How Significant Is Washington’s Exit From the Canada-US Defence Board?

News Analysis

Another sign of tension in the Canada-U.S. relationship emerged this week when Washington suspended its participation in a long-standing forum for discussing bilateral defence priorities.

The U.S. administration said the move stemmed from concerns that Canada is not meeting its defence commitments. But more could be at play given the current strained ties between the North American allies.

The announcement came by way of U.S. Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby in an X post on May 18. Colby said his department is pausing the Permanent Joint Board on Defense to “reassess” how the body benefits shared continental defence.

Colby also posted a link to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in which he used thinly veiled criticism directed at U.S. policies and called on middle powers to resist the “coercion” of great powers.

“We can no longer avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality,” Colby said in his post, adding that “real powers must sustain our rhetoric with shared defense and security responsibilities.”

Although Carney dismissed the significance of Washington’s decision to suspend the board when commenting on the issue on May 19, it is unlikely he missed the signal. Whether it changes his calculus in managing the broader Canada-U.S. relationship, or affects the upcoming July review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), remains to be seen.

In his remarks to reporters, Carney said the defence board has a “long heritage“ but that he ”wouldn’t overplay the importance of this.”

The Permanent Joint Board on Defense was created in 1940 and held its last meetings in 2023 and 2024. The forum has been attended by various senior-level officials in recent years, with topics discussed including modernization of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), Arctic security, and climate change.

Carney said Canada and the United States continue to maintain “many aspects of very close defence cooperation,” including continental defence through NORAD. Carney also pointed to increased defence spending, noting that Canada has reached NATO’s benchmark of spending 2 percent of GDP on defence for the first time in decades.

At the same time, Carney said Canada is diversifying its defence partnerships. The prime minister has previously described the traditional relationship with the United States as having undergone a “rupture” after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and floated the idea of making the country the 51st U.S. state. In response, Ottawa has sought to strengthen defence ties with European allies and other partners.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

Impact

Amid the messaging from Ottawa and Washington, several key questions remain—how significant is the suspension of the defence board, what consequences could flow from it, and is the United States using the issue to pressure Canada on defence and other files?

Pierre Leblanc, a retired Canadian Armed Forces colonel and principal of Arctic Security Consultants, previously helped organize a Joint Board on Defense meeting during his military career, but he says the body may no longer carry the same relevance it once did.

The board is supposed to meet bi-annually but only held four meetings in the last six years.

“It seems that over time the need to meet twice a year is not there anymore, and it may be because of the Military Cooperation Committee is maybe more active and maybe more important in terms of what it does,” Leblanc told The Epoch Times in an interview.

The Military Cooperation Committee is another joint Canada-U.S. body with a long history. Formed in 1946, it is described by the Canadian government as forming the “primary strategic link” between the joint military staffs of the two countries. Its meetings are typically held twice a year.

Leblanc said he sees no issue with the United States wanting to pause activities of the defence board for a review, noting that the body is more at the political level rather than the working level. He also expressed concerns about the U.S. military’s direction under Trump.

The retired colonel said the move by Washington is perhaps a political one, noting it could be related in part to Canada pausing its purchase of additional F-35s fighter jets from U.S. company Lockheed Martin, or it could have stemmed from Carney’s Davos speech.

Carney ordered a review of the F-35 purchase shortly after he took power in March last year, and Ottawa says it has remained ongoing ever since. As for the Davos speech, Trump and his top officials have criticized it openly and at length.

A U.S. Air Force F-35 takes flight in the Middle East in support of Operation Epic Fury, on March 2, 2026. U.S. Air Force Photo

“I’ve had … one senior member of the U.S. Coast Guard personally telling me to ignore all the fluff at the top, that at the worker level we continue as if nothing had happened,” he said.

The message from top Canadian officials has been the same, including from Defence Minister David McGuinty, who said cooperation has remained seamless.

Asked to comment on the latest development, the Department of National Defence (DND) told The Epoch Times in a statement that Canada and the United States share “one of the closest and most enduring defence partnerships in the world.” DND added that Canada remains committed to continued engagement with the United States on continental defence.

Bryan Brulotte, a former infantry officer who now chairs investment firm Sterling Trust, said the U.S. move to suspend defence board meetings does not represent a breakdown of the military relationship but is nonetheless “symbolically significant.”

“It should serve as a warning to Ottawa that long-standing goodwill in Washington can no longer be taken for granted,” he told The Epoch Times, noting U.S. concerns on issues like procurement delays and Arctic security.

Brulotte said Washington’s frustration over defence issues is genuine, even as Ottawa has increased spending, pointing to a gap between announced commitments and deployed capabilities. He added the decision to suspend defence board meetings could also have a broader political element.

“It would not surprise me if this move is also intended to increase leverage across a wider range of bilateral issues, including trade, defence industrial cooperation, burden sharing, and broader strategic alignment,” he said.

Trade negotiations between Canada and the United States on U.S. tariffs and the upcoming CUSMA review have not been going smoothly. Carney said in late April that Ottawa is ready to enter serious talks but is also fine with waiting longer.

According to one military expert, there is blame to be laid on both sides for the state of the relationship and the U.S. decision to suspend defence board meetings.

“The bulls in the china shop in Washington are trying again to throw their weight around,” military historian David Jay Bercuson told The Epoch Times in an interview. Bercuson, a professor at the University of Calgary, said the defence board is rather symbolic, whereas the Canada-U.S. military relationship is deep and extensive.

Bercuson emphasized that Ottawa delaying the F-35 purchase is a key source of frustration for the United States and finalizing the deal would “at least put one major irritant to bed.”

The federal government purchased 16 jets out of an initial commitment of 88 and has since messaged that it could turn to the Saab Gripen aircraft to complete its fighter fleet.

Bercuson said the Liberal government is making an effort to rebuild the military with increased investments while at the same time “playing politics” in certain areas of defence procurement.

“The problem is, they’re playing politics with this fighter jet business, absolutely playing politics, no excuse whatsoever for not completing the purchase, not one,” he said.