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The Pentagon has announced that it is pulling out of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, a World War II-era military body it shares with Canada.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: If you’re unaware, the Permanent Joint Board on Defense (PJBD) is one of the oldest and most important bilateral defense coordination bodies between the United States and Canada, established back in 1940 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The board is made up of senior military and civilian officials from both countries and serves as a high-level forum for consultation on matters of mutual defense importance, helping to shape continental security policy, Arctic defense planning, and broader military cooperation across North America (with topics like NORAD modernization typically on the agenda). It’s an advisory body that’s supposed to meet at least once a year, and its sessions are notably held at a top-secret level, which participants say allows for unusually frank, closed-door conversations that they can’t get elsewhere.

What’s going on now: US Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby announced the move Monday in a series of posts on X, saying the Pentagon would “pause” its participation in the board to “reassess how this forum benefits shared North American defense” and laying the blame squarely on the Canadian government. He said, “A strong Canada that prioritizes hard power over rhetoric benefits us all. Unfortunately, Canada has failed to make credible progress on its defense commitments. We can no longer avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality.”

Colby pointedly linked one of his posts to a transcript of Carney’s Davos speech (where the prime minister had called on “middle powers” to band together against the great powers), and tied the decision to the broader push for NATO members to hit the alliance’s 3.5% defense spending target.

The move is the latest escalation in a steadily souring relationship, with Trump having repeatedly mocked Canada as “America’s 51st state,” launched a tariff war over trade, and complained that Canada doesn’t pay its fair share for continental defense, while Carney has pushed to diversify Canada’s partnerships away from the US (including by reviewing whether to buy Swedish jets instead of American-made F-35s).

Carney moved quickly to downplay the decision on Tuesday, noting that Canada had finally reached the 2% of GDP defense spending benchmark for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty similarly responded by touting new military investments. He said, “Canada will work with trusted partners who are ready to work with us, always remaining ready to come to the table for constructive discussions about the best ways to strengthen mutual defense and security.”

This all comes as defense analysts warned that the move was a needless provocation that primarily benefits US adversaries (with University of Manitoba’s Andrea Charron telling The Hill that “none of this political rhetoric serves anyone’s purposes but China and Russia” and stressing that the US can’t afford to alienate Canada given how much its Arctic radar and satellite systems provide early warning of attack).