The US military has more than 165,000 soldiers deployed to more than 170 countries and territories around the world, including Canada. The U.S. military also operates hundreds of overseas facilities and bases in places such as South Korea, Germany and Greenland.
President-elect Donald Trump says he does not rule out using military force to seize Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. The remote, resource-rich island is home to a US Space Force base and 139 US troops.
Trump has also mulled making Canada the 51st state in the United States.
While there are no US bases in Canada today, 156 active-duty members of the US military are deployed to the country, according to the latest data from the Pentagon’s Defense Manpower Data Centre.
Why are there American troops in Canada?
Nearly 50 of them are U.S. air force members serving alongside Canadians at bases in North Bay, Ont., and Winnipeg as part of Norad. Norad, short for North American Aerospace Defense Command, is a binational defense group responsible for protecting Canada and the United States from incoming attacks.
“The Norad operation requires close cooperation between the United States and Canada,” Carleton University president of international affairs Stephen Saideman told CTVNews.ca. “There are Canadians based at Norad headquarters in Colorado and, yes, it is quite normal for US military personnel to be serving in Canada primarily to facilitate the relationship with Norad.”
Other U.S. military members in Canada hold a wide range of roles, including serving as defense attachés at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, studying at our military schools, and coordinating with Canadian troops and officers across the country.
US military personnel in Canada include 69 members of the US Air Force, 36 Navy, 29 Army, 15 Marine Corps, four Coast Guard and three Space Force. Canada previously hosted US military installations during World War II and the Cold War.
“Canada and the United States have long-standing, well-developed exchange programs in which soldiers are deployed to each other’s territory,” Carleton University political scientist Aaron Ettinger told CTVNews.ca. “This is an essential part of the mature American defense relationship.”
Should Canadians be worried about American troops?
In the run-up to his second inauguration, Trump has floated the idea of using “economic force” to make Canada part of the United States, much to the irritation of Canadian leaders. Experts largely dismiss Trump’s jibes about absorbing Canada and say Canadians should not worry about American military personnel on our soil.
“Canadians should be no more concerned than Europeans about the tens of thousands of American troops stationed in Germany,” explained Ettinger, an American foreign policy expert. “Trump’s comments are just talk.”
The 156 U.S. soldiers in Canada are just a small fraction of the U.S. military’s global presence, which has 165,830 members on active duty overseas, plus another 23,722 reservists and national guardsmen. Meanwhile, the 13 states bordering Canada are home to a combined 277,363 American soldiers, reservists and national guardsmen, according to Pentagon data. The total strength of the Canadian military is less than a third, with approximately 63,000 regular members and 22,000 reservists.
The Pentagon and Canada’s Department of National Defense did not respond to requests for comment.
“The defense between the United States and Canada is strong and represents one of the best forms of bilateral integration that exists,” Canadian Military College associate professor of political science Frédéric Labarre told CTVNews.ca. “This defense partnership is likely to endure despite Mr. Trump’s ambitions and imaginations.”
Rob Huebert, a political science professor and defense expert at the University of Calgary, says Trump’s comments and actions could disrupt what is one of the most integrated defense associations in the world.
“We serve in their military and they serve in ours in a number of capacities,” Huebert told CTVNews.ca. “If Trump acts to cause political pressure, it would ironically disrupt the close coordination, but barring a major military invasion – which I couldn’t see – any move to increase American control would disrupt where we are already integrated.”
As an example of that integration, a Canadian rear admiral currently serves as vice commander of the U.S. Navy’s East Coast and North Atlantic Fleet.
“As they say, the two countries share the world’s longest peaceful border, and the two countries have fought together in major wars over the past 100 years,” said Saideman, who is also director of the Department of Defense and Security. Canada. Red, he said. “This partnership requires a lot of interaction in peacetime so that things can work well in wartime… Therefore, it is not unusual, but quite normal, for the US military to be based in Canada.”
