I’ve been watching a storm brewing on Parliament Hill that’s raising concerns across multiple sectors. Yesterday afternoon, Finance Minister Jaswinder Singh announced $1.4 billion in cuts to Canada’s international development and research funding over the next three years, rolling back spending to pre-pandemic levels.
“We’re making tough but necessary choices to ensure fiscal sustainability while protecting core services that Canadians rely on,” Singh told reporters during a hastily organized press conference. The minister characterized the cuts as “strategic realignment,” but reaction from Canada’s development and research communities has been swift and pointed.
Walking through the University of Ottawa campus this morning, I spoke with Dr. Elise Lavoie, who heads the Global Health Research Initiative. Standing outside her lab, surrounded by graduate students, she didn’t mince words: “We’ve spent years building research partnerships with institutions in Kenya and Bangladesh. These cuts mean we’ll have to abandon projects that were showing real promise for tuberculosis treatment.”
The government’s decision marks a significant shift from the international development trajectory Canada had maintained since 2019. According to figures from Global Affairs Canada, our international assistance had grown to nearly $8 billion annually by 2024, representing about 0.34% of gross national income. The new target will bring that figure down to approximately 0.28% – still far from the UN-recommended target of 0.7%.
Stephen Cornish, CEO of Care Canada, expressed frustration during our phone conversation yesterday evening. “This sends the wrong message at precisely the wrong time. Climate disasters are intensifying, conflict zones are expanding, and Canada is stepping back rather than leaning in.”
The cuts don’t end with foreign aid. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) will see their budgets trimmed by a combined $240 million over the same period. This represents about a 7% reduction in federal research funding capacity, according to preliminary analysis from the Canadian Association of University Teachers.
During Question Period today, Opposition Leader Jennifer McCormack pressed the Prime Minister on whether the cuts reflected a broader shift away from Canada’s international commitments. “Is this government abandoning its promise to be a reliable partner on the world stage?” she asked.
The Prime Minister defended the decision, citing economic pressures and the need to address domestic priorities. “We remain committed to international development, but must balance these commitments with fiscal reality,” he responded, pointing to continued funding for climate finance and humanitarian emergencies.
Walking through Ottawa’s Byward Market this afternoon, I found mixed reactions from citizens. Marie Tremblay, a retired teacher, told me she worries about Canada’s reputation. “We used to be known as a country that cared about the world. Are we becoming more insular now?”
But Paul Davidson, who runs a small construction business, had a different take. “Look, I feel for people overseas, but we’ve got homeless people right here in Ottawa. Maybe we need to focus on our own backyard for a while.”
The timing of these cuts aligns with similar moves by other G7 nations. The United Kingdom reduced its foreign aid target from 0.7% to 0.5% of national income in 2021, while the latest statistics from the OECD show that only Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany have met or exceeded the 0.7% target.
For Canada’s research community, the funding pullback comes just as many institutions were expanding their international collaborations. Dr. Sanjay Gupta from McMaster University’s Institute for Infectious Disease Research told me by email: “We’ve been building momentum with partners in South Africa on antimicrobial resistance research. These cuts will force us to scale back just as we were making breakthroughs that could benefit everyone, including Canadians.”
The government has promised that existing commitments will be honored, with the cuts applying primarily to new initiatives. However, organizations like the Canadian Council for International Cooperation point out that this approach creates a funding cliff that many programs won’t survive.
“When you suddenly reduce the pipeline for new projects, you’re essentially telling the sector to shrink,” explained Julia Mohammed, the Council’s Executive Director. “Organizations will lose staff and expertise that took years to develop.”
Back on Parliament Hill this afternoon, I watched as a small but vocal group of development workers and researchers gathered on the lawn, many holding signs with messages like “Research Cuts = Lost Futures” and “Global Problems Need Global Partners.” The demonstration didn’t make the evening news, but it signals growing resistance to what many see as a short-sighted policy shift.
As Canada approaches the halfway point of its fiscal year, these cuts represent just one piece of a broader austerity package. Whether they deliver the intended fiscal benefits – and at what cost to Canada’s international standing and research capacity – remains an open question that I’ll be following closely in the months ahead.
