Mark Towhey, a political consultant who spent his formative years as a Canadian army officer, proposes a solution: a radically reinvented National Service Plan for high school graduates that lets them spend just a couple years in the Canadian military. The commitment would be a bit longer than a gap year, but shorter than a degree program. The upshot? A pipeline of young, fit Canadians into the military. Once they leave the forces, they can serve as reservists in case war erupts—a possibility that becomes ever more likely as Trump continues to upend the world order.
I can see this working. The idea of a gap year is gaining momentum in Canada, but there aren’t enough options for how to spend it: young people seeking life-altering adventures often end up in menial jobs, washing dishes or stacking groceries. A National Service Plan could be appealing. Towhey writes: “A good voluntary plan, with strong incentives, will be enough to build and grow the strong, combat-ready military Canadians want.”
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