The strained Canada-U.S. relationship was a subject of discussion — some of it lighthearted — at an annual gathering of defence experts and military officials in early March.
“ I have to applaud your bravery for making the trip up under these particular circumstances,” Canadian Gen. (Ret’d) Thomas Lawson told American Gen. Gregory Guillot at the CDA Institute conference in Ottawa on March 5.
“ Of course, I’m referring to the Ottawa weather in winter,” Lawson continued, drawing laughter from the roughly 500-person audience.
Lawson served as deputy commander of NORAD — the North American Aerospace Defence Command — from 2011 to 2012. He went on to serve as Canada’s chief of the defence staff from 2012 to 2015.
Guillot is the current commander of NORAD, a joint Canada-U.S. military initiative. He is also one of 38 four-star generals on active duty in the United States military.
Guillot’s message at the event was an optimistic one: that despite political tensions, his confidence in the Canada-U.S. security partnership remains unwavering.
Guillot’s rhetoric stood in stark contrast to America’s commander-in-chief, who has been saying since November that he wants to annex Canada.
Guillot stressed that the relationship between Canada and the U.S. is a partnership of two independent nations.
“ Since 1940… the United States and Canada have worked together to ensure the defence of North America,” said Guillot, referencing an agreement signed that year between President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to strengthen continental defence.
“And today, this partnership remains a critical pillar in ensuring global security,” Guillot said in his opening remarks.
One airspace
Established in 1958 during the Cold War, NORAD’s initial aim was to monitor and defend North American airspace against potential Soviet threats, particularly long-range bombers carrying nuclear weapons.
NORAD is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., and is always led by an American commander and Canadian deputy commander.
Guillot says that, even amidst the current political turmoil, his troops remain focused on monitoring and defending Canadian and U.S. airspace.
“ The military-to-military cooperation between the United States and Canada is phenomenal,” Guillot told Lawson in a discussion that followed his opening remarks. Lawson, who now works as a defence industry consultant, appeared to agree with Guillot’s remarks.
Currently, 25 American military personnel are committed to NORAD’s Canadian operations, based at the Royal Canadian Air Force 22 Wing Base in North Bay, Ont. More than 260 Canadian Armed Forces personnel are serving in NORAD across the U.S.
One critical component of continental defence is NORAD’s North Warning System radar network, which helps secure North American airspace against traditional and emerging threats.
This network — which is integrated with NORAD’s fighter jets and satellite systems — includes 10 long-range radars, 36 unattended short-range sites and five logistics hubs, all monitored remotely by the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 22 Wing.
The push to modernize
In his remarks, Guillot emphasized the need to modernize NORAD to counter increasingly sophisticated adversaries.
“ Now, with the advent of standoff weapons, cruise missiles that can fly hundreds or even thousands of miles, we need to be able to detect threats from much further away than we had to in the past,” he said.
Guillot stressed the importance of upgrading NORAD’s technical capabilities and developing more sophisticated surveillance systems.
In June 2022, Ottawa announced nearly $39 billion in spending to modernize NORAD over two decades.
This investment includes funding for new radar technologies to provide early warning coverage “over and beyond the northernmost approaches to North America, including the Canadian Arctic archipelago,” Ottawa’s modernization plan says.
The funding earmarked for NORAD is part of Canada’s broader plan to achieve its NATO spending target of two per cent of GDP by 2032. Canada has faced mounting criticism from the Trump administration and NATO allies for failing to meet this spending commitment.
Tracking adversaries
Guillot also noted that joint Russian and Chinese military exercises in the Arctic are posing fresh security challenges for Canada and the U.S.
Russia has established a strong Arctic military presence with icebreaker ships and bases throughout its northern territories. China, a self-proclaimed “near-Arctic” state, has been expanding its footprint in the area, taking part in Arctic maritime patrols.
“We now have adversaries who are working together, exchanging technologies … aligning their efforts together, which is a new development in assessing the threat we are facing,” Gen. Jennie Carignan, chief of the defence staff of Canada, said in a separate session at the Ottawa conference later that day.
Guillot also nodded at this foreign realignment in his address.
“ Years of steady investment have given our strategic competitors the means to narrow advantages provided by our favourable geography and our advanced technology,” he said.
“These competitors have the capability and the capacity to threaten all of North America with a range of advanced nuclear, conventional and non-kinetic systems while employing disruptive grayzone, cyber and information operations.”
Still, Guillot insists the Canadians and Americans retain an edge over Moscow and Beijing through their steadfast cooperation.
“ NORAD remains the world’s only binational command safeguarding the U.S. and Canada while routinely demonstrating seamless interoperability and operational excellence that our competitors can only hope to match.”
Guillot also said he views NORAD as one cohesive team, notwithstanding the unprecedented rhetoric from the White House.
“ I’m never asked what kind of airplanes were up there … because it doesn’t matter. It’s just NORAD, and that relationship is so tight.”
Hitting 2% GDP for defense by 2032 is too little too late. We need to accelerate our commitment to national defense more quickly, especially threats in the Arctic as well as cyber security.