Picture-perfect. Stunning. National treasure. Beautiful. Awe-inspiring. Gorgeous.

There are many ways to describe Kananaskis, Alberta, but this week the only word that comes to mind is:

Disappointing.

Of course, this week we are not just talking about the scenery, but the G7 Leaders Summit chaired by Canada which was held in Kananaskis.

The G7 members (Canada, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Japan and the European Union) were meeting after a year marked by horrific conflicts where civilians have been killed in massive numbers including in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, and Myanmar, and a weekend where conflict between Israel and Iran flared into missile exchanges. There have been countless examples of International Humanitarian Law being weakened or ignored while the death tolls rise. We are also living through a human rights roll-back, a climate crisis, and serious challenges to democracy even in some G7 members.

A brief look at the evening news indicates now is the time for bold action by powerful states.

Unfortunately, bold action was not found in Kananaskis this week. The Canadian presidency decided to focus on a few key issues they knew they could get consensus on – wildfires, critical minerals, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technologies, transnational repression and migrant smuggling. The ongoing conflicts were not addressed beyond a short seven sentence statement on the conflict between Israel and Iran but nothing more.

The Chair’s Summary from Prime Minister Carney indicates that the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and beyond were discussed but no joint statement agreed. It seems disarmament barely featured in the discussion at all beyond a short mention of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and the unacceptability of Iran ever acquiring nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are not acceptable weapons for any country to possess and considering three members of the G7 have their own nuclear arsenals perhaps a little introspection was needed. The statement on Artificial Intelligence did not address the use of AI in weapons or conflict despite the rapid progress being made.

It appears that the lack of bold action was due to a desire for consensus. It was expected that the United States under President Trump would not agree to strong calls for ceasefires, disarmament or gender equality so Canada did not pursue joint statements on those topics. Unfortunately, this desire for consensus paralyzed the G7 and prevented the discussion of key issues leaving us all disappointed.