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Rubio likely facing unfriendly reception in Canada from G-7 allies

LA MALBAIE, Canada (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio may be walking into unusually unfriendly territory this week when he meets his counterparts from the Group of 7 industrialized democracies — strong American allies stunned by President Donald Trump’s actions against them.

Just hours after Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs kicked in — prompting responses from the European Union and Canada and threatening to ignite full-scale trade wars with close U.S. partners — Rubio arrived at the scenic Quebec town of La Malbaie on the St. Lawrence River for two days of talks starting Thursday with the top diplomats of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, all of whom have been angered by the new American president’s policies.

Rubio will likely be hearing a litany of complaints about Trump’s decisions from once-friendly, like-minded countries in the G-7 — notably host Canada, to which Trump has arguably been most antagonistic with persistent talk of it becoming the 51st U.S. state, additional tariffs and repeated insults against its leadership.

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, the official host who will see each participant separately, said that “in every single meeting, I will raise the issue of tariffs to coordinate a response with the Europeans and to put pressure on the Americans.”

“The only constant in this unjustifiable trade war seems to be President Donald Trump’s talk of annexing our country through economic coercion,” Joly said Wednesday. “Yesterday, he called our border a fictional line and repeated his disrespectful 51st state rhetoric.”

Rubio downplayed Trump’s “51st state” comments, saying Wednesday that the president was only expressing what he thought would be a good idea.

The G-7 grouping “is not a meeting about how we’re going to take over Canada,” he said.

On tariffs, Rubio said G-7 partners should understand that these are a “policy decision” by Trump to protect American competitiveness.

The agenda for the G-7 meeting includes discussions on China and the Indo-Pacific; Ukraine and Europe; stability in the Americas; the Middle East; maritime security; Africa; and China, North Korea, Iran and Russia.

Canadian Deputy Director of Protocol and Liaison Lena Tobin greets U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio upon arrival Thursday at Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport for the G-7 meeting. SAUL LOEB/POOL PHOTO VIA AP