DUBLIN — The upcoming G7 summit could be well-timed to cement an emerging peace agreement on Iran — but only if the deal includes a ceasefire in Lebanon too, the leaders of Canada and Ireland stressed on Saturday.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking at the start of a two-day visit to Ireland, looked ahead to his much more challenging next stop: the G7 summit in France alongside his frequent foil on the world stage, U.S. President Donald Trump.
Standing beside Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin outside his central Dublin office, Carney said he was “encouraged by recent developments,” referring to the yo-yoing hopes of a potential U.S.-Iran agreement.
Carney touted “the possibility of a more durable ceasing of hostilities,” and he described G7 host France’s planned inclusion of the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in an expanded summit format as “timely.”
But Carney emphasized any credible deal would require “a broader cessation of hostilities, including in Lebanon.”
Martin — whose government has been sharply critical of Israel, which shut its Irish embassy in protest — concurred, saying it would be “extremely important that Lebanon is included in the peace process. Lebanese sovereignty is absolutely essential.”
Lebanon is of particular importance to Ireland, a non-NATO member, because the Irish contribute troops to the United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon — and have lost 48 soldiers on duty there since 1978.
Carney’s trip to Ireland seeks, in part, to promote his agenda of building Canadian cooperation with Europe as a counterbalance to the tension the country has experienced with its southern neighbor under the Trump administration. And Ireland is about to become a particularly influential ally, since it’s taking over the rotating presidency of the European Council on July 1 and will consequently be hosting scores of EU events over the coming six months.
But his swing through Ireland also looks like a bid to build the political brand of Carney, a policy wonk and former central banker who’s been an elected lawmaker for barely a year. His family story will come into focus Sunday when he visits his ancestral home in a County Mayo village from which his paternal grandparents emigrated to Canada in 1925.
For most of Saturday’s joint presser with Martin, a politician like Carney known for a demure disposition, both leaders seemed determined to avoid criticizing Trump — a global leader with a very different public persona — by not mentioning him.
Neither of their speeches mentioned the United States, never mind Trump. And when the reporters’ questions inevitably focused on Trump’s role in international conflicts and apparent unreliability as a trading partner, Carney and Martin stumbled over themselves avoiding a direct reply.
Carney even acknowledged the verbal gymnastics, capping one lengthy response that didn’t mention Trump by conceding: “That is a very oblique answer.”
Martin — whose own country is loath to draw Trump’s ire because it profits so handsomely from nearly 1,000 U.S. multinationals — softened his tacit criticism of the Trump administration with his only invocation of the T-word.
“President Trump is democratically elected as president of the United States and I’ll always respect that,” Martin began, before cautioning: “We must always understand the limits of power.”
Martin noted his own two most recent St. Patrick’s Day visits to the White House and observed that relations between any two countries can always improve — “once there’s mutual respect.”

Friday was supposed to be a big day for the Canadians and Americans who live on either side of the Detroit River.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony had been scheduled to mark the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge – a $6.4-billion crossing that was first announced by former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2012.
The new span will be the only public bridge directly connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ont. The existing century-old Ambassador Bridge is privately owned by the billionaire Michigan-based Moroun family, who charge vehicles at least double the rate paid at publicly owned crossings in other parts of Ontario.
But the bridge opening was abruptly cancelled on Thursday at the demand of the Trump administration. The Moroun family was behind the delay, The Globe and Mail reported this week.
United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra are trying to negotiate a deal that would save the Moroun family from losing too much money once they have to compete with the publicly owned Gordie Howe bridge, The Globe reported.
Tony Keller: Donald Trump can’t open the Strait of Hormuz, so instead he’s blocking the Strait of Detroit
The news comes as no surprise to those who live in the shadow of the Ambassador Bridge.
The Moroun family, which also owns a trucking empire, has fought for years to shut down any competition to the Ambassador, pouring tens of millions of dollars into federal and state politics along the way. That includes donating more than US$1-million to a campaign group supporting U.S. President Donald Trump. The family had also employed a lobbying firm – Ballard Partners – well-connected within the Trump administration, counting Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and his ex-attorney-general, Pam Bondi, among its former employees.
“Yes. The delay might just be a few days, a few weeks,” said Frazier Fathers, a Windsor city councillor. “But it fits into a pattern that has happened over 25 years. And it impacts people’s lives on a daily basis.”
The Gordie Howe bridge is meant to speed traffic – including international goods trade – by clearing up the congestion that currently marks the Ambassador.
The new bridge connects directly to Ontario’s highway network, avoiding the use of local roads in Windsor and Detroit that lead to the existing bridge, such as Vernor Highway.
The road cuts through the Mexicantown neighbourhood of Detroit, where at lunch time on Friday, a gathering of baseball enthusiasts descended on a 24-hour diner called Duly’s Place Coney Island.
Chris Beto is one of them, and he sits down at a table in the diner. He is the director of a program that offers free sports clubs for kids in the summer. Throughout the program’s 48-year existence, children have played sports at Clark Park, a square sandwiched between two roads that feed the Ambassador Bridge.
The trucks are loud, pollute the air and are dangerous for the children, said Mr. Beto. His friend Steve Boyle agrees.
“The truck traffic coming through this neighbourhood is ridiculous,” Mr. Boyle said.
Every summer, Mr. Boyle donates sports equipment to the organization. He has lived in Mexicantown his whole life, and he remembers being able to walk across the bridge (which is no longer permitted). He’d have Sunday lunch in Windsor, then visit the racetrack and Chinatown. But he doesn’t go as much any more. It is time-consuming to cross the bridge by car, he said, especially if there are backups.
A five-minute walk down Vernor Highway, Manna Noyes, owner of Guero’s Barber Shop, says she has felt the impact of a drop in cross-border traffic.
Ms. Noyes says she has lost around 40 per cent of her customers since Mr. Trump took office. It would be packed on Friday nights. Canadians would cross to have dinner in Mexicantown, and then get a haircut. But now, “they’re scared to be here,” she said.
The opening of a new crossing would cut down on the truck traffic outside her shop, she says, and she hopes it would bring more people back over the border.
“I was hoping the bridge would make things better.”
Mr. Beto says he’s tired of the constant lobbying of the Moroun family. It has been a mainstay of his community since he can remember.
After extensive Moroun lobbying and campaign contributions to Michigan legislators, the state legislature in 2011 and 2012 failed to advance legislation to help pay for the Gordie Howe bridge. Canada agreed to pay the full cost.
In 2012, the Morouns spent US$33-million to back a referendum question that would have amended the state constitution to require a statewide referendum before any new international bridge could be built. Michigan voters rejected the measure.
Across the river, another group gathers at Rock Bottom Bar and Grill, a restaurant and bar located in Windsor’s Sandwich neighbourhood.
The restaurant’s owner, Nicole Sekela, is deeply disappointed by the delay. It demonstrates the unfair influence of the Moroun family, she says.
The Moroun family purchased upward of 180 homes in Windsor from the mid-90s to mid-2010s, according to an investigation by the Toronto Star. It bought out many properties on Indian Road and Bloomfield Road next to the Ambassador. The company had plans to expand the bridge, a failed attempt to thwart the construction of a public crossing.
“We had families and students living in every one of those houses,” said Ms. Sekela, who is hoping a new bridge will bring more life back to the area.
Michigan State Senators Stephanie Chang and Erika Geiss gathered at a table in Ms. Sekela’s restaurant. They’d crossed the border to meet with community leaders on the other side.
The Moroun family needs to “back down,” said Ms. Geiss. The new bridge “is good for both our countries. It makes economic sense. It makes common sense.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada and France will deepen their defence and industrial co-operation through a new general security of information agreement.
Carney says the agreement will facilitate the exchange of classified intelligence related to the defence, space, artificial intelligence and aerospace sectors.
Carney made the comments in a joint statement alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palais de l’Élysée in Paris on Friday.
Macron said he and Carney will discuss trade, defence and security in their closed-door meeting, and he hailed Canada as a friend to Europe and France.
The meeting, which comes ahead of next week’s G7 summit, could be one of the last between the two world leaders, since Macron’s second term in office is set to end next spring.
France, which is hosting the summit this year, says the priorities include settling major geopolitical crises, G7 support for Ukraine and protecting children online.

To his mother, Linda, Marc Pinizzotto was “an incredible father, son, husband, coach and friend of many.”
To the people across the country sending condolences and tributes in the wake his death in the line of duty, the Toronto police officer was a hero.
In a tribute to her son posted on social media Friday, Linda Pinizzotto said her family is devastated by his loss, but thankful for the outpouring of grief they have received.
“We are forever sincerely grateful for your heartfelt blessings, wonderful messages of condolence, and kindness,” she wrote. “His passing echoes deep inside us, our loving family is shattered as we search for words.”
Const. Marc Pinizzotto, 43, died after being shot at a fourth-floor apartment building in northwest Toronto Thursday, as officers carried out an investigation into multiple shootings, including one at the U.S. Consulate in March.
Hours after his death, hundreds of officers stood shoulder to shoulder, some wiping their eyes, as a procession carried Pinizzotto’s body from Sunnybrook hospital to the office of the chief coroner. Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw tearfully called him a “hero in life, not death.”
There have been tributes from a number of officials, including Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
At the House of Commons Thursday, legislators began question period by grieving the fallen officer, saying Ottawa was supporting the investigation into his killing.
Mayor Chow, who said she’s known Pinizzotto’s mother for years, said she was grateful for the constable’s service, and his family’s grief was shared by the people of Toronto.
Premier Ford extended his condolences to Pinizzotto’s family and colleagues, saying in a post on X that the shooting was “a sobering reminder of the sacrifices and risks faced by police officers across Ontario every day as they work to keep our province safe.”
Several Toronto city councillors and Greater Toronto Area police services also released statements paying tribute to Pinizzotto Thursday. The CN Tower said its bright lights were expected to dim for the first five minutes of every hour on Thursday night.
Pinizzotto’s death came days after Ontario Provincial Police Const. Tarun Bali was struck and killed by a vehicle near the northern Ontario town of Hearst, east of Thunder Bay. A procession transporting Bali to a funeral home in Thornhill was scheduled for Friday morning.
Ontario hockey community feeling loss
Pinizzotto worked relentlessly to protect his community as a dedicated emergency task force officer, and he was just as passionate about hockey, his mother wrote Friday.
The officer was an inspiration to a generation of young Oakville Rangers hockey players, whom he and his brothers helped coach and develop over the better part of a decade, club president John Vedon said.
“That’s about as good a legacy as I think a hockey guy could ever want to have,” he said.
The Ontario Junior Hockey League released a statement Thursday, sending condolences to Pinizotto’s family, colleagues and community, saying his death was also a loss to “the entire hockey world.”
Man facing charges, another still at large: police
Police say 19-year-old Nicholas Bennett faces a first-degree murder charge in connection to Pinizzotto’s death. They say Bennett was shot multiple times in the exchange of gunfire and remains in hospital.
A second suspect, 19-year-old Zara Jabbi, is on the loose. Police say Jabbi is wanted in the consulate shooting and should be considered armed and dangerous.
Police say they expect to provide more information on the investigation in the coming days.
The investigation Toronto police were undertaking Thursday, which looked into multiple shootings, including an incident at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, has been linked to a recent FBI terrorism arrest.
Last month the FBI arrested Iraqi-Irani Mohammad Al-Saadi, a senior member of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
He is allegedly tied to nearly 20 attacks throughout Europe and the U.S., as well as two attacks in Canada, including the consulate shooting this spring.

As the search for a suspect in the fatal shooting of a 43-year-old Toronto police officer continues, the family of Const. Marc Pinizzotto is grappling with the immeasurable loss — his mother trying to channel the breadth of her grief into a moving homage to her son on Instagram.
In a post on Friday morning, Linda Pinizzotto called him one of her “extraordinary sons” and “everyone’s hero.”
“His passing echoes deep inside us, our loving family is shattered as we search for words. We struggle to find sleep and solace in the darkness as our grief lingers, it is impossible,” she wrote, her pain palpable in the heart wrenching words.
She went on to call him an incredible father, son, husband, coach and friend to many.
“His devastating passing, the cruel heartbreak of reality has brought us to our knees,” she continued. “Our family must find peace, somehow accept and stand proud of his decisions and amazing accomplishments.”
“Marc is our beacon of hope, guiding us with his message to bring an end to violence and unite our brotherhood in a quest for peace,” she added, before thanking Mayor Olivia Chow, Chief Myron Demkiw, the staff at Sunnybrook hospital and all members of the police, fire and paramedic services.
Pinizzotto died after being shot at a fourth-floor apartment building Thursday, as officers carried out an investigation into multiple shootings, including one at the U.S. Consulate in March. It is believed he was the first officer through the door.
Police say 19-year-old Nicholas Bennett faces a first-degree murder charge, while a second suspect, 19-year-old Zara Jabbi, is on the loose.
The Special Investigations Unit has invoked its mandate and said one of the suspects discharged his firearm at Pinizzotto. Thereafter a second officer discharged his firearm and struck Bennett, who is now in the hospital.
Tributes poured in from Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Chow posted on X saying the death of the 18-year police force veteran “is heartbreaking news for our city.”
“There are no words that can ease the pain for the officer’s family, loved ones, and colleagues across the service. This grief is shared across the entire city. Police officers go to work every day knowing the risks, putting themselves in harm’s way to protect others, and today is a devastating reminder of that sacrifice,” she said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford extended his condolences to the family and fellow Toronto police service members on X as well.
“Today is a sobering reminder of the sacrifices and risks faced by police officers across Ontario every day as they work to keep our province safe.”
Pinizzotto’s death came days after Ontario Provincial Police Const. Tarun Bali was struck and killed by a vehicle near the northern Ontario town of Hearst, east of Thunder Bay.
Prime Minister Mark Carney posted a tribute to both fallen officers on X.
“Canada mourns the loss of these brave officers who dedicated their lives to protecting their communities. My prayers are with their loved ones, their fellow officers, and their communities in this time of grief,” he said.
Speaking at a press conference hours after Pinizzotto’s passing in hospital on Thursday, an emotional Chief Demkiw expressed his grief and solidarity with the officer’s family and the larger policing family.
“This loss will have a profound impact on the Toronto police family. Our service, our members, and all members of the larger policing family are deeply saddened,” he said.
“No words can capture the impact on Marc’s family, who expected him to come home today. We, as a service, will support them and each other.”
At a procession Thursday that saw Pinizzotto’s body taken from Sunnybrook hospital to the office of the chief coroner, hundreds of officers stood shoulder to shoulder, some wiping tears from their eyes.
Toronto’s most prominent landmark, the CN Tower, dimmed its bright lights for the first five minutes of every hour on Thursday night in memory of the fallen officer.
With files from The Canadian Press