Below the dignity of the office’: Canada rebukes Pete Hegseth for post mocking female cadets as U.S. tensions deepen
OTTAWA — Canadian political and defence leaders have sharply condemned U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he posted an image appearing to mock two young women connected to Canada's cadet program, turning a social-media post into the latest diplomatic irritant between two countries whose relationship is already strained by tariffs, collapsed trade negotiations and increasingly hostile rhetoric. Defence Minister David McGuinty called the post “below the dignity of the office he holds,” while Prime Minister Mark Carney said such comments from senior U.S. officials were “beneath their office.” The Pentagon has declined to retreat from the post, saying only that it “speaks for itself.”
Hegseth reposted an image Monday from the Cadet Training Centre in Vernon, British Columbia, showing two young women in uniform, adding a Canadian flag and the words “this is real.” The post was widely interpreted in Canada as ridicule of their appearance and, more broadly, another attempt by senior Trump administration officials to disparage Canada's military capabilities. The distinction is important: Canada's cadet program is not the Canadian Armed Forces. It is a federally supported youth program for Canadians aged 12 to 18 designed to develop leadership, citizenship, physical fitness and confidence.
McGuinty sought to separate Washington's political rhetoric from the extensive military relationship that continues underneath it. Speaking as Canada and the United States co-hosted the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence conference in Victoria, he said Canadians could distinguish between the “performative nature” of the U.S. administration and the importance of continuing military-to-military cooperation. That juxtaposition is particularly striking: while one of Washington's most senior defence officials publicly mocked a Canadian youth program, military leaders from the two allies were meeting in British Columbia alongside counterparts from more than two dozen nations to discuss security cooperation.
British Columbia Premier David Eby went further, calling Hegseth's post and the Pentagon's response an “embarrassment” and describing the conduct as “amateur hour.” Scott Anderson, the member of Parliament representing Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee, directly challenged Hegseth, saying the U.S. defence secretary had chosen to abandon the responsibility and decorum expected of his office to shame two female Canadian non-combatants. Anderson also stressed the depth of the bilateral relationship, arguing that the countries' economies, continental defence and cultures remain deeply intertwined despite the current political confrontation.
The Army Cadet League of Canada issued its own defence of the young people involved, condemning online harassment and mockery directed at cadets. The organization said cadets, adult staff, volunteers and officers dedicate themselves to building communities and developing young leaders, adding that derogatory commentary aimed at youth trying to improve themselves was unacceptable. Canada's Department of National Defence similarly said it was proud of the program and described it as a safe and inclusive environment where young people develop leadership, resilience, teamwork and self-confidence.
The controversy has become more significant because Hegseth's intervention is not isolated. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mocked Canada's naval capabilities this week by joking about Canada sending “two submarines from the Edmonton mall,” while Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently claimed Canada “doesn't have a military.” Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, a former Marine, publicly apologized for the tone of such comments, calling them disrespectful and warning that degrading a longstanding ally could ultimately damage U.S. security interests.
That history gives the dispute a particularly sensitive dimension. Canadian forces fought alongside Americans in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks, where 158 Canadian military personnel were killed, and the countries remain partners in NORAD, NATO and continental defence. Conservative MP Garnett Genuis invoked those deaths in responding to Hegseth, while also emphasizing that cadets are not members of Canada's military. His response illustrated how criticism of Hegseth has crossed Canadian party lines rather than remaining solely an issue for Carney's Liberal government.
The political backdrop is an increasingly bitter economic confrontation. U.S.-Canada trade negotiations collapsed on August 21, after which President Donald Trump's administration imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian exports. Canada has announced dollar-for-dollar retaliation scheduled to begin September 8. Carney says Washington sought terms that would undermine Canadian industries and has publicly urged U.S. officials to “stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough” if they want serious negotiations to resume.
The deterioration is already influencing Canada's longer-term defence calculations. Ottawa's Defence Industrial Strategy says that although the United States remains Canada's central defence partner, the country intends to diversify procurement and deepen security-industrial relationships with Europe, Britain and Indo-Pacific partners. Canada's planned acquisition of U.S.-built F-35 fighters also remains under review, according to McGuinty. None of that means Canada-U.S. military cooperation is breaking down; on the contrary, McGuinty explicitly says operational cooperation continues. But the dispute demonstrates how political hostility can begin complicating a defence relationship that both governments still depend upon.
Hegseth's post therefore matters beyond the social-media outrage it generated. The Pentagon's decision not to apologize or clarify the intent means the controversy now sits alongside tariffs, trade threats and repeated public insults as another test of whether the two governments can prevent political confrontation from contaminating their security partnership. Canada and the United States remain military allies. What is changing is the political language being used between them — and Ottawa is increasingly signalling that it no longer considers that language harmless.