Quebec resort in town of Charlevoix to host next year’s G7 meetings

OTTAWA — Canada will play host to next year’s meeting of G7 leaders at a remote luxury resort in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, The Canadian Press has learned.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to make the announcement at some point during this year’s G7 meetings, which get underway Friday in Sicily.

Caroline Simard, the Liberal MP for the region, said she obtained “unofficial confirmation,” while a second source told The Canadian Press that the event would take place in the town of La Malbaie, 150 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

Simard — who represents the riding of Charlevoix-Cote-de-Beaupre — said such an event would bring economic benefits, as well as international media coverage sure to breathe new life into the region’s tourism industry.

“It’s very exceptional for Charlevoix,” she said, noting that it would also demand an intense focus on security.

“Such events mean not only enormous economic spinoffs but also spinoffs for tourism. More than a thousand journalists usually get involved in this type of event, so this would mean an exceptional opportunity to showcase Charlevoix.”

The region is known for being very popular with tourists because of its rolling hills and lush greenery. One particularly popular spot is Tadoussac, where visitors gather to go whale-watching in the St. Lawrence estuary and the Saguenay fjord.

The hotel’s managers refused to confirm any details about the meetings Thursday.

The G7 comprises the seven richest economies in the world, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office would neither confirm nor deny that Quebec will play host to the 2018 meeting.

It would mark the sixth time since 1981’s gathering in the Quebec resort town of Montebello that Canada has hosted the meetings, including in the Muskoka region of Ontario in 2010, Alberta’s Kananaskis Country in 2002 and Halifax in 1995.