Golden Dome? ReArm Europe? Canada negotiating military relationships amid trade war, sovereignty concerns

U.S. President Donald Trump says it would cost Canada at least $61B to join his Golden Dome missile defence system.

“You can only control what you can control.”

Those were the words from newly minted Defence Minister David McGuinty on Wednesday morning. On his way into a cabinet meeting, a reporter asked him to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s price tag to join the Golden Dome.

Trump offered Canada a deal to join the North American missile defence system. which is estimated to cost US$175 billion. On social media, Trump priced Canada’s membership at US$61 billion, or C$84.3 billion.

“What we can control here now is decisions around strengthening our sovereignty and our security,” he said.

The Golden Dome, a name that plays off Israel’s Iron Dome, is a project Trump told the Pentagon to pursue. It would employ ground- and space-based weapons to destroy missiles mid-flight.

Canada had expressed interest in joining the project, but a price had never been publicized – at least, not until Tuesday, when Trump laid out his terms on Truth Social.

In the 2024 federal budget, Canada’s Department of National Defence was projected to spend just C$44.2 billion in 2025-26.

Trump offered another price, though not a monetary one: Canada would pay billions so long as it stays “a separate, but unequal, Nation.” But if it allowed the U.S. to consume it, the Golden Dome would be free. He claimed Canada is considering it.

“Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and it will remain one,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement to CTV News responding to the post.

McGuinty told CTV News Canada is continuing its negotiations with the White House – Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc was there this week, he said – as well as the European Union.

Pompeo: ‘I don’t know the source of that number’

Mike Pompeo, Trump’s former secretary of state, said he wasn’t sure where that $61 billion figure came from, but estimated it was a “low” estimate. He also said it he thought it’s worth the investment.

Pompeo took questions from reporters during CANSEC, a military technology convention in Ottawa.

He was also asked if Canadians should feel that their sovereignty is under threat, given Trump’s suggestion Canada should no longer exist as a country.

“No,” he said. “Canada is going to do all the things necessary to protect its sovereignty. I’m sure of it.”

Europe is re-arming. Canada wants in

In an interview with CBC News Tuesday evening, Carney said his government wants to join ReArm Europe by Canada Day.

The European initiative would leverage loans and investments into domestic defence industries. It was launched after Trump temporarily suspended U.S. military aid supporting Ukraine’s defence in its ongoing war with Russia.

Carney wants to diversify Canada’s military spending.

“Seventy-five cents of every dollar of capital spending for defence goes to the United States. That’s not smart,” he told CBC News in an interview.

“What’s better: if we spend more at home, if we have diversified partnerships,” he said, adding that increased activity with the Europeans could have “big benefits” for Canadian jobs.

Speaking to CTV News outside CANSEC, McGuinty said he would be at NATO next week in Brussels, and the prime minister will meet the consortium at the end of June.

“Discussions continue,” he said.

McGuinty was asked whether entrance into ReArm would come at the expense of Canada’s partnership on the Golden Dome.

“There are a lot of moving parts as Canada repositions itself, strengthens its Canadian Armed Forces, reasserts its sovereignty and security,” he responded.

Inside the conference, Pompeo was asked if he was concerned Ottawa’s procurement could shift to Europe if Canada no longer sees the U.S. as a reliable partner.

“I always worry about that, at one level,” he said. “Conversely, the United States is the security partner for Canada.”

Turning to ReArm, Pompeo said the U.S. welcomes a renewed emphasis on European defence spending.

“I wish the Europeans would have armed, like, 50 years ago,” he said.

With files from CTVNews.ca’s Lynn Chaya and The Canadian Press