By John Irish, Jarrett Renshaw and Andreas Rinke KANANASKIS, Alberta (Reuters) -Group of Seven leaders faced early challenges during meetings in Canada on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump said removing Russia from the former Group of Eight over a decade ago had been a mistake.

Trump has long said he would like to see the G7 return to a G8 format, bringing Moscow back into the fold as it was before Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. “This was a big mistake. You wouldn’t have that war,

Russia was once in the exclusive club of major economies but was kicked out following its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday a new economic deal with Canada was possible but stressed tariffs had to play a role, a position that the Canadian government strongly opposes. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney,