US pauses joint defence effort with Canada that dates to WWII
President Donald Trump has long accused Canada and other NATO countries of spending too little on their own militaries, arguing that the United States shoulders most of the defense burden. Tensions with Canada are also rising over tariffs, the expiring North American trade agreement and the spat between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“We can no longer avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality,” undersecretary of defense Elbridge Colby said in a series of posts on X announcing the break. “Real powers must continue our discourse with common defense and security responsibilities.”
Colby’s posts highlighted increases in defense spending that Canada and other nations have agreed to at a summit in 2025. Colby said the United States will consider how the Permanent Joint Defense Board, comprised of military and civilian officials from both countries, “will benefit the common North American defense.”
European allies and Canada have been investing heavily in their armed forces since Russia began its all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022. NATO countries, including Canada, pledged last year to spend 5 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2035.
Carney said last year that the Canadian government would meet its previous 2 percent target for this year.
The Pentagon said Colby had nothing more to offer beyond his posts about X. Carney’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the Pentagon’s announcement. The announcement reflects the weakening of US relations with its traditional Western allies during Trump’s second term. Last week, the Pentagon decided to withdraw thousands of American soldiers from Europe by canceling the deployment to Poland and Germany after Trump criticized NATO members for not supporting the US and Israel’s war against Iran.
Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska criticized the Pentagon’s decision on Monday, saying in a post on X, “More cool, smart minds are needed to maintain the close alliance with our neighbor.”
“This all started with the mockery of Canada, it will be the 51st state and their Prime Minister will be the 51st governor,” said Bacon, who is not running for re-election. “The insults have earned us nothing but hostility, which has cost us economically and now militarily.”
According to the Congressional Research Service, the board was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Mackenzie King in 1940, a year before the United States entered World War II.
This agreement, also known as the Ogdensburg Accord, dates back to World War II, according to the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. It helped provide a framework for continental defense during World War II and the subsequent Cold War.
The board made recommendations regarding the implementation of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. The joint command was established by the two countries in the 1950s to detect potential enemy attacks at a time when tensions with the Soviet Union and fears of nuclear war were rising.
The Mulroney Institute said the board was also involved in the installation of early warning systems using radar stations and made recommendations on the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.
