Permanent Joint Board on Defence

Permanent Joint Board on Defence

The Permanent Joint Board on Defence is a Canadian-American advisory body established at Ogdensburg, NY, 18 August 1940, by PM Mackenzie King and US President F.D. Roosevelt. This meeting, which took place at Roosevelt's suggestion in a period of crisis in World War II, inaugurated an era of intimate military ties. The PJBD first met 26 August 1940, and had its greatest influence from then until December 1941, when the US entered the war. Consisting of 2 national sections, each composed of a chairman (usually a civilian) and representatives of the armed forces and foreign service, the board studies joint defence problems and offers recommendations to the respective governments. Although now only one of a number of agencies for Canadian-American military co-operation, it continues as an arena for frank and informal exchange of views and information.