Canada is in discussions to join the U.S. “Golden Dome” missile defence program, according to a spokesperson from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
In a statement to CTV News, the PMO said Canadians gave Prime Minister Mark Carney “a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States”.
The statement adds that Carney, his ministers, and their American counterparts are having wide-ranging discussions.
“These discussions naturally include strengthening Norad and related initiatives such as the Golden Dome,” said the PMO statement sent to CTV News.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced aspects of his continental missile defence shield adding “it automatically makes sense” for Canada to be involved.
“Canada has called us and they want to be a part of it,” Trump said. “So, we’ll be talking to them. They want to have protection also, so as usual, we help Canada.”
According to Trump, the system will be able to intercept missiles launched at North America from the other side of the globe, or from space.
The U.S. president claims the multilayered system will be completed within his term, which ends in 2029, and will cost $175 billion. Tuesday, Trump said his administration would work with Canada to ensure “they’ll pay their fair share”.
“We are dealing with them on pricing. They know about it very much,” Trump said.
The PMO would not comment on how much Canada would be willing to invest in the Golden Dome system.
In March, a senior government source pointed out Carney did announce a $6-billion investment to build an early warning radar system in partnership with Australia. The amount of money had already been outlined in the 2022 plan to modernize the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad).
The Liberal election platform also committed to more than $18 billion in spending on national defence. The amount would Canada on track to “exceed our NATO target by the year 2030,” according to policy experts who briefed reporters when the platform was released April 19.
The U.S. president seemed to take notice of Canada’s efforts to increase military spending during Carney’s visit to the White House, saying, “Canada is stepping up the military participation.”
Trump’s “Golden Dome” was a 2024 campaign promise and is based on Israel’s “Iron Dome” defence network designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells with a range of 4 to 70 kilometres.
With files from Canadian Press
