With the current turmoil around the world as the result of the active attempts to erode the rules-based international order, such as foreign interference in elections and blatant disregard of international law, it is now more needed than ever to maintain multilateral agreements. One such agreement that is of crucial importance to Western democracies is the Five Eyes Group.
The Five Eyes Group is a multilateral alliance between Canada, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K. to share intelligence. Its roots lie in the aftermath of the Second World War when the U.S. and U.K. resolved to share intelligence with each other. By 1955, this agreement was expanded with the admission of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Canada, in particular, shares a significant amount of signals intelligence (SIGINT) with members of the Five Eyes alliance. Four Canadian agencies are involved directly with the alliance: the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command.
Yet, the current U.S. administration argues that Canada is not contributing enough to the Five Eyes organization and should be removed from it. Such pressure is part of a concerted effort to weaken Canada and isolate it from multilateral groups. In addition to the economic pressure that the U.S. is putting on Canada through the use of tariffs, and President Trump’s comments regarding wanting to make Canada the 51st state, the push to remove Canada from the Five Eyes alliance can be seen as part of a broader effort to undermine Canada’s sovereignty. What would happen if this occurred? What would the implications be for Canada, the allies, and NATO relations?
It is no secret that Canada benefits greatly from multilateral agreements, and its participation in the Five Eyes is no different. As a paper put out by the Canadian Forces College attests, Canada sees a net benefit from being in the Fives Eyes organization such as the co-optation of broader intelligence networks to protect our national security. At the same time, Canada’s contributions to the alliance remain important. Canada’s exclusion from the Five Eyes group could result in a significant loss in intelligence-gathering capabilities for all members.
The U.S.’s intelligence apparatus is massive, overseeing around $100 billion in funding a year. Yet what others neglect is Canada’s proximity to the Arctic and therefore Russia. While Alaska does share a border with Russia, Canada’s northern holdings are larger and cover more than Alaska, thus providing more opportunities to observe Russian activity in the Arctic. The signals intelligence that Canada provides includes the Arctic, a region of growing importance due to increasing human activity enabled by climate change. The U.S., by forcing Canada out of the Five Eyes Group, would lose valuable infrastructure needed to observe Russia. The U.S. would have to develop its own Arctic intelligence infrastructure instead of relying on Canada.
The same would be true for other members of Five Eyes. Each member provides valuable infrastructure that all members can use effectively and efficiently. Australia and New Zealand’s proximity to the South China Sea means they have the opportunity to observe Chinese movements and operations there. This is especially important as the South China Sea is a region where China seeks to assert itself. As such, each member makes an important contribution to the group. The removal of one or any would be disastrous for intelligence gathering.
Three members of Five Eyes are NATO Members: Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. A group like Five Eyes helps NATO by providing a forum in which interoperability can be practiced. While Five Eyes is strictly an intelligence-sharing group and not a joint operations group, the intelligence gained from Five Eyes can be integrated into the current operations that each nation oversees. This would align with the spirit of interoperability that NATO professes. Not only that, but Five Eyes could serve as a model for other NATO members who wish to share intelligence multilaterally. While NATO does have a separate intelligence group for all members, each nation individually could also negotiate their own treaties which would help improve capabilities even further.
In conclusion, Canada provides a valuable service to the Five Eyes group with its observations of the Arctic. Not only that, but the wider group can serve as an example to NATO members on the value and importance of interoperability. Amidst the turmoil in geopolitics today, it is more crucial than ever that groups like Five Eyes and NATO remain united — not break apart for fictitious reasons or, even worse, malign machinations. It is crucial that the U.S. reassess its stance towards Canada and realize that the infrastructure both nations have carefully crafted in all areas, with intelligence being a particularly crucial one, serves both countries equally along with their respective allies.
Photo: AI-generated image from Stockcake.
Disclaimer: Any views or opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the NATO Association of Canada.
