In a disappointing announcement, Canada’s foreign aid spending will continue to remain at 0.24% of the nation’s federal budget, failing to reverse five years of substantial cuts.

The new budget does have some positives, including: a specific focus on humanitarian support for Syria and Syrian refugees, and tackling the social disparities incited by climate change.  Unfortunately, it does not mention how the funding will be used to implement the Global Goals, the world’s roadmap to end extreme poverty by 2030.

The New 2016 Budget: the good, the bad  

The good: The budget prioritizes eliminating global poverty in the “Global South,” a term used to describe the developing world. This includes tackling the impacts of climate change, increasing humanitarian support for Syrian refugees, and supporting people living in emergency settings.

The bad: Major topics and issues are missing from the budget. For instance, there is no mention of the Global Goals, also knowns as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. These 17 Goals are the UN plan for international development for the next 15 years. Canada signed up to the Globall Goals in September 2015, yet the budget includes no planning on how to implement them. The budget lists no specific measures such as a a long term development division, nor a plan to increase participation by the private sector in or a financing and investment development.

The Big Picture

Since 2012, there has been a steady decrease in Canada’s foreign aid spending.

In 2011, Canada’s foreign aid budget totaled $5.7 billion CAD. By 2014 it fell to $4.9 billion CAD. Canadian foreign aid has tended to focus more on emergency issues, with Jordan, Lebanon and Syria receiving the rare aid increases from 2011 to 2014.

In comparison to other OECD countries (also known as leading developed nations), Canada is ranked in the lower half of its peer nations in terms of foreign aid. It’s OECD donor status has declined, from ranking 6th in 2012, to 10th in 2014.

Today, Canada’s aid budget is at 0.24%, while other OECD countries give at least 0.29%

What the new budget  means

Spending on foreign aid will remain at 0.24%, a victory in one small sense because it will not be cut like it has been in the last five years. The problem is there were no increases to enable Canadian leadership on develoment nor were specifics in crucial areas of foreign, like the Global Goals, mentioned.

Engineers Without Borders, Global Citizen's lead partner in the #ODAFTW campaign to increase  Canadian foreign aid spending, believes that the international assistance policy must deliver two things: a new course for Canadian leadership in implementing the SDGs, and more than verbal commitments from policy makers in leveraging Canada’s resources in reducing global poverty.

Following the budget’s release, Engineers without Borders CEO Boris Martin said,

“Canada needs to play a leading role in the global effort to eradicate extreme poverty. EWB strongly supports the Government’s focus on poverty reduction for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. But, while those targeted investments announced in the Budget are welcome, they demonstrate cautious short-term steps toward renewing Canadian leadership on international assistance.”


As citizens committed to holding the Canadian government accountable, it will be imperative that Canadians continue to engage in issues that will end extreme poverty.

TopicsODAForeign AidCanadaJustin TrudeauBudgetNorth AmericaWhat's in Canada's new budget?

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