Canada has entered talks with the Trump administration over its inclusion in the newly announced “Golden Dome” missile defense system, according to reports.
Prime Minister Mark Carney's office said there are "active discussions" between the two nations on security systems – both existing and future – according to the BBC.
Talks are ongoing despite tensions between the nations, stemming from Trump’s exorbitant tariffs on America’s neighbor to the north and his repeated belittling suggestion that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state.
The latter has prompted a wave of patriotism from Canadians which may have contributed to the election win for Carney and the Liberal party.
"Canadians gave the prime minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States," Audrey Champoux, a spokeswoman for Carney, told the BBC.
"To that end, the prime minister and his ministers are having wide-ranging and constructive discussions with their American counterparts. These discussions naturally include strengthening Norad and related initiatives such as the Golden Dome."
Champoux did not specify how Canada would participate in the Golden Dome project, including whether it would help pay to build it.
Canada and the U.S. already partner on Norad – the North American Aerospace Defense Command – which operates aerospace and maritime surveillance and contributes to the defense of the region. The system has been in place since 1958, and Canada and the U.S. have both voiced intentions of modernizing it.
Announcing the Golden Dome project on Tuesday, Trump acknowledged that Canada had expressed interest.
“Canada has called us, and they want to be a part of it. So we’ll be talking to them; they want to have protection also,” Trump said, while taking questions at the White House.
The president’s plan aims to spend $25 billion to begin work on the Dome, which he has insisted would take only three years to complete. This is in contrast to estimates by the independent Congressional Budget Office, which has estimated the project could take 20 years and cost $524 billion.
“This design for the Golden Dome will integrate with our existing defense capabilities and should be fully operational before the end of my term,” Trump said.
“Once fully constructed, Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they are launched from space, and we will have the best system ever built.”
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