Michael Taube: If Canada Truly Believes in NATO, the Government Must Meet Its Spending Target

Commentary The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in 1949. This alliance of member states, most of them based in Europe, established a collective security system to protect against possible outside threats. During the Cold War, the biggest concern was the Soviet Union and its allies. Since the Iron Curtain’s collapse, NATO has shifted its focus to political and military efforts in countries like Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. Canada is one of NATO’s founding members. Lester Pearson, who later became prime minister, was a key architect. “When it came time to negotiate the North Atlantic Treaty,” NATO’s website notes, “Pearson and the Canadian delegation pushed for the inclusion of a clause that encouraged members to forge stronger political and economic ties, in addition to coordinating their militaries. This clause—not immediately popular with Allies, but vociferously defended by Canada—came to be known as ‘the Canadian Article.’”...