Minister Clement Announces Date of the 2010 G8 Summit

November 01, 2008

HUNTSVILLE, ONTARIO - The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry and Minister for FedNor, announced today that the G8 Summit will be held from June 25-27, 2010. Last June, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that the summit will be held at the Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville.

"I am thrilled to be able to announce the date of the summit," said Minister Clement. "This will be a fantastic opportunity to promote Canada's priorities and values on the world stage, and it's a great opportunity to show the world the colours of Huntsville and Parry Sound-Muskoka in June."

The 2010 G8 Summit will give Canada a chance to advance our interests, to advocate for open markets and free trade, and to champion freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville was chosen to host the G8 Summit because of its excellent facilities, its location and security. In the past, communities that have hosted the summit have benefited in both the short and long term from the business and attention the event brings to the area.

"As a Canadian, I am proud to host this important event, and as a northern Ontarian, I am extremely proud to be a part of this great opportunity for Muskoka," said Minister Clement.

BACKGROUNDER

Canada will host the 2010 G8 Summit in Huntsville, Ontario, in the heart of Muskoka. The area was chosen after a Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade study deemed the 800-acre Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville an excellent site for the event. The location was chosen based on the need for appropriate accommodation and meeting facilities, good transportation links, including proximity to major airports, and acceptable security conditions. The study took costs into account, as well as the prospect of minimal disruption for local residents and businesses. Canada's past experience hosting the G8 Summit has shown there are substantial short-term economic benefits for the host community and surrounding region, plus long-term tourism-related benefits resulting from international media exposure. The 2002 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta generated an estimated $300 million in short-term regional economic benefits.

G8 Background

The G8 is an informal group of eight of the world's leading economic powers: Canada, France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, and Italy. The annual summit is a chance for the leaders of the G8 countries to meet face-to-face and develop common approaches to urgent challenges facing the world. The first summit, with six countries participating, was held in 1975 in Rambouillet, France. A year later, the group expanded to include Canada. Russia joined the summit process in 1997. The G8 has evolved from a forum dealing largely with macroeconomic issues to an annual meeting with a broad-based agenda addressing a wide range of international economic, political, and social issues.

G8 membership enables Canada to pursue its broad foreign and economic policy agenda and interests with key countries and to help shape global developments on a range of issues, including responses to global crises.