U.S. Pulls Out Of Defense Council With Canada

• 19.05.2026, 11:18

It was created back in World War II.

The United States has suspended participation in the Permanent Joint Defense Board with Canada, a regional security cooperation format that has been in place for more than 80 years.

The U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Elbridge Colby told X on Monday.

The Pentagon is temporarily "suspending participation" in the board to reassess its effectiveness, he said. Colby said Washington was unhappy with the lack of "real progress" by Canada on its defense commitments, noting, "We can no longer ignore the gap between rhetoric and reality."

The council was established on August 18, 1940, in Ogdensberg, New York, and was originally intended to coordinate the joint defense of North America, recalls New Voice.

The U.S. decision was criticized by Republican Congressman Don Bacon. He linked the move to political statements about Canada as the "51st state," which he said only increased tensions between the countries.

Canada, which is led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, remains a NATO member with an accelerated pace of defense spending. At the alliance's most recent summit in The Hague, Ottawa pledged to bring military spending to 5 percent of GDP.

Carney has also consistently advocated reducing Canada's dependence on the United States for security and defense.