Canada Renews Expanded NORAD Agreement Indefinitely

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay and National Defence Minister Gordon O’Conner announced last week that a renewed North American Aerospace Defence (NORAD) Agreement between Canada and the U.S. has come into effect following the May 8 vote in the House of Commons in favour of ratifying the agreement. The vote passed 257 to 30, with all members of the Conservatives, Liberals and Bloc Quebecois voting in favour of renewal.

Putting the renewal to a vote in parliament was in keeping with the Conservatives’ pledge to bring all international treaties and agreements to parliament for approval, McKay said. In reality, the parliamentary debate and vote was simply a formality, as the new NORAD agreement had already been signed by O’Connor and the U.S. ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins, on April 28. The Conservatives did not announce the new agreement at the time it was signed. However, a U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed the signature to a reporter from the Toronto Star.

“Our defence relationship with the United States is one of the pillars of our wider relationship. NORAD has been a key element of Canada-U.S. defence cooperation since its establishment in 1958,” McKay said in the news release announcing the ratification. “Strengthening NORAD enhances Canada’s ability to exercise its sovereignty and protect Canadian interests. It is a further step in our mutually beneficial defence and security relationship with the United States.”

While previously the NORAD agreement needed to be reviewed every five years, the renewed agreement is now permanent, which, according to the same news release, “underscores the long-term commitment of both Canada and the U.S. to the joint defence of North America.” Other changes to the agreement include expanding it to include maritime warning capabilities in the event of an attack on North America, which means NORAD will now monitor all North American oceans and lakes, in addition to airspace.

“Incorporating a maritime warning function into NORAD will assist in providing increased protection against emerging threats such as terrorism,” O’Connor stated. “It will increase the ability of Canada and the U.S. to work together in response to these threats. This is yet another example of the commitment by both nations to ensure that this binational command continues to adapt to new security challenges.”

NORAD was first established in 1958, during the first phase of the Cold War between the U.S. and Soviet Union for global domination. The agreement provided for binational air defence of the U.S. and Canada. Given the American’s vast air force and air weapons industry, the agreement essentially committed the U.S. to defending Canadian airspace in the event of a Soviet attack. In exchange, Canada ceded sovereignty over its airspace in the event of an air attack, while Canadian military officials involved in implementing NORAD came under the control of the U.S. armed forces. Within a year of signing the NORAD Agreement, Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker announced the cancellation of the Avro Arrow Airplane (CF-105) program. From then, the Canadian aerospace industry has been and remains, at least on the military production side, a series of branch plants producing parts for American warplanes.

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