Pentagon skipping Canadian security forum makes U.S. look weak, summit president says

A Trump administration decision to suspend the participation of U.S. defence officials in events staged by think tanks, including the annual Halifax International Security Forum, represents a retreat of American leadership that makes the country look weak, the president of the Canadian summit says.

Peter Van Praagh says U.S. officials have confirmed to him that a recent Pentagon ban on attending national security events will include the three-day summit in Atlantic Canada.

Each November, this gathering brings together more than 300 security and foreign policy-minded politicians, analysts and pundits from Canada, the United States, Europe and beyond. It’s been called the “Davos of international security” and gets about 50 per cent of its budget from the Canadian government.

The Pentagon would not comment directly on the ban but said it’s screening events to ensure they do not contradict the guiding principles of Donald Trump’s White House. Top U.S. generals and their staff normally participate in the Halifax forum each year as well as other events including the Munich Security Conference and Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue.

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“In order to ensure the Department of Defense is not lending its name and credibility to organizations, forums, and events that run counter to the values of this administration, the Department’s Office of Public Affairs will be conducting a thorough vetting of every event where defense officials are invited to participate,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in an e-mailed statement.

The suspension of participation takes place as relations between the United States and its allies, including Canada, are eroding under the Trump administration. Mr. Trump has launched a trade war against Canada and threatened many allies and trading partners with significant tariffs in order to extract trade concessions from them.

Peter MacKay, who as defence minister under Stephen Harper set up the Halifax forum, said the decision “seems borne out of spite and another sign that U.S. foreign policy is adrift.”

Mr. Van Praagh said American officials have played a key role in the Halifax forum since it began in 2009. “Since the forum’s founding, the United States, including the U.S. military, has not just attended – it has led,” he said. “And that leadership has been both meaningful and essential.”

“Skipping Halifax doesn’t make the U.S. look strong. It makes it look unsure of its own ideas – afraid to engage, to be questioned, to be seen,” he said. “You can’t shape the world by staying home.”

Mr. Van Praagh, a founder of the Halifax forum, said the Pentagon has not explained its rationale to him. He noted that, unlike some other events, Halifax is limited to democracies.

“We don’t invite authoritarian regimes. We don’t invite China. We don’t invite Russia. We don’t invite Iran or North Korea,” he said, “because we take great care to create an atmosphere where credible ideas will be communicated openly and respectfully.”

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Mr. Van Praagh said forgoing the event is strategically reckless and benefits such regimes, which would prefer less co-operation between democracies.

Recounting notable visitors to past Halifax forums, Mr. Van Praagh said it’s puzzling how an annual gathering of partner countries in Canada, one of America’s closest allies, could clash with the Trump White House’s principles.

“If Halifax – host to Ukrainian war heroes, Taiwanese democrats, Iranian dissidents and bipartisan American leaders – runs counter to those values, then something has gone very wrong,” he said.

“To skip Halifax is not just to skip a conference. It is a decision to step away from decades of American leadership, tradition and strategic thinking. It is a retreat into a bunker of silence at the very moment when America’s leadership is most needed.”

Richard Fadden, who served as national security adviser to Mr. Harper and former prime minister Justin Trudeau, said the new Pentagon policy suggests a “fear of ideas and a lack of confidence” in American military officers.

“All militaries by their nature tend to be rather insular, and contact with ideas – including those that do not reflect the current views of their governments or chain of command – can only benefit the professional development of serving members.”

Mr. MacKay called the Pentagon ban “bizarre on many levels.” He noted European, Asian and NATO officials come to Halifax in hopes of bilateral meetings with U.S. officials and pointed out many former U.S. defence secretaries attended the forum as part of a U.S. military delegation. Mr. MacKay said the decision appears to have a “vindictive bent or at best indifference to Canada.”

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U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who led a bipartisan Congressional delegation to the Halifax forum in 2024, said it appears to her that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is “so worried that his policies cannot withstand public scrutiny that he will restrict others’ participation from the only security conference with Canadians held in Canada.” She said “walling off top Pentagon officials” from Halifax will limit their ability to test theories and assumptions with allies.

“For years, the presence of U.S. military leadership has demonstrated our continued commitment to advancing solutions to our most challenging global security issues. It’s imperative that the United States continue to have a seat at the table to shape, lead and make progress on our shared priorities,” Ms. Shaheen said.

Mr. Van Praagh said the event offers a stage for senior civilian and military leaders to communicate their priorities to allies and to test these ideas among partners. It provides a venue for Americans to connect privately with partners on the sidelines.

He noted the forum was created in the wake of the Iraq War “to spark debate that would lead to better future decision-making and fewer errors that lead directly to unnecessary tragedies and lives lost.” Halifax “provides serious opportunities for American policymakers to hear new thinking and learn new ideas outside of the D.C. bubble,” he said.

Mr. Van Praagh said the forum will nevertheless be sending invitations to top leadership in the U.S. military.