonstrations happening this week against immigration crackdowns in the United States.

A University of Toronto research group that has been monitoring the meetings of world leaders since 1998 says its analysis shows Canadian protests are more peaceful and smaller.

But similar to the recent demonstrations in Los Angeles, they’re likely to be against the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.

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“The Los Angeles protests will add another (issue) the protesters going there already care about, but it won’t do anything much more than that,” said John Kirton, director of the G7 Research Group.

Former PMs speaking at conference ahead of G7

Two former Canadian prime ministers and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith are among the notable names set to speak at a conference today ahead of next week’s G7 leaders’ summit in Kananaskis.

The conference is hosted by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy and its G7 research group and will feature a series of panels about past summits and international affairs.

Former prime minister Jean Chrétien will speak about past summits hosted in Canada alongside his former deputy prime minister and finance minister John Manley.

Former prime minister Joe Clark is to give the closing keynote speech and offer his thoughts on the day’s discussions.

Smith faces raucous town hall on coal policy

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and three of her ministers got an earful on Wednesday night from southern Alberta locals at a rowdy, hours-long town hall to discuss the province’s coal policy.

About 500 people, dressed in cowboy hats, belt buckles, and jeans, packed a community hall in Fort Macleod, Alta., for an event marked by heckling, competing applause and placards.

“If we are not prepared to look and find middle-ground solutions to allow for industries to proceed while reducing our environmental footprint, you’re going to find that different industries become the next on the hit list,” Smith said through a chorus of protesting voices and verbal jabs.

“Banning industries is just not something we are going to do.”

$30B in new investments needed for mineral demand

A newly released report estimates Canada will need at least $30 billion in new capital investments by 2040 if it wants to meet domestic demand for the critical minerals key to a green economy transition.

But the Canadian Climate Institute’s report says cutting back on environmental safeguards and Indigenous consultation to speed up those projects is likely to backfire.

The report released Thursday says those cutbacks can lead to delays later on, due to community opposition or litigation.

The think tank’s latest report comes as the federal government, along with Ontario and British Columbia, face major pushback from First Nations and environmental groups to legislation intended to speed up mining project approvals.

N.L. hydrogen companies behind in land bills

Newfoundland and Labrador is owed millions of dollars in fees from green energy companies, underlining growing doubts about whether promises of major projects and multi-billion dollar investments will pan out.

Six companies are vying to create new operations in the province that would use wind energy to produce hydrogen for exports overseas. Figures obtained by The Canadian Press reveal some owe a collective total of $13.7 million in fees due in 2024 for the use of Crown land.

Russell Williams, an associate political science professor at Memorial University in St. John’s, N.L., said he’s not surprised the companies have land fees outstanding.

“I think it highlights the extent to which the public should be skeptical about megaprojects, and about governments getting very carried away, very early, with the idea that there are huge benefits from these kinds of natural resource developments,” Williams said in a recent interview.

However, the province insists the money will be collected.

Kendrick Lamar to perform in Toronto tonight

Kendrick Lamar is set to perform in Toronto tonight in his first swing through Drake’s hometown since the pair started feuding last year.

The American rapper stops in the city for two nights on his Grand National Tour with SZA, and some Drake fans say they plan to congregate outside the Rogers Centre.

An Instagram post shared across social media promises a so-called “OVO Takeover” near the venue, referring to Drake’s brand, October’s Very Own.

The post says Drake fans want to “show Kendrick whose city this is,” but that there will be “no hate, no drama — just pure Toronto energy.”

A spokesperson for Drake did not respond to a request for comment.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025

The Canadian Press