The Canadian government has confirmed that it is in active discussions with the United States about joining President Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defence system, which is designed to counter next-generation aerial threats.
The announcement follows US President Donald Trump’s unveiling of the Golden Dome plan on Tuesday, where he revealed an initial price tag of $25bn (£18.7bn) and claimed that Canada had expressed interest in participating in the ambitious initiative.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said that talks with the US are ongoing and part of broader negotiations that also involve trade and security. Audrey Champoux, a spokesperson for Carney, said these discussions include both existing collaborations and new programmes such as the Golden Dome.
“Canadians gave the prime minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States,” said Champoux. “To that end, the prime minister and his ministers are having wide-ranging and constructive discussions with their American counterparts.”
Ms Champoux said that any potential contribution by Canada to the programme remains undecided, and details about how the system would work for Canada are still being assessed.
Trump said during his announcement that Canada “wants to have protection also” and that the US would, “as usual,” help its northern neighbour. He added that his administration is looking for Canada to “pay their fair share” if it joins the project.
The proposed Golden Dome is intended to intercept increasingly advanced threats, including hypersonic missiles, and would involve a vast array of space-based sensors and interceptors. Trump said the system would be capable of stopping missiles launched from across the world or from space.
Despite the fanfare, there are doubts among defence experts about the feasibility and cost of such a system. The US Congressional Budget Office estimated the long-term cost of the space-based components alone could balloon to $542bn over two decades.
Canada and the US already collaborate on continental defence through Norad (North American Aerospace Defense Command), which was established in 1958 and focuses on detecting and responding to airborne and maritime threats in North America.
While Norad is currently being modernised, experts suggest the Golden Dome could be a far more complex and costly undertaking. Shashank Joshi, defence editor at The Economist, told the BBC the system would likely require thousands of satellites to detect and track missile launches and intercept them mid-flight—an enormous technological and financial challenge.
Though the Golden Dome concept is reportedly inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome system, analysts have warned that replicating such a defence on a continent-wide scale would be significantly more difficult, especially given North America’s vast geography and the evolving nature of missile threats.
