Not since the darkest days of the Cold War has the global situation looked so worrying. And yet, Canada has not changed its basic approach to crafting and executing foreign, defence and security policy since the Cold War ended, and we chronically underfund the policies and capabilities we do have. In short, we continue to rely on our hopes for the “rules-based international order”, established in the aftermath of the Second World War, nearly 80 years ago. But that order is under threat as never before in this century and we do not maintain the capability to make a suitable national contribution to the maintenance of it.In the past few years numerous organizations, academics, foreign affairs experts and others have expressed concern about Canada's growing irrelevance in the world.1 A broad consensus has emerged on the need for sustained action to repair Canada’s ability to contribute to the maintenance of a global order in keeping with our interests, our values, and which honours Canada’s historic role as a supporter of freedom and order in the world.We believe that an urgent national effort is required to make significant and sustained investments across the entire spectrum of Canada’s engagements with the world. We believe these interests are:the defence of Canada and its allies;the maintenance of the values and the prosperity upon which our way of life depends; andthe need for countries to commit to the upholding of a stable international order.To be clear, we believe that the values and interests which are crucial to Canada are individual liberty and freedom of expression; and a fair, rules-based, free and open global trading system. In this paper we call on Canada to revitalize our means to re-engage with the world across the full range of our capabilities. In a recent paper published by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute three experts outline in greater detail what 2 per cent of GDP for defence spending could look like. The government’s most recent defence policy, Our North, Strong and Free, made a start, but much more remains to be done if Canada is to catch up with our closest allies and go beyond “exploring” a truly revitalized defence capability.But Canada’s ability to promote its interests in the world is not just a question of hard, military power. What is required is a sustained investment in all of the areas which constitute Canada’s ability to influence the world in ways which promote our interests. These are: foreign policy and diplomacy; Official Development Assistance (ODA); security and intelligence capabilities; and defence. Investing in one area without addressing deficiencies in the others will not result in a Canada truly able to contribute to international peace, order, and security.
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