Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the United Nations, is part of a panel at the 2025 B7 Summit in Ottawa examining how business leaders can help restore public trust amid an increasingly fractured world, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce announced.
According to the chamber’s news release, Matthew Harrington, Edelman’s global president and chief operating officer, will deliver a presentation on recent trust trends affecting G7 nations before joining a panel discussion called “G7 Trust in Despair: Business Leadership in a Fractured World.”
The panel – moderated by Bianca Freedman, Edelman Canada’s chief executive officer – will include John Denton, secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce.
The news release said the panel discussion seeks to cover the evolving trust landscape, including the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer findings. The discussion will then address how business leaders can act with credibility, foster coalitions for collective action, and serve as a stabilizing force.
“This panel discussion and the other conversations taking place at this year’s B7 Summit will be a powerful reminder that businesses are not bystanders in shaping the global agenda — they are key architects of a more secure and sustainable future,” said Candace Laing – president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and president of the 2025 B7 – in the news release.
The Canadian chamber noted that this panel discussion comes as the world deals with increasing polarization, societal division, low institutional confidence, and politicized information.
“This is more than a discussion about trust — it’s a wake-up call for leaders,” Harrington said in the news release. “At a time when the social contract is fraying, business must play a central role in restoring confidence and rebuilding a sense of shared purpose.”
B7 Summit
The Canadian chamber’s news release noted that the B7 Summit program runs from May 14–16 at the National Arts Centre. Business leaders from G7 nations will work together to develop recommendations for the 2025 B7 Communiqué.
The 2025 program advances the theme of economic security and resilience. The program features the key policy pillars of ensuring a supply of critical minerals and materials, promoting predictable and efficient global trade, fulfilling the promise of responsible AI and digital technologies, and investing in a secure and clean energy economy.
“The B7 is where business meets global policy, and where real-world solutions are brought to the table,” Laing said in the news release. “In a time of economic uncertainty and geopolitical volatility, it’s more important than ever for the private sector to step up — not just as stakeholders, but as solution-makers.”
On May, 7, the Canadian chamber announced that Pete Hoekstra, US ambassador to Canada, would join the other international speakers and leaders featured in the program.