The Pentagon has suspended US participation in a longstanding joint defense body with Canada, escalating tensions between the two allies as the Trump administration accuses Ottawa of failing to meet military spending commitments.
US Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby announced that Washington is “pausing” its role in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, a bilateral advisory structure on continental security cooperation created in 1940 during the early stages of World War II.
In a series of statements posted on X, Colby argued that Canada has not shown sufficient progress in strengthening its defense capabilities. “Only by investing in our own defense capabilities will Americans and Canadians be safe, secure, and prosperous,” he wrote, adding that Canada had failed “to make credible progress on its defense commitments.”
The move comes amid broader strains in relations between the two countries under President Donald Trump’s second term, including disputes over trade, defense burdens within NATO, and Trump’s repeated remarks suggesting Canada should become the “51st state.”
Colby also appeared to reference Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent emphasis on diversifying alliances beyond the United States. Sharing remarks linked to Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Colby wrote: “We can no longer avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality. Real powers must sustain our rhetoric with shared defense and security responsibilities.”
