The U.S. Department of Defense said on the 18th (local time) that it will put on hold its participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense (PJBD) with Canada, which has continued since 1940. Tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney appear to be spilling over into military and security cooperation.
According to U.S. political outlet The Hill that day, Elbridge Colby, U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, announced that he would suspend participation in the PJBD because of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos early this year. The PJBD is a body responsible for military cooperation and policy coordination between the United States and Canada.
In a post on the social media platform X, Vice Minister Colby said, "A strong Canada that prioritizes tangible military power over rhetoric benefits everyone, but unfortunately, Canada has not shown credible progress in meeting its defense commitments," adding, "We are suspending participation to reassess what benefit the Permanent Joint Board on Defense brings to North American collective defense."
He also shared the link to Carney's January Davos speech, saying, "We can no longer ignore the gap between rhetoric and reality," and added, "A truly great power must back up shared defense and security responsibilities with action." This effectively suggested that the speech was behind the U.S. decision to suspend participation in the board.
At the time, Prime Minister Carney argued that middle powers should unite against the influence of superpowers like the United States and China. The remarks were seen as targeting President Trump's tendency to downplay alliances.
Afterward, President Trump pressured to block the opening of a new bridge linking Canada and Michigan, and Canada in turn considered reducing purchases of U.S.-made military equipment, deepening the rift between the two leaders.