Members of a Military Honor Guard stand with an American flag and a Canadian flag at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 2017. On Monday, the Defense Department said it was suspending its involvement in a joint military board with Canada. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo
The U.S. Department of Defense announced Monday it’s suspending its participation in a military partnership with Canada that’s been in place for more than 85 years.
Eldridge Colby, undersecretary for the Defense Department, made the announcement in a series of posts on X.
“A strong Canada that prioritizes hard power over rhetoric benefits us all,” he said in one post. “Unfortunately, Canada has failed to make credible progress on its defense commitments. DoW is pausing the Permanent Joint Board on Defense to reassess how this forum benefits shared North American defense.”
In his posts, Colby shared a video of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech before the World Economic Forum earlier this year in which he warned against relying on partnerships with larger countries and instead pushed to make alliances with countries other than the United States, CBC reported. Carney also took issue with President Donald Trump’s tariff war and his calls to make Canada the 51st state.
“The middle powers must act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” Carney said in the speech.
“We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn’t mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy, but we believe that from the future, we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just.”
In his post on X, Colby said the United States “can no longer avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality. Real powers must sustain our rhetoric with shared defense and security responsibilities.”
Canada and the United States established the Permanent Joint Board on Defense in 1940 to provide consultation on defense issues important to both countries. The board, which meets multiple times each year, comprises both U.S. and Canadian military and civilian representatives.
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Vice President JD Vance speaks during a news conference on anti-fraud initiatives in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House on Wednesday. Photo by Daniel Heuer/UPI | License Photo
