NATO members in Western Europe have drawn a torrent of criticism in recent years for failing to spend enough on defense and take their own national security seriously. It’s a fair charge, despite some recent improvements. Yet, one of the least responsible NATO members isn’t in Europe at all. It’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Canada.

In 2014, NATO members committed to a defense spending guideline of 2 percent of GDP. At the time, only three allies met this target. However, since Russia invaded Ukraine, many NATO countries have accelerated their commitments to increase defense spending, and most NATO members now hit this spending goal.

The Canadian government, however, is one of the few NATO allies that fails to meet the 2 percent defense expenditure threshold.

Canada isn’t a small country, nor is it a poor one. It’s perfectly capable of meeting its treaty obligations. Yet it spends a mere 1.37 percent of its GDP on defense, or roughly $30.5 billion a year. Despite having the sixth largest GDP among NATO countries, Canada ranks........

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