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"In a more volatile world, disengagement is costly." - Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

On November 5, Canada’s finance minister tabled Budget 2026. While we are relieved to see that there were no additional reductions in our aid budget it is disappointing that there was no investment or even mention of international assistance either.  

We missed an opportunity to reverse the cuts announced in 2025 and invest in the world. At the very least, we expected the government to prioritize a plan to help alleviate the massive humanitarian crises in Gaza, Sudan, DRC, Yemen, and sadly so many others.

Canada has long played an important role in global efforts to reduce poverty. Yet, after the US made sweeping and devasting cuts to its aid spending last year under President Trump, Canada has continued to follow this dangerous, irresponsible global trend.

We are seeing the cost of cuts play out before our eyes as the Ebola outbreak continues in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Many experts say the devastating aid cuts slowed the identification of the Ebola outbreak and the virus could have been spreading for weeks before the outbreak was declared. Even now, measures to stop the spread of Ebola are hampered by a lack of funding which has made contact tracing more difficult and delayed getting personal protective equipment to teams on the ground. Read our case study for more.

At a moment when our world is more fragmented and decades of progress hang in the balance, the Prime Minister has put our country forward as a leader still committed to multilateralism and international cooperation. But leadership requires that Canada hold responsibility for the world in which it seeks to lead. By refusing to reinvest in international aid in Budget 2026, Canada has shown that it refuses the responsibilities that leadership imposes. 

And the world wants more Canadian leadership. The Prime Minister is admired the world over for standing up to the United States and driving forward a new arrangement of middle powers. Polls show that Canada is ranked first among respondents when asked which country they are most comfortable with playing a leading role in global affairs.

And, most importantly, Canadians want our country to be engaged in our world. They are proud of the contributions we have made to building a better and healthier world. Recent polls have shown that

• 82% of Canadians say Canada should do at least as much as, if not more than, other countries to reduce hunger, disease and poverty for children in the world's poorest countries
• 65% of all Canadians say they feel proud when Canada helps children in the world's poorest countries
• 63% of Canadians believe that providing foreign aid to reduce hunger and disease among children will make the world a safer place for everyone, including Canadians themselves
• 59% say defence and military spending shouldn't come at the cost of aid

We have champions from all parties in Parliament who work in solidarity with us and want our country to reinvest in international aid. We need to raise our voices, too, and let our representatives in Ottawa know that we – and our world – expect more from Canada than what we were given in Budget 2026.   

the path forward

Budget 2026 might have passed, but our advocacy is far from over. Despite a disappointing lack of global ambition in this budget, there are opportunities over the coming months for Canada to help deliver a better and healthier world by:

• Fighting back against deadly diseases like polio by investing in the development of the tools needed to prevent, detect, and treat them,

• Ensuring that women, children, and adolescents around the world have access to the nutrition they need to survive and thrive,

• Responding to the increasing number of humanitarian crises and the threat of climate change to ensure no one is left behind, and

• Supporting economic inclusion for everyone by addressing unfairness in the global financial system.

Continued support for these initiatives will help save lives and secure futures for millions around the world. But as Budget 2026 has shown, we cannot take Canadian support for granted. We need to make sure that parliamentarians and the Prime Minister know that, despite a disappointing budget, passionate advocates like us are still here, working tirelessly to build a healthier, more equitable world for everyone.

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