Thomas Juneau is an associate professor at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Vincent Rigby is a former national security and intelligence adviser to the Prime Minister and the Slater Family Professor of Practice at McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy.

The Canadian government’s April release of its long-delayed defence policy update was met with mixed reviews. Some commentators praised its blunt depiction of the international security environment and its emphasis on the Arctic; others criticized its failure to commit to reaching the NATO defence spending target of 2 per cent of GDP and its weak promise to merely “explore” the acquisition of major weapons systems for the Canadian Armed Forces.

One aspect of the defence policy that garnered less attention was a commitment to publish a new national security policy every four years, and to undertake defence policy reviews in the same cycle. This is good news, provided that it happens: Canada has not had a national security policy since 2004, and the world has since been transformed. It’s time to catch up with our allies and produce such strategies on a regular basis.

It is a courageous step, because these reviews will not be easy. Politicians and bureaucrats often shy away from comprehensive........

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