Introduction
The world is facing growing instability driven by conflict, climate change, shrinking civic space, and intensifying geopolitical tensions. Humanitarian needs are escalating, inequality is deepening, and the global development cooperation system is under acute strain, with severe funding cuts and outdated models limiting effective response. With only 43 per cent of global humanitarian appeals funded in 2024 and over 300 million people projected to need urgent assistance in 2025, the pressure to act is urgent and undeniable.
Canada has long championed international cooperation, solidarity, human rights, and peace—not only as expressions of our core values of compassion and responsibility, but also as essential to our own well-being and global influence in a deeply interconnected world. While we understand that economic pressures are shaping the new government’s agenda, Canada cannot afford to turn inward.
Overview
Roadmap to principled and impactful international engagement
Despite its modest fiscal footprint, Canada’s international assistance continues to deliver outsized returns by advancing gender equality, climate action, inclusive development, human rights, and humanitarian response. In a time of escalating geopolitical instability, sustained and strategic engagement strengthens partnerships, opens new markets, and mitigates global crises before they reach our borders.
To navigate today’s complex and interconnected global landscape, Canada must modernize its foreign policy with a coherent, integrated approach that unites international development, diplomacy, defence, and trade. Anchoring this approach in trust and meaningful collaboration with civil society—both at home and abroad—will ensure Canada’s global engagement is inclusive, principled, and future-oriented.
As civic space contracts globally and authoritarianism rises, Canada’s longstanding leadership on human rights and international law positions it to act with conviction and credibility. Demonstrating a commitment to democratic values through robust support for civil society, independent media, and human rights defenders will enhance Canada’s international standing and ensure that its global engagement reflects both its principles and strategic interests.
While Canada’s allies retreat from their international commitments, Canada must recognize that greater engagement in global development is an investment in a safer, more prosperous future for both Canadians and the world. It leads to fewer conflicts, more trading partners for Canadian businesses, and stronger, more stable democracies. Beyond being the principled path, investing in development promotes global growth, stability, and justice. It is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do.
Overview of Canada’s ODA
In its latest report, Canada reported total international assistance of $12.3 billion in 2023/24, of which $10.2 billion qualifies as Official Development Assistance (ODA). In a year where large loans were provided to Ukraine, a significant portion of the discrepancy between the two figures is due to the fact that only the grant equivalent of loans are counted towards ODA. This baseline amount represents a significant decline of almost a quarter of Canadian international assistance compared to 2022/23, but still significantly above pre-pandemic levels, taking inflation into account.
In recent years, the Canadian government has spent a growing share of its international assistance domestically, primarily on refugee support and administrative costs. In 2023/24, in-Canada spending—alongside aid to Ukraine—accounted for 45 per cent of total Official Development Assistance (ODA), leaving only 55 per cent for all other global priorities. This marks a sharp decline from 76 per cent just four years earlier.
While supporting refugees in Canada and aiding Ukraine are vital, the increasing diversion of ODA toward domestic and geopolitical priorities risks undermining Canada’s broader development and humanitarian commitments—particularly in lower-income countries. As global aid budgets tighten, it is essential that Canada’s assistance remains focused on its core purpose: reducing poverty and inequality in the Global South and addressing the root causes of displacement and insecurity.
Need for transparency and accountability in the budget
In forward-looking budgets, there is a lack of clarity in how much money the government is allocating and where the funds will be coming from. Parties who are interested in Canada’s foreign engagement—and who rely on accurate information to make decisions that affect millions of people, including tens of thousands of Canadians—are left guessing. This information is not just nice to have, but is indispensable for organizations in Canada, as well as for our global partners. Clarity on how much the government intends to commit for multiple years would go a long way in reinforcing planning, strategy making, and trust.
Debt relief in the Global South
Sovereign debt burdens restrict many countries’ capacity to invest in essential services and development priorities. In the Global South, this is reaching critical levels, directly affecting 3.3 billion people who live in countries where governments currently spend more on debt servicing than on essential services like education or healthcare.1United Nations Trade and Development, Debt crisis: Developing countries’ external debt hits record $11.4 trillion, March 17, 2025, https://unctad.org/news/debt-crisis-developing-countries-external-debt-hits-record-114-trillion. These financial pressures have intensified following the COVID-19 pandemic, surging global interest rates, and compounding climate shocks. Over 60 per cent of low-income countries are either at high risk of debt distress or experiencing it.2World Bank Group, Record IDA Replenishment Essential as Debt Crisis Looms, January 31, 2024, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2024/01/31/record-ida-replenishment-essential-as-debt-crisis-looms.
These figures paint a stark picture: debt servicing not only diverts resources from social and climate spending but constrains development at scale, impacting billions across the Global South.
Canada has an opportunity to champion global efforts to cancel unsustainable debt and promote fairer financial systems that create fiscal space for countries to support their own sustainable growth. Effective leadership requires moving beyond managing crises toward reforming the global financial system to better serve all countries more equitably. These efforts are critical in taking forward commitments at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development.
Strengthening Canada’s climate finance commitment
The climate crisis is urgent, reversing development gains, especially in lower-income countries where extreme heat and food insecurity are worsening. Decisions today will determine the future of humanity and countless species. Without a major increase in high-quality public climate finance, catastrophic impacts are inevitable. Climate change affects migration, food security, and conflict, requiring a holistic response. As Canada’s current climate pledge approaches completion, it must commit to a more ambitious next pledge to accelerate meaningful action and support a just transition. Importantly, climate finance should be additional to Canada’s core ODA commitments, ensuring that efforts to tackle the climate crisis do not come at the expense of vital development goals.
Actions
The AFB will maintain Canada’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) at $10.2 billion,3Global Affairs Canada, Statistical Report on International Assistance 2023-2024, April 11, 2025, https://www.international.gc.ca/transparency-transparence/international-assistance-report-stat-rapport-aide-internationale/2023-2024.aspx?lang=eng. where it was in 2023-24. The AFB will increase the ODA commitment by the rate of inflation to ensure capacity isn’t lost. In these difficult economic times, Canada’s international assistance must not be subject to cuts, as has already been committed by Canada‘s new government.
The AFB will work to return ODA to its core goal of poverty eradication in the Global South. This includes minimizing funds spent domestically and removing climate finance from the ODA budget.
The AFB will ensure that international assistance to Ukraine is supplementary to stable or growing assistance for the rest of the world. To support this, it will launch an Eastern Europe Assistance Tracker to monitor foreign aid related to the war and crisis in Ukraine.
The AFB will implement transparency measures in every annual budget going forward. This includes reporting the budgeted and estimated actual International Assistance Envelope (IAE) for the previous fiscal year, the IAE budgeted for the upcoming fiscal year, the budgeted IAE for the next five years, and a basic allocation of the IAE by main program areas, implementing departments, and country partners for both upcoming and previous fiscal years. This also means committing to end opaque funding announcements involving repurposed allocations. Instead, it will prioritize predictability and transparency. Any new funding announcements will clearly state whether the funds are new or reallocated from existing pools.
The AFB will ensure that Canada’s humanitarian funding remains robust amid increasing global crises. It will commit to predictable and timely funding to improve coordination and response, ensuring international assistance reaches the most vulnerable populations. This includes larger, flexible, and multi-year funding that can be increased as needed based on global humanitarian needs, not geopolitical priorities. To further coordination and respond to realities on the ground, the AFB will promote coherence across humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding efforts while respecting humanitarian principles.
The AFB will strengthen Canada’s role in upholding international humanitarian law by making the protection of civilians and aid workers a foreign policy priority. Upholding international humanitarian law is both a humanitarian responsibility and a strategic imperative that enhances Canada’s global standing. The AFB will advocate for accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. This includes supporting international justice mechanisms like the International Criminal Court and aligning Canada’s diplomatic and financial actions with global humanitarian standards. The AFB will invest in civilian protection by focusing on vulnerable populations in conflict zones, including women, children, and displaced persons, to ensure humanitarian assistance reaches those most in need.
The AFB will champion global debt relief efforts by supporting international initiatives that meaningfully address the debt crisis, using the G7 presidency and multilateral channels to shape debt relief frameworks and advocate for financial reforms that build sustainable economies in the Global South. The AFB will prioritize global debt relief initiatives that allow countries in the Global South to redirect resources to critical sectors such as health, education, and climate adaptation. This includes supporting unsustainable debt cancellation, as well as pushing for reforms to increase fiscal space for Global South countries and a debt resolution framework within the United Nations that is transparent, binding and fair.
The AFB will champion reforms to global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to make them more responsive to the needs of low- and middle-income countries. Supporting mechanisms for sustainable financing, including climate finance, will be key to building long-term global resilience (see the Environment and Climate change chapter). In order to foster public support for Canada’s global engagement, the AFB will build trust and support among Canadians by investing in systems and strategies that demonstrate the relevance and impact of international cooperation. It will seek to combat misinformation on global issues and engage in new collaborations that reach beyond traditional circles, connecting Canadians in fresh and inspiring ways.
The AFB will modernize Canada’s international assistance delivery by balancing funding across civil society, multilateral, and bilateral channels to maximize impact. This includes increasing funding flexibility to support local leadership and allow partners to respond to changing local contexts in humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding work. The AFB will support initiatives that leverage new and innovative partnerships both in Canada and globally. This will encourage new actors and approaches to move resources effectively and with accountability.
The AFB will defend civic space and human rights by using its influence in global forums and providing dedicated funding as part of the IAE to expand support for civil society and civic space. This funding will prioritize agile partnerships with local actors and support human rights defenders, civil society organizations and movements, independent media, and the legal and enabling environment for civil society, human rights, and democracy. In an increasingly polarized global context, the AFB will continue to champion gender equality, the rights of women and girls, and 2SLGBTQ+ rights. This should include supporting comprehensive women’s health care services by properly financing key programs and ensuring all women have the resources and agency to control their bodies and futures. Women’s health and access to sexual and reproductive rights are fundamental human rights.
