# Canadian defence policy and the Group of 7 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [June 5, 2025, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231 "2025-06-05T14:33:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231/1 "2025-06-05T14:33:11Z")
Pundits Greg Pollock and Imran Bayoumi have an article titled “A Canadian defense buildup could restart a beautiful friendship” in the WaPo today. It ends “But if the prime minister can put Canada on a credible path to meeting its defense commitments, the bilateral relationship could be headed toward a much more stable footing by the time Carney and Trump meet again at the 50th anniversary of the Group of Seven, which Canada is set to host in Alberta in mid-June.” The Group was formed in 1920 and dissolved in 1933. What else do the authors get wrong about Canada? [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/06/05/canada-us-defense-spending-friendship/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/06/05/canada-us-defense-spending-friendship/) ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231/2 "2025-06-05T15:53:41Z")
[It’s a different group of seven.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G7) [They’re meeting this month in Alberta.](https://calgaryherald.com/news/what-we-know-so-far-about-next-months-g7-meeting-in-kananaskis) ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231/3 "2025-06-05T16:03:44Z")
Yes, it is. I should have indicated my snarkasm. ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231/4 "2025-06-05T16:11:41Z")
I figure you refuse to recognize them since they stopped being the G8. [Funnily, they still list Trudeau as PM.](https://groupofnations.com/summit/g7/) ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231/5 "2025-06-05T16:14:39Z")
Let’s leave the Russians out of this… I believe they have the German chancellor wrong, too. We should have stuck with Fred Varley & Friends, I tell ya! ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231/6 "2025-06-05T16:28:18Z")
The current Chancellor is [Fred Mertz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Merz). ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231/7 "2025-06-05T16:31:33Z")
Maybe Trump will go for a canoe trip in Algonquin Park like Tom Thomson (yes, I know that Thomson was G7 adjacent and died before it was formed). ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231/8 "2025-06-05T16:36:31Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > “A Canadian defense buildup could restart a beautiful friendship” in the WaPo today. It ends “But if the prime minister can put Canada on a credible path to meeting its defense commitments, the bilateral relationship could be headed toward a much more stable footing I find it amusing/infuriating that they still spin this as the US being gracious enough to accept us back. They’re the assholes in this relationship, not us. Regardless of what Canada does, or does not do, we won’t be going back to what we used to have. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231/9 "2025-06-05T17:18:27Z")
The bizarre take of the authors is what “inspired” my “there is only 1 Group of Seven and it ain’t these guys!” note. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2025, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231/10 "2025-06-07T23:58:08Z")
For those who don’t know who the Group of Seven was: > **[Group of Seven (artists)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Seven_(artists))** > > The Group of Seven, once known as the Algonquin School, was a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920 to 1933, with "a like vision". It originally consisted of Franklin Carmichael (1890–1945), Lawren Harris (1885–1970), A. Y. Jackson (1882–1974), Frank Johnston (1888–1949), Arthur Lismer (1885–1969), J. E. H. MacDonald (1873–1932), and Frederick Varley (1881–1969). A. J. Casson (1898–1992) was invited to join in 1926, Edwin Holgate (1892–1977) became a member in 1930, and Lionel LeMoine [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/E4rmB1_56EI/maxresdefault.jpg "Steve Martin on “The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris”") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4rmB1_56EI) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2025, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-defence-policy-and-the-group-of-7/1019231/11 "2025-06-08T09:15:47Z")
Just to confuse the issue further, G7 is also the leading taxi-booking agency in France.