U.S Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby announced on Monday that his department would suspend its involvement in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense with Canada to “reassess” its benefits.
The board was established by the United States and Canada during World War II and acted as a forum for regional security. However, the relations between the two countries have soured since U.S President Donald Trump took over the office for his second term in January 2025.
Colby shared on X, “A strong Canada that prioritizes hard power over rhetoric benefits us all. Unfortunately, Canada has failed to make credible progress on its defense commitments. We can no longer avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality. Real powers must sustain our rhetoric with shared defense and security responsibilities.”
Trump has been critical of his NATO allies over what he described as an “overreliance” on U.S military power. However, the allies have denied the claims, stating that they have increased military spending and are taking measures to ensure greater control over regional security.
At a NATO summit in The Hague last year, Canada, among other member countries excluding Spain, had agreed to increase defense spending to 5 per cent of their gross domestic product.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney had been pushing for lesser reliance on the U.S military and economy since he came to power in March 2025. He made a bold speech last year, envisioning a future in which “middle powers” like Canada come together to sidestep the current “era of great power rivalry”, referring to the U.S, Russia, and China.
Since Trump returned to office, he had accused Canada of using unfair trade practices and not taking adequate measures to stop the illegal trafficking of people and drugs across the border. He later imposed an aggressive tariff regimen to tax cross-border imports in order to force Canada to comply with his policies.
Trump also drew negative attention after making comments suggesting that Canada could become the US’ 51st state.
U.S Republican Representative Don Bacon criticised the withdrawal from the forum, posting on social media on Monday, “Cooler and wiser brains are needed to preserve a close alliance w/ our neighbor. This all started w/ taunts of ‘Canada will be the 51st state’ and ‘their Prime Minister will be the 51st governor’. The insults gained us nothing but animosity that cost us economically and now militarily.”
The United States, Canada, and Mexico are expected to negotiate an updated version of a regional free trade agreement, USMCA, later this year.
