White House Official Peter Navarro suggests Kicking Canada Out of Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance (FVEY)

White House official pushes to axe Canada from Five Eyes intelligence group

As Trump Ups The Ante, White House Official Suggests Kicking Canada Out Of Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance

A top White House official has proposed expelling Canada from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network as Donald Trump increases pressure on the country he talks about turning into the 51st US state.

Peter Navarro, one of US President Donald Trump’s closest advisers, proposed expelling Canada from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, UK-based news outlet Financial Times said in a report.

Trump has threatened Canada with tariffs and also said that he will turn the nation into the US’ 51st state.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, with Donald Trump at the White House in 2017. Trump made Canada his first big target for tariffs when he assumed office last month

The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence-sharing alliance comprising the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The coalition is considered one of the world’s most extensive intelligence networks. The US and its allies share extremely sensitive signals and human intelligence in addition to co-ordinating on operations. The CIA-led Pine Gap satellite station in central Australia, which is the most important site for collecting intelligence about China, is just one example of the intimate intelligence relationship.

Dennis Wilder, a former CIA official who was the top editor of the US president’s daily intelligence briefing, said the Five Eyes was “by far the most successful intelligence-sharing arrangement in world history”.

He noted that the partnership emerged when American and British code breakers worked together to break German secret communications during the second world war, and was expanded to include the other allies in 1956. “Any disruption in these decade-old understandings would be met with cheers from our adversaries in Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and Pyongyang,” said Wilder.

While Canada and New Zealand provide the least amount of intelligence in the group, expelling any member would spark criticism from the other allies and also from intelligence officials in Washington and beyond. One Five Eyes intelligence official said evicting Canada from the decades-old network would be very dangerous. “Sitting where I’m sitting and looking at the array of threats that are coming at us we need all the partners we can get,” the intelligence official said. Phil Gurski, a former Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) analyst from 2001-2015, said: “What’s driving this? Yes, Canada is the smaller partner but the alliance is effectively sharing very sensitive information, the alliance is working. So why would we be punished? “This seems one more White House tactic to put pressure on Canada for god knows what?” he added.

The report said Navarro, who has direct access to the Oval Office due to his close ties with Trump, is pushing for the US to pressure Canada by removing it from the Five Eyes alliance.

It remains unclear whether Trump supports the proposal, but the idea is being discussed among his officials.

Intelligence chiefs of the Five Eyes group, pictured in 2023 © FBI

Trudeau, set to step down on March 9, was recently caught on an open mic saying Trump’s plan to annex the US’s northern neighbour is a “real thing”.

Steve Bannon, former White House strategist who played a key role in Trump’s 2016 victory, said Canada must understand that Trump is serious about annexation, not merely provoking Trudeau, according to the report.

He argued that Canada lacks the resources to defend itself, especially as China expands its presence in the Arctic. However, he warned that removing Canada from the Five Eyes alliance would be counterproductive and would ultimately harm the US.

“Canada punches way above their weight. If you look at military history, they’ve been the best ally we’ve had,” Bannon was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Navarro served as a White House trade adviser in the first Trump administration. Last year, he served several months in prison for refusing to testify before the congressional commission investigating the January 6 2021 attack on the US Capitol. His views on trade have long been in sync with Trump, who sometimes calls him “my Peter” and named him in December as a senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing.

The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an Anglosphere intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.