White House trade adviser Peter Navarro forcefully denied reports that he proposed ejecting Canada from the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance, calling the suggestion “crazy stuff” amid escalating trade tensions between the neighboring countries.
“We would never, ever jeopardize our national security ever with allies like Canada. Ever,” Navarro told reporters in Washington on Tuesday, responding to a Financial Times report that cited sources familiar with his efforts.
The Five Eyes, comprising the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, represents one of the world’s most comprehensive intelligence-sharing networks.
The news comes as US-Canada relations face multiple pressures, including President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian imports starting March 4, additional steel and aluminum tariffs set for March 12, and repeated comments about making Canada “the 51st state” (with Trump and adviser Elon Musk calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “Governor Trudeau”).
Canadian officials downplayed the report, with Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne defending his country’s role in the intelligence partnership.
“Canada is respected. Canada is valued. Canada is essential to a lot of the intelligence and security work that is being done to protect our citizens,” Champagne told reporters in Montreal.
Vincent Rigby, Trudeau’s former national security adviser, suggested there might be “serious smoke” behind the report, noting that intelligence sharing had been used as a pressure tactic during Trump’s first term.
“There were subtle hints that this was a measure that could potentially be applied in an extreme case,” Rigby told CTV News.
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