Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been invited to the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., despite Canadian sanctions that remain in place on his country.Alex Brandon/The Associated Press
Canada has invited Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Group of Seven summit in Alberta this month, an extension of hospitality to a kingdom Ottawa once shunned after the 2018 murder of a dissident journalist who criticized its rulers.
A source with knowledge of the matter confirmed the invitation and said there had been no response so far on whether he will attend the June 15-17 meeting in Kananaskis.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source, as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The Crown Prince is not the only leader Canada is inviting in spite of a strained bilateral relationship. Prime Minister Mark Carney is welcoming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi even though Ottawa has publicly accused his government of playing a role in the 2023 murder of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Saudi Arabia and India are not members of the G7 but hosts of gatherings of this annual political and economic forum for top industrialized countries often invite other national leaders to join. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is also attending the summit in Alberta, as is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In 2018, Ottawa followed the United States in imposing sanctions on 17 Saudis for the slaying of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He was murdered in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in October of that year when he entered to procure documents certifying a divorce. U.S. media, including The Washington Post, later reported that the CIA believes the Crown Prince ordered Mr. Khashoggi’s killing – contradicting Riyadh’s assertion that he was not involved in the murder.
Canada’s sanctions remain in place today.
Canada and Saudi Arabia also suffered a major diplomatic rift for nearly five years starting in 2018 when Riyadh expelled Canada’s ambassador after the department of Global Affairs and Chrystia Freeland, who was minister of foreign affairs at the time, publicly called for the immediate release of several imprisoned political activists in the kingdom. Riyadh also recalled its envoy, decrying what it said was “blatant interference” in its internal affairs, and it froze new trade and investment with Canada.
The Saudi embassy in Ottawa did not immediately return a request for comment on the invitation.