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Australia and Canada have announced new biennial Defence Minister meetings, military training and defence industry collaboration under closer defence ties.
The commitments were confirmed during a recent visit by Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney to Parliament in Canberra and Sydney earlier this week.
In the defence domain, both countries agreed to the training of Canadian Armed Forces personnel on the Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar system that will begin in Australia in mid-2026. In addition, it was announced that both countries will collaborate on the development of Over-the-Horizon Radar technology in support of fielding an Arctic-OTHR system in Canada.
They also announced the establishment of a biennial Defence Ministers’ Meeting, as well as exploring mutually beneficial options to facilitate collaboration on advanced military capabilities, strengthen defence trade, boost Research and Development innovation, and science and technology cooperation.
They also committed to exploring concrete mechanisms to facilitate the movement of defence equipment and personnel, as well as removing unnecessary barriers to operational collaboration by initiating discussions on establishing a Status of Forces Agreement.
“In a more uncertain, more divided world, Canada and Australia are middle powers charting our own course with confidence, ambition and partnership. We're doing that together because we've grown up together,” Mr Carney said on March 4.
“And with an ocean between us, we may not see each other quite as much as we'd like, but whenever we do, like family, it feels like no time has passed.
“In times of need, we've looked out for each other, in the exchange of firefighters, also as I said in the Chamber, on the battlefield. It's on these foundations we're building. Canada is building partnerships abroad. In the past just under one year, we've signed 20 new economic and security partnerships across four continents. But in that mission, all those partnerships are not created equal. We turn to our most trusted allies, Australia first and foremost amongst them, those who share our values of democracy, freedom and sovereignty.
“In my very first week as Prime Minister, we spoke, we announced our partnership on the world leading Over the Horizon Radar System developed by Australia that will detect, deter and defend threats in Canada's Arctic.”
Under the agreements, Australia joined the Critical Minerals Production Alliance to expand critical minerals production and processing capacity and diversify supply chains from mine to market.
Both countries released joint statement outlining new partnerships in investment, defence and security, critical minerals, energy, and artificial intelligence. They also launched a new Clean Energy Partnership to catalyse new trade and investment opportunities, scale-up clean energy technologies, and modernise electricity grids; as well as negotiations to modernise the Canada-Australia Tax Treaty.
Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Albanese also welcomed a Memorandum of Understanding on AI Safety. The agreement will enable greater collaboration between Canada and Australia’s AI safety institutes, including to share expertise.
In parallel, Canada, Australia, and India will advance a MOU under the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership, to formalise strengthened collaboration on the development and deployment of AI.
