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The Permanent Joint Board on Defence
  • The Permanent Joint Board on Defence (PJBD) is the senior advisory body on continental military defence of North America.
  • This board was created in 1940 by Canada and the United States under the Ogdensburg Agreement signed by President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Mackenzie King.
  • When the two countries formally declared the establishment of this board, it was coined the Ogdensburg Agreement, which helped provide a framework for continental defence cooperation between Canada and the United States during the Second World War
  • Following the Second World War, the PJBD advised upon the implementation of several key military advancements between Canada and the US such as NORAD (and subsequent NORAD renewals), the DEW System, construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Airborne Warning & Control System (AWACS), and the DEW System transitioning into the North Warning System, among other things.
  • The PJBD continues to be a senior advisory body on continental security for Canada and the United States and forum for Canadian and American diplomatic and military leaders to handle politically sensitive matters.
  • The Ogdensburg Agreement was established in August 17, 1940, but this statement was made by the Prime Minister of Canada in the House of Commons in 1947 and makes direct reference to Declaration of August 1940.
Citation

Canada. Treaties. Joint Statement by the Government of Canada and of the United States of America Regarding Defence Co-operation Between the Two Countries. [Ottawa, Ontario], 1947. https://www.treaty-accord.gc.ca/text-texte.aspx?id=100977

Further Readings

The American Record of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10487419

For more information on the Ogdensburg Agreement (1940): https://ehistory.osu.edu/exhibitions/arctic-sovereignty/ogdensburg

Overlapping Topics
Military, Defence, and Peacekeeping
Policy Type
Policy Pronouncement