Canada wants into Britain's rapid-response defence club | CBC News

Formal application to Joint Expeditionary Force announced during Carney's U.K. visit

Canada has formally applied to join the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a collection of NATO nations whose mandate is to respond more quickly in a crisis.

In a statement, Carney called JEF an "important initiative" and highlighted other close defence ties with the U.K., including Canada's observer status in the development of the next generation of fighter jet.

Canada joining international program to build next generation of fighter jets

The Canadian military, at the time in the throes of deep budget cuts by Conservative government of the day, was also deeply reluctant to join.

It would be, he said, a substantial undertaking for the military and could bind the country to respond in a specific way to a future crisis when the federal government might favour a different course.

In his statement on Wednesday, Carney did not say how Canada's participation in JEF would work on a practical level. And the country's current top military commander, Gen. Jennie Carignan, has yet to weigh in on what the membership might mean.

As it was originally conceived, the Joint Expeditionary Force was meant to preserve battlefield relationships that grew up during the Afghan war.

It was thought at the time that the British Army would provide the command structure and much of the military backbone and other countries would bring forces that plug into JEF as needed.

At the NATO summit in Wales that year, Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway formally agreed to establish JEF under NATO's new Framework Nations Concept. Finland and Sweden joined in 2017, before either country belonged to NATO, and Iceland entered the fold in 2021.

First phase of Army restructuring creates division focused on defending Canada

AnalysisNo longer taboo, Canada's defence industry steps into Europe's spotlight