The 36th G8 summit was held in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada, on June 25–26, 2010. In this year's meeting, the G8 leaders agreed in reaffirming the group's essential and continuing role in international affairs and "assertions of new-found relevance". The form and function of the G8 was reevaluated as the G20 summits evolved into the premier forum for discussing, planning and monitoring international economic cooperation. citing
This was the fifth G8 Summit hosted by Canada since 1976,"Prime Minister announces Canada to host 2010 G8 Summit in Huntsville", June 19, 2008. the previous four being at Montebello, Quebec (1981); Toronto, Ontario (1988); Halifax, Nova Scotia (1995); and Kananaskis, Alberta (2002). The Canadian government picked Huntsville, a small town of 20,000, to host the annual summit and core meetings. Meetings took place at the Deerhurst Resort. Facilities were built to ensure security and to handle the expected influx of media, protesters and others. Muskoka was deemed too small and a Toronto venue for the G20 summit was adopted.
The late scheduling of a G20 summit in Toronto affected the G8 weekend in unanticipated ways. The meeting came to be framed in the press as a preliminary meeting.Austen, Ian. "Dressed Up and Ready, Canada Town Is Stood Up", New York Times. June 24, 2010. The theme for this summit was "Recovery and New Beginning".Ikokwu, Constance. "Jonathan Invited to G8 Meeting in Canada", This Day (Lagos). June 6, 2010. The G8 summit was an opportunity for a wide variety of non-governmental organizations, activists and civic groups to congregate and discuss a multitude of issues;Zablonski, Lukasz and Philip Seaton. "The Hokkaido Summit as a Springboard for Grassroots Initiatives: The 'Peace, Reconciliation & Civil Society' Symposium", The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus (e-journal). ID No. 2973. but the dramatic demonstrations at the G20 summit in Toronto eclipsed protests primarily focused on the conferring G8 leaders.Woo, Andrea. "G8 protesters in Vancouver march without incident: police", Vancouver Sun. June 27, 2010.
Background
The Group of Seven (G7) was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and, Canada starting in 1976. The Group of Eight (G8), meeting for the first time in 1997, was formed with the addition of Russia.Saunders, Doug. "Weight of the world too heavy for G8 shoulders", Globe and Mail (Toronto). July 5, 2008. In addition, the President of the European Commission has been formally included in summits since 1981.Reuters: "Factbox: The Group of Eight: what is it?", July 3, 2008. The summits were not meant to be linked formally with wider international institutions; and in fact, a mild rebellion against the stiff formality of other international meetings was a part of the genesis of cooperation between France's president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany's chancellor Helmut Schmidt as they conceived the initial summit of the Group of Six (G6) in 1975.Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations, p. 205.
The G8 summits during the 21st-century have inspired widespread debates, protests and demonstrations; and the two- or three-day event becomes more than the sum of its parts, elevating the participants, the issues and the venue as focal points for activist pressure."Influencing Policy on International Development: G8", BOND (British Overseas NGOs for Development). 2008.
The current form of the G8 is being evaluated. Some reports attribute resistance to change among the smaller powers such as Italy, Canada, and Japan, who are said to perceive a dilution of their global stature. Alternately, a larger forum for global governance may be more reflective of the present multi-polar world.Kumar, Rajiv. "Tangible Results of Pittsburgh", Financial Chronicle. September 30, 2009; Carmichael, Kevin. "Harper has key role shaping G8’s future". The Globe and Mail. September 24, 2009. The forum is in a process of transformation.Congressional Record Service, R40977: Nelson, Rebecca M. "Implications of the transition from G-7 to G20," pp. 22–26. The G-20 and International Economic Cooperation: Background and Implications for Congress, December 9, 2009.
Canada 2010 Anticipating the G8 summit, Prime Minister Stephen Harper explained that "Huntsville is a jewel in the Canadian Shield and an ideal location for this gathering of world leaders." When the G8 meets in Ontario in 2010, Harper said, "Our international guests will be charmed by the uniquely Canadian beauty of the region.", 400 Eleven. June 19, 2008. Accessed August 21, 2008. The summit was one of several events hosted by Canada, with several other international events taking place in the country in the same year, including the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2010 G20 Toronto summit.Sainsbury, Macdonald. 2010 Organizing and the Tar sands: Inspiring the SPP and helping the Olympics, ZNet. Accessed July 17, 2008. The summit was the second time it has occurred with an Olympic event in the same country. The 14th G7 summit was held Toronto and in the same year as the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
Planning Budget
In March 2009, summit manager Gérald Cossette projected: "Organizing a G8 event is like moving from a beast to a ballet. Now it's a beast; but by the time the summit unfolds, it's going to be a ballet."Dash, Carlye Malchuk. "Moving from ‘a beast to a ballet’", Huntsville Forester. March 4, 2009.
The Canadian government announced in February 2009 that it expected to invest $50 million in hosting the G8 summit.Dash, Carlye Malchuk. "Huntsville getting G8 centre and second arena pad", Huntsville Forester. February 6, 2009.
With the addition of a G20 summit in Toronto, the budget expanded. The total security cost was estimated at C$1 billion,Jordan, Pav. "Canada braces for 'G' summits with C$1 bln plan", Toronto Star. June 1, 2010. but more specific figures will not be known until the meetings have ended.
Local organizing plans At early planning sessions and meetings with his constituents, Tony Clement (MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka) offered tentative ideas about the organizational structure for the area communities as preparations for the 2010 G8 summit in Huntsville begin to take shape. He said one goal was to minimize the footprint and impact of the security details on the local region.Dash, Carlye Malchuk. "Local organizing committee for summit unveiled", Huntsville Forester. August 8, 2008.
As the organizing process unfolded, some changes marked the evolution of this international event. For example, a wider emphasis on the Muskoka region is presented in the logo associated with the federal government's official website for the summit. Huntsville's G8 logo was selected in early 2009; and some G8-related activities still feature the town's distinctive summit logo. "Town signs G8 contract with feds", Hunstville Forrester. April 28, 2010.
Security
The summit security was designed with the impact of the precautions on residents in mind. In February 2009, local residents and their representatives were working together to anticipate what it would be like to live through a period of heightened security. The RCMP and OPP were simultaneously conducting security reviews of the area and event.Dash, Carlye Malchuk. "Details on G8 security may come next month", Huntsville Forester. January 28, 2009.
In the aftermath of the 1997 APEC summit in Vancouver, a Canadian judge concluded that protesters have the right to be seen and heard, which means that visiting leaders cannot be shielded from lawful protests. Canadian officials have determined that this means arrangements would have to be made so that protesters would be visible to those participating in the summit.Campion-Smith, Bruce. "Closed-door talks rile protesters", The Star (Toronto). August 17, 2007.
Leaders at the summit
The G8 is an unofficial annual forum for the leaders of Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
France anticipates enlarging the G8 to the G14, which would be the G8 plus the G5 (Brazil, India, China, South Africa and Mexico + 1 Muslim country);Alexandroff, Alan. "The 'Goldilocks' Solution to Global Governance", September 24, 2009; Welch, David. "Canada has an opportunity to remake world summitry", Toronto Star. July 18, 2008.
The summit included an "Africa outreach" session,Bouteflika (U Toronto site)Mubarak (U Toronto site)"G8 Muskoka Declaration – Recovery and New Beginnings", Government of Japan. Accessed July 1, 2023 "The G20 Leaders Make an Entrance; Heads of State are Greeted by Mounties as They Arrive for the Summit", Maclean's. June 25, 2010; Zenawi (U Toronto site) "The G20 Leaders Make an Entrance; Heads of State are Greeted by Mounties as They Arrive for the Summit", Maclean's. June 25, 2010; Mutharika (U Toronto site) "The G20 Leaders Make an Entrance; Heads of State are Greeted by Mounties as They Arrive for the Summit", Maclean's. June 25, 2010; Johnson (U Toronto site)Wade (U Toronto site) "The G20 Leaders Make an Entrance; Heads of State are Greeted by Mounties as They Arrive for the Summit", Maclean's. June 25, 2010; Zuma (U Toronto site) and an "Extended outreach" session. "Presidente Uribe llegó a Canadá para participar en Cumbre del G8", El Espectador June 24, 2010; Uribe (U Toronto site)Préval (U Toronto site)Golding (U Toronto site) In Huntsville, the G8 leaders met with the leaders of the seven African countries and with the leaders of Colombia, Haiti, and Jamaica.Chan, Sewell and Jackie Calmes. "Policy Conflicts Seen as Obama Arrives in Toronto", New York Times. June 25, 2010.
The 36th G8 summit was the first summit for British Prime Minister David Cameron, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, and President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy.
Participants
These summit participants represent the current core members of the international forum:Rieffel, Lex. "Regional Voices in Global Governance: Looking to 2010 (Part IV)", Brookings (US). March 27, 2009; retrieved February 13, 2011Harper (U Toronto site); Harper (G8 official site) Gubert, Romain. "Quatre Français pour rien," Le Point (Paris). June 26, 2010; Sarkozy (U Toronto site); Sarkozy (G8 official site) "The G20 Leaders Make an Entrance; Heads of State are Greeted by Mounties as They Arrive for the Summit", Maclean's. June 25, 2010; Merkel (U Toronto site); Merkel (G8 official site) "The G20 Leaders Make an Entrance; Heads of State are Greeted by Mounties as They Arrive for the Summit", Maclean's. June 25, 2010; Berlusconi (U Toronto site); Berlusconi (G8 official site) "The G20 Leaders Make an Entrance; Heads of State are Greeted by Mounties as They Arrive for the Summit", Maclean's. June 25, 2010; Kan (U Toronto site); Kan (g8 official site) "The G20 Leaders Make an Entrance; Heads of State are Greeted by Mounties as They Arrive for the Summit", Maclean's. June 25, 2010; Medvedev (U Toronto site); Medvedev (G8 official site) "The G20 Leaders Make an Entrance; Heads of State are Greeted by Mounties as They Arrive for the Summit", Maclean's. June 25, 2010; Cameron (U Toronto site); Cameron (G8 official site) "The G20 Leaders Make an Entrance; Heads of State are Greeted by Mounties as They Arrive for the Summit", Maclean's. June 25, 2010; Obama (U Toronto site); Obama (G8 official site) "Differences on Economy Set to Play out in Toronto", The Hindu. June 25, 2010; Barroso (U Toronto site); Barosso (G8 official site); "EU and the G8" Ward, Olivia. "Ban Ki-moon at G20 as 'defender of the defenceless'", Toronto Star. June 26, 2010.Gubert, Romain. "Quatre Français pour rien," Le Point (Paris). June 26, 2010.