The Trump Pentagon has paused the United States’ participation in the 86-year-old Permanent Joint Board of Defense.
Established in 1940, the Permanent Joint Board of Defense is designed to serve as the senior advisory body for bilateral continental military defense and security cooperation between the U.S. and Canada.
Some have blamed the Trump administration’s pause on the soft policies of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney:
🚨 BREAKING: The US just suspended the Permanent Joint Board on Defense.
It survived:
✅ World War II
✅ The Cuban Missile Crisis
✅ The entire Cold War
✅ 9/11
✅ 13 prime ministers
✅ 15 presidents❌ It did not survive one year of Mark Carney.
The Pentagon paused the…
— Mario Zelaya (@mario4thenorth) May 18, 2026
Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby announced the decision to pause U.S. involvement in tweets posted to the social media platform X.
“A strong Canada that prioritizes hard power over rhetoric benefits us all,” he wrote. “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.”
“We can no longer avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality. Real powers must sustain our rhetoric with shared defense and security responsibilities. Delivering on shared continental defense begins by recognizing our shared geography. Only by investing in our own defense capabilities will Americans and Canadians be safe, secure, and prosperous,” he added.
Colby’s posts linked to a Davos address that Carney delivered in January in which the Canadian prime minister declared an end to the rules-based world order that was established at the end of the Cold War.
The speech was essentially a veiled denunciation of U.S. trade policies under President Donald Trump. In the speech, Carney begged other world powers to stand up to American “hegemony.”
The speech angered President Trump.
“The president has since criticized Carney on his deal with China, threatened Canada with 100 percent tariffs, and disinvited Carney from his ‘Board of Peace,'” Politico reported after the speech.
“Trump also called Carney ‘governor,’ a term he previously used to mock former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when talking about making Canada a ’51st state,'” the reporting continued.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent subsequently tore into Carney on Trump’s behalf during a Fox News appearance, though he also claimed that the PM had begun walking back his comments:
🚨 HOLY SMOKES. Sec. Scott Bessent just EVISCERATED Canadian PM Mark Carney for being a raging globalist! 🔥
“Canada depends on the US, and the prime minister should do best for the Canadian people, rather than try to PUSH his own GLOBALIST AGENDA!” 💯 pic.twitter.com/1u0gqr1Wtd
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 27, 2026
“I was in the Oval [Office] with the president today. He spoke to Prime Minister Carney, who was very aggressively walking back some of the unfortunate remarks he made at Davos,” Bessent said.
“I’m not sure what the prime minister was thinking. Of course, Canada depends on the U.S. There’s much more north-south trade than there could ever be east-west trade,” he added.
Returning to the present, some are not happy with the Trump administration’s decision to pause the board.
“Cancelling it is a needless provocation that sends the wrong message to Ottawa and other U.S. allies,” former U.S. defense adviser Imran Bayoumi told CBC News.
John McKay, a former member of Parliament who served as the Canadian co-chair the last time that the board met, told CBC News that he thinks the pause is foolish and casts doubt over matters such as the renegotiation of NORAD.
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “I think it’s short-sighted. I think it’s foolish, but I’m not surprised.”
CBC News asked him whether U.S. withdrawal from the board could be an attempt by Trump to gain leverage over Canada.
“I don’t see how cancelling one of the most significant — if secret and unknown — organizations which manages the mutual defence of North America enhances trade negotiations or enhances our willingness to purchase F-35s, maybe in some devious mind of some official somewhere,” he said.
Artur Wilczynski, a former Canadian diplomat, also critiqued the pause:
I sat on the PJBD when I was Director General of International Affairs at Public Safety Canada. I remember a visit to Colorado Springs for talks. The lack of joint coordination will affect the US too. Bizarre decision by the Trump regime. https://t.co/xk8U770vqK
— Artur Wilczynski (@Arturmaks) May 18, 2026
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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