Pentagon Suspends Participation in Joint Canada-U.S. Defence Board Over Spending Dispute

The Pentagon announced on May 18, 2026 that it is suspending participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defence, an advisory body on North American continental defense established in 1940 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. U.S. Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby cited Canada's failure to make credible progress on defense commitments and implicitly referenced Prime Minister Mark Carney's World Economic Forum statements about forming alliances with countries other than the U.S. The move comes despite Canada hitting NATO's two percent GDP spending benchmark in 2025 with a $9.3-billion defense budget boost, though NATO members have now agreed to reach five percent GDP spending over the next decade. Former Canadian co-chair John McKay warns the decision casts doubt over NORAD renegotiation, Arctic military cooperation, and Canada's purchase of 88 F-35 fighter jets ordered in 2023.

Pentagon suspends defence board

• ▪The Permanent Joint Board on Defence is an advisory body on North American continental defence that was established in 1940
• ▪The Permanent Joint Board on Defence is supposed to meet at least annually
• ▪Senior Canadian and U.S. defence and diplomatic officials make up the Permanent Joint Board on Defence
• ▪The last published readout of a Permanent Joint Board on Defence meeting was from November 2024 in Ottawa
• ▪U.S. Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby stated that Canada has failed to make credible progress on its defense commitments
• ▪The Pentagon announced on May 18, 2026 that it is pausing participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defence
• ▪The Permanent Joint Board on Defence was created in 1940 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King

Canada military spending dispute

• ▪Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025
• ▪Canada hit the NATO benchmark of spending two per cent of GDP on the military in 2025 after a $9.3-billion boost to the defence budget
• ▪Canada's $9.3-billion defence budget boost included raising the pay of troops and moving the Canadian Coast Guard under the umbrella of defence spending

NATO five percent target

• ▪U.S. Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby stated that the U.S. is working to ensure every NATO partner, including Canada, reaches the 3.5% GDP defense spending target
• ▪NATO members have agreed to boost their defence spending to five per cent of GDP over the next decade, with 3.5 per cent on direct military spending and 1.5 per cent on defence infrastructure

Bilateral cooperation impact

• ▪Imran Bayoumi, a former U.S. defence adviser now with the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, stated that cancelling the Permanent Joint Board on Defence is a needless provocation that sends the wrong message to Ottawa and other U.S. allies
• ▪Sean Maloney, a professor of history at Royal Military College, stated that the U.S. withdrawal from the Permanent Joint Board on Defence generates more friction in the system than needed
• ▪John McKay, the former MP who served as the Canadian co-chair the last time the Permanent Joint Board on Defence met, stated that the U.S. decision casts doubt over the renegotiation of the NORAD joint command agreement, military co-operation in the Arctic, and Canada's future purchases of U.S. F-35 fighter jets
• ▪Sean Maloney stated that the U.S. withdrawal from the Permanent Joint Board on Defence will not have an impact on day-to-day military operations involving Canada and the U.S.

F-35 procurement concerns

• ▪Canada ordered 88 U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets in 2023
• ▪Canada began reassessing its F-35 fighter jet options after U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office

Perspective of U.S. defense and policy experts

• ▪Imran Bayoumi of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security characterized the cancellation of the Permanent Joint Board on Defence as sending the wrong message to Ottawa and other U.S. allies
• ▪Royal Military College professor Sean Maloney assessed that the U.S. withdrawal from the Permanent Joint Board on Defence creates unnecessary friction without impacting day-to-day Canada-U.S. military operations