Ogdensburg Agreement - Since World War II

Since World War II

The agreement inaugurated closer Canadian-American military co-operation and established the Permanent Joint Board of Defence, which remains as the senior advisory body on continental security and which is composed of two national sections made up of diplomatic and military representatives. For seven decades its meetings have served as a window on Canada-US defence relations. Canadian-American military cooperation was further enhanced by the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 but the Board continued to serve in an important capacity for bilateral military relations and coordination.

Initially, it was argued that Ogdensburg Agreement involved Canada abandoning Britain in favour of the United States on matters of defense. However, the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 (which linked Canada and the United States into a collective security agreement with Britain and Western Europe) helped to alleviate these concerns.

The Board has examined virtually every important joint defence measure undertaken since the end of the World War II, including construction of the Distant Early Warning Line of radars, the creation of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in 1958, the bi-national operation of the underwater acoustic surveillance system and high-frequency direction finding network, and the decision to proceed with the North American Air Defence Modernization program in 1985.