For students walking into Vincent Rigby鈥�s classroom at the Max Bell School of Public Policy, the conversation about national security is anything but theoretical. As the Slater Family Professor of Practice at 秀色直播, Rigby brings over 30 years of public service experience directly into the lecture hall 鈥� and he鈥檚 not afraid to challenge traditional assumptions about what national security means today.聽
Before joining the Max Bell faculty, Rigby served in senior roles across the Canadian government, including 15 years at the Department of National Defence and later as National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister. He also held posts at Global Affairs Canada, Public Safety Canada, and the Privy Council Office. Now, as a professor, he teaches courses on Canada鈥揢.S. relations, foreign policy, and national security 鈥� grounding each one in lived experience.聽
鈥淚 was a bit of a policy wonk in government,鈥� Rigby jokes. 鈥淚 spent a lot of time in the trenches working on strategic policy. Now, I get to talk about those issues with students and bring a real-world perspective to the conversations we have.鈥澛�
This firsthand experience has given Rigby a unique vantage point on how the concept of national security has shifted over time. "My sense of national security...has evolved obviously with the changing times," Rigby reflected. His evolving perspective has tracked shifting global threats and the realities of working across different government departments.鈥�
In his view, national security today encompasses far more than just interstate conflict or military threats. 鈥淲e tend to think of it as state against state...but I think that it encompasses so many other issues now.鈥� Rigby points to COVID-19 and climate change as prime examples of contemporary challenges that have become central to national security policy.聽
This shift also reframes the role of intelligence. While public perception may still conjure images of spies and secret agents, Rigby offers a more grounded account: 鈥淎 lot of the hard work in the intelligence community is done by analysts sitting behind desks鈥� taking all this information鈥� and trying to make sense of it.鈥� He emphasized that intelligence involves evaluating probabilities rather than predicting the future with certainty, drawing on a diverse array of sources ranging from open-source news articles to diplomatic cables.聽
鈥淭here is a probability that XYZ is going to happen,鈥� he explained. 鈥淏ut we can鈥檛 say without a shadow of a doubt that this is the way something鈥檚 going to unfold.鈥� This probabilistic approach reinforces the complexity and nuance of modern intelligence work, where synthesizing fragmented information is often more valuable than secret operations.聽
Now a professor and mentor, Rigby encourages young people entering government to approach their careers with curiosity and flexibility. 鈥淭he public service is such a great employer because there [are] so many different things you can do,鈥� he said. He advises newcomers not to confine themselves to one department or role early on. Even those set on working in national security should consider opportunities elsewhere in government鈥攅xperience across departments, he argues, can ultimately strengthen one鈥檚 understanding of how the whole system operates.聽
He also cautioned against career impatience. 鈥淒on鈥檛 be in too much of a rush,鈥� Rigby said. 鈥淟earn, live in the moment, wherever you are. Don鈥檛 be thinking about the next job. Focus on doing a good job at what you鈥檙e doing at that time.鈥澛�
In a world where traditional national security concerns remain, but new ones are rapidly emerging, Rigby鈥檚 reflections are a reminder that flexibility, open-mindedness, and patience are key to a meaningful career in public service. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l be surprised,鈥� he said, 鈥渁t what you can learn in a wide variety of departments.鈥�
