The Department of War announced on Monday that it would be pausing its participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, which had been the primary forum for U.S.-Canada bilateral defense cooperation for decades.
Undersecretary for policy Elbridge Colby, while announcing a halt and review of the advisory body that was created in 1940, cited Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the Davos Economic Forum in January as a contributing factor.
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“A strong Canada that prioritizes hard power over rhetoric benefits us all,” Colby said. “Unfortunately, Canada has failed to make credible progress on its defense commitments. DoW is pausing the Permanent Joint Board on Defense to reassess how this forum benefits shared North American defense.
“We can no longer avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality. Real powers must sustain our rhetoric with shared defense and security responsibilities,” he continued. “Delivering on shared continental defense begins by recognizing our shared geography. Only by investing in our own defense capabilities will Americans and Canadians be safe, secure, and prosperous.”
It’s unclear why Colby made the announcement on Monday, given that Carney’s Davos speech was months ago.
Minutes before the announcement, Colby posted a photograph of himself meeting with the U.S. ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, at the Pentagon, though he did not specify when the meeting took place.
“We’re working closely to ensure every NATO partner, including Canada, reaches the Hague Summit’s 3.5% GDP defense spending target, a vital investment for North American and Arctic defense,” he wrote along with the photo.
Carney’s relationship with President Donald Trump has fractured in recent months over several different issues, including the former’s address at Davos.
“The middle powers must act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” Carney said, in a speech widely seen as a thinly-veiled shot at Trump’s treatment of U.S. allies. “We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn’t mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy, but we believe that from the fracture, we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just.”
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Trump has long called Canada — along with some U.S. allies in Europe — ungrateful and accused the country of relying too heavily on the United States.
The two have fought over Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announced last April. Meanwhile, Ottawa’s decision to deepen ties with other nations, including China, has sparked outrage from the Trump administration, and Trump has threatened a crucial bridge project between Ontario and Detroit. Trump’s frequent quips about making Canada the 51st U.S. state have not helped their relationship; instead, they have pushed Carney to declare that “Canada is not for sale.”
