U.S. Suspends Participation in Canada Defense Advisory Forum

The United States has suspended its participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, a foundational military advisory forum with Canada that has operated continuously since 1940. The Pentagon announced the unprecedented pause on Monday, citing Canada's failure to make what it called credible progress on its defense spending commitments.

Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby stated the U.S. would reassess how the forum benefits shared North American defense. "We can no longer avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality," Colby wrote in a series of online posts. "Real powers must sustain our rhetoric with shared defense and security responsibilities." He linked the decision, at least in part, to a speech by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, in which Carney spoke of a rupture in the world order.

The suspension occurs amid broader tensions between the two neighbors. President Donald Trump has long criticized Canada and other NATO allies for not spending enough on their own militaries. Recent disputes have also involved trade tariffs and an expiring North American trade pact. The move follows a recent Pentagon...