By Jan Porch l May 18, 2026
WASHINGTON — The United States has suspended its participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense (PJBD), a major bilateral military advisory body with Canada that has existed since the Second World War, in a move that signals deepening tensions between Washington and Ottawa over defense spending and continental security commitments.
US Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby announced Monday that Washington would pause the long-standing defense forum, arguing that Canada “has failed to make credible progress on its defense commitments.” Colby said the Pentagon would reassess how the board serves shared North American defense interests.
The Permanent Joint Board on Defense was established in 1940 under the Ogdensburg Agreement signed by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. The body became a cornerstone of military cooperation between both countries and later helped shape continental defense systems such as NORAD and Arctic early-warning networks.
The suspension marks one of the most significant strains in Canada-US defense relations in decades. Analysts say the decision reflects growing frustration within the Trump administration over NATO burden-sharing and Canada’s military spending levels, despite recent pledges by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to increase defense expenditures.
The announcement came after Colby shared comments referencing Carney’s speech earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the Canadian leader spoke about what he described as a “rupture in the world order.” Although Carney did not directly mention US President Donald Trump during the speech, relations between both governments have remained tense amid broader disputes involving trade, tariffs, Arctic security, and NATO obligations.
Defense experts warn that weakening the PJBD could complicate coordination on several critical North American security priorities, including Arctic sovereignty, missile defense modernization, cyber threats, and continental air defense systems. The board has historically served as a high-level forum where politically sensitive military issues between both countries could be quietly negotiated and resolved. )
The move also comes during a period of heightened geopolitical instability, with the United States increasing pressure on NATO allies to boost military readiness amid ongoing conflicts involving Russia, Iran, and rising global security tensions. Canada has faced repeated criticism from Washington for failing to consistently meet NATO defense spending targets.
Critics in both countries expressed concern that the suspension could undermine decades of close military cooperation between two of the world’s most integrated defense partners. Some American lawmakers reportedly warned that weakening Canada-US defense institutions at a time of global instability could damage broader Western security coordination.