Sign in Subscribe
Prime ministers

Canada's Golden Dome: A Complex Defense Strategy for North America

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, spoke about the benefits of participating in the "Golden Dome" missile shield with the United States, while remaining non-committal on whether Canada would ultimately sign up for the defense shield. The Golden Dome is a $171-billion system to expand continental defenses against missile and drone attacks. Carney emphasized that co-operation with the United States will take place only when it's advantageous to Canada.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, is considering joining the "Golden Dome" missile shield with the United States, which would require abandoning Canada's 2005 policy of not joining a US program to intercept ballistic missiles.
  • Carney emphasized that co-operation with the US will take place only when it's advantageous to Canada, and that Ottawa must consider whether it wants to be left out of decision-making over military action by the US that could affect Canada.
  • Partnering with the US on the Golden Dome could increase Carney's plans for military spending, and would require an estimated $20 billion more in annual spending to achieve NATO's target of 2 per cent of GDP for military spending.
  • The joint Canada-US North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) is currently upgrading radar systems to detect incoming threats, and Canada must be able to take action once missiles are spotted.
  • David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, warned that Canada could also be left vulnerable to missiles if it remains outside the shield when the US is scrambling resources to intercept incoming threats.
  • Philippe Lagassé, a Carleton University associate professor, said that joining Golden Dome would be a natural evolution of the modernization of NORAD that Canada and the US are already undertaking.
  • Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Bank of Nova Scotia, warned that the cost for Trump's missile-defense shield could be much higher and the delivery schedule far longer, with estimates ranging from $161billion to $542-billion.

Statistics:

  • The Golden Dome system is estimated to cost $171 billion.
  • Canada has already committed over $38 billion over 20 years to upgrade NORAD's ability to detect and track new missile threats.
  • The estimated additional annual spending required to achieve NATO's target of 2 per cent of GDP for military spending is $20 billion.
  • The delivery schedule for Trump's missile-defense shield could be longer, with estimates ranging from 10 years to over 20 years.
  • The cost of the shield could be much higher, with estimates ranging from $161billion to $542-billion.

Sources:

  • [Quote from Mark Carney]
  • [David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute]
  • [Philippe Lagassé, Carleton University associate professor]
  • [Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Bank of Nova Scotia]
  • [CTV News]
  • [United States Congressional Budget Office report, May 2025]

Read more