The Canadian government said it is in talks with the US over joining its proposed “Golden Dome” missile defence system, aimed at countering “next-generation” aerial threats.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said there are “active discussions” between Canada and the US on security, including on existing and new programmes like the Golden Dome.
US president Donald Trump unveiled the plan for the new missile defence system earlier on Tuesday, announcing an initial sum of $25bn (£18.7bn) to build it. He added Canada has expressed interest in joining.
There are doubts from experts on how the US would deliver a comprehensive system and it is unclear how Canada would participate or how much it would pay.
Canada’s openness to joining the proposed Golden Dome system comes amid ongoing trade and security negotiations between the two countries, after Trump threatened steep tariffs on Canada and said it would be better off as a US state.
This galvanised a wave of national patriotism in Canada that ushered in a historic election win for Carney’s Liberal government.
“Canadians gave the prime minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States,” said Audrey Champoux, a spokesperson for Carney.
“To that end, the prime minister and his ministers are having wide-ranging and constructive discussions with their American counterparts,” she said.
“These discussions naturally include strengthening NORAD and related initiatives such as the Golden Dome.”
But Ms Champoux added it is too early to say what Canada might pay into the programme, or how it would work for the country.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said that Canada has expressed interest in being part of the Golden Dome.
“We’ll be talking to them,” the US president said. “They want to have protection also, so as usual, we help Canada.”
Trump said that the new Golden Dome defence missile programme would be operational by the end of his time in office, and that it would come with a price tag of $175bn. He added that he his administration is looking for Canada to “pay their fair share.”
Canada and the US already partner on the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD – a system that is responsible for aerospace and maritime surveillance, warning and defence of the region, and that can detect and shoot down cruise missiles.
NOARD has been in place since 1958, and both countries in recent years have been engaged in discussions to modernise it.
Trump said the proposed Golden Dome is meant to target increasingly sophisticated aerial weapons, and will include space-based sensors and interceptors.
He said the system would be “capable even of intercepting missiles launched from the other side of the world, or launched from space”.
It is partly inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, which the country has used to intercept rockets and missiles since 2011.
Experts have expressed doubts on whether the US would be able to build a similarly comprehensive defence system, given its larger land mass.
Shashank Joshi, defence editor at the Economist, told the BBC that one way the Golden Dome could work was by using thousands of satellites to spot and track missiles and then use interceptors in orbit to fire at the missiles as they take off and take them out.
He said the US military would take the plan seriously but it was unrealistic to think it would be completed during Trump’s term, and the huge cost would suck up a large chunk of the US defence budget.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the eventual price tag could be $542bn over 20 years, on the space-based parts of the system alone.
