Canada has expressed interest in participating in U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed $175 billion missile defence system, dubbed the “Golden Dome,” a move that has drawn criticism from China.
Trump announced he selected the architecture for the “Golden Dome” land, sea, and space missile defence system during a Tuesday press conference at the White House, where he signalled that Canada was interested.
“Canada has called us, and they want to be a part of it. So we’ll be talking to them,” Trump said. “They want to have protection also. So, as usual, we help Canada and do the best we can.”
The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed it is engaged in ongoing discussions about Canada’s potential involvement in the defence project, cautioning that nothing has been finalized. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Mark Carney said the discussions were part of Canada’s interest in bolstering North American Aerospace Defence Command, or NORAD, capabilities.
“In the campaign, I promised the American people that I would build a cutting-edge missile defence shield to protect our homeland from the threat of foreign missile attack, and that’s what we’re doing today,” he told reporters. “I’m pleased to announce that we have officially selected an architecture for this state-of-the-art system that will deploy next-generation technologies across the land, sea and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors.”
Trump said the “Golden Dome,” named after the “Iron Dome” missile defence system America helped build in Israel, should be fully operational by the end of Trump’s second term, in three years.
“Once entirely constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they are launched from space,” Trump said.
He said his latest bill, “the big beautiful bill,” will include $25 billion for the “Golden Dome.” However, he estimated the project would cost $175 billion once completed, a price tag he said Canada would help pay.
“We’ll be discussing Canada. They want to hook in, and they want to see if they can be a part of it. That sort of makes sense, I guess,” Trump said. “That’s what I was talking about from day one. You know, it just automatically makes sense, and it won’t be very difficult to do, but they’ll pay their fair share.”
Some critics estimated the build would likely take more than three years, and others said the cost of the project would likely exceed Trump’s claimed $175 billion price tag.
Helping fund this project could help Canada achieve its NATO commitment of spending 2 per cent of its GDP on defence.
According to the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times, China has warned the U.S. to abandon its “Golden Dome” missile defence system, saying it will “heighten the risks of space militarization and an arms race.”
“It openly seeks a significant expansion of outer space-based combat capabilities, including the development and deployment of orbital interception systems, China’s Foreign Minister claimed in a statement. “It carries clear offensive implications, violates the principle of peaceful use of outer space as advocated by the Outer Space Treaty.”
Beijing urged the U.S. to “abandon its development and deployment” of its missile defence system and to instead take “concrete steps” to enhance strategic mutual trust among major powers.”