The Pentagon said Monday it is pausing U.S. participation in a joint defense board with Canada that dates to the World War II era, citing what it described as Canada’s failure to make credible progress on its defense commitments.
Defense Department officials said the pause centers on the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, which includes military and civilian officials from both countries and was created in 1940. In posts on X, Defense undersecretary Elbridge Colby said the United States can no longer “avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality,” arguing that “real powers must sustain our rhetoric with shared defense and security responsibilities.”
Colby’s announcement followed assertions tied to Canada and other NATO countries’ spending levels and commitments. The Pentagon said it is now assessing how the board “benefits shared North American defense,” and Colby’s posts also referenced increases in defense spending Canada and other nations agreed to at a 2025 summit.
The Pentagon described the move as part of a broader hardening of U.S. posture toward long-standing Western partners during President Donald Trump’s second term. Relations with Canada have also been strained by disputes including tariffs, an expiring North American trade pact, and a feud between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
European allies and Canada have been investing heavily in their armed forces since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to the AP report. NATO countries, including Canada, pledged last year to spend 5% of gross domestic product on defense by 2035, and the report said Canada had said it would meet a prior 2% target for this year.
Colby’s posts came after the Pentagon last week decided to draw down thousands of American troops in Europe, canceling deployments to Poland and Germany after Trump criticized NATO members for what he said was a lack of support for the United States and Israeli war policy against Iran, the report said.
The U.S. announcement drew criticism from within the Republican Party. Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said on X that “Cooler & wiser brains are needed to preserve a close alliance w/ our neighbor,” adding that the “insults” aimed at Canada had gained “nothing but animosity that cost us economically & now militarily.”
The board was established in 1940 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Mackenzie King, according to the Congressional Research Service, the report said. It was also described as having been created through the Ogdensburg Agreement and helping provide a framework for continental defense during World War II and into the Cold War, with supporting roles in developing NORAD and early warning systems using radar stations.
Canadian officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by email, the AP report said. The Pentagon, in turn, said it had nothing further to provide beyond Colby’s posts on X.