A reception that was intended to conclude a day of meetings between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Italian counterpart on Saturday was canceled after protesters blocked the entrances to the venue and prevented key figures, including guests of honor, from entering.

Trudeau’s office confirmed that neither he nor Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were able to enter the Ontario art gallery, which was briefly closed while protesters chanting pro-Palestinian slogans gathered in the area where potential guests were waiting to enter.

Among them was Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen, who was unable to enter the gallery through the front entrance and walked two buildings down while police surrounded him to find an alternative.

This disruption marked a turbulent end to a friendly day of meetings in Toronto, where Trudeau and Meloni said they agreed to establish a roadmap to enhance cooperation between Canada and Italy.

The two prime ministers issued a joint statement saying their agreement would deepen political, economic, and strategic relations between their countries by setting plans for cooperation over the next three to five years in priority areas.

These challenges include energy security and the transition to a sustainable energy future, climate change and biodiversity, migration, sustainable economic growth, research and innovation, including artificial intelligence.

G7 members intend to review progress in developing the roadmap at their scheduled meeting next June in Italy.

Speaking to reporters before heading behind closed doors Saturday morning, Trudeau praised Meloni’s leadership as Italy chairs the G7 summit this year, adding he looked forward to working with her to determine Canada's hosting period in 2025.

Trudeau said Canada and Italy “agree on many things” and have “a very deep and growing economic relationship.”

The two had a public disagreement last year after Trudeau criticized Italy’s stance on LGBTQ2S+ issues at a meeting with Meloni at the G7 leaders’ summit. His reaction was to her government’s move to limit parental rights recognition to the biological parent only in families with same-sex parents.

Meloni later rejected the criticism, saying Trudeau was the victim of fake news.

On Saturday, Meloni spoke about several of her priorities while leading the G7, including artificial intelligence, the role of the Indo-Pacific region, and respect for the international rules-based order.

She also highlighted support for Ukraine and “this very difficult crisis in the Middle East,” saying it is important to avoid escalation.

Meloni said: “We are starting a new year of our relationship and we are trying to strengthen our cooperation and I think there are many, many subjects on which we can do that.”

Later, outside the canceled reception venue, protesters chanted that Trudeau funds genocide and criticized the federal government’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas. Protesters confronted potential attendees, and their entry routes were blocked, but police later escorted some to the building entrance.

Event security also prevented some reporters from entering.