Canada Should Reemphasize Its Place in NATO

While NATO skepticism is by no means a recent phenomenon, the whirlwind unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s blistering declarations and searing criticism of NATO has thrust the alliance into the spotlight in a way it has not been in recent memory.

A recent paper discussing whether it is in Canada’s interest to remain in an alliance that as far as the author was concerned had lost its primary purpose was published by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) entitled “NATO If Necessary, But not Necessarily NATO.” In it, the author advanced a host of arguments that painted the membership as costlier than understood (especially given the manner in which being in the alliance influences the way the country spends on its defence), downplayed the supposed benefits the country garnered from being in the alliance (deterrence), and drew attention to the risks of continued membership (challenging Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic and the possibility of being dragged into war).

Basel Ammane argues otherwise in his latest Policy Brief, which can be accessed here.