Canada and the US have exchanged military personnel for decades. Beyond joint task-forces, intelligence sharing, and organizations like NATO and NORAD, Canada’s DND also regularly sends members of the CAF on exchange programs with US military units, sometimes for years.
Canadian Brigadier-General Robert McBride is the deputy commanding general of operations for the US 11th Airborne Division in Alaska. His role in a division waiting to support US ICE is a pointed example of how Canadian military personnel are caught awkwardly between Trump’s orders, Canada’s military mandate, Canadian law, and public opinion.
“Exchange officers take an established position in a given unit and are subject to the orders and discipline of the United States military,” says Colonel-Maître Michel Drapeau, a Canadian veteran and military lawyer.
Embedded Canadians must follow American orders while also adhering to Canadian military laws and protocol. In the past Canadian soldiers in joint operations have been excused from following orders that conflict with Canada’s military regulations, a process known as caveating. This puts strict limits on what they may do while with another country’s armed forces. Colonel Drapeau assumes, and hopes, that Canadian troops are not involved in standing up the 11th Airborne. “Canada’s sovereignty must come first,” he says. “There would be hell to pay if that was allowed to take place.” As this story was published, neither the dnd nor the prime minister’s office had responded to questions about whether General McBride, or other Canadian personnel serving in the United States, have been caveated. In a statement sent after publication, the dnd said: “There are currently no active-duty members involved in operations in Minnesota, nor would they be allowed to be without approval by the Government of Canada. At this time, no such request has been made.”
Roland Paris, a leading scholar and former senior advisor on foreign policy to the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, posted on Bluesky:
In this post-“rupture” world, the Canadian government must be more publicly transparent about the specific functions being performed by Canadian exchange officers inside the US military.
— Roland Paris (@rolandparis.bsky.social) January 22, 2026 at 7:15 AM
Source:
The Economist: Canadian soldiers are subject to Donald Trump’s orders https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/01/20/canadian-soldiers-are-subject-to-donald-trumps-orders