{"id":25296,"date":"2025-11-14T07:58:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T12:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/?post_type=blog22&p=25296"},"modified":"2025-11-14T12:56:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T17:56:05","slug":"hill-times-oped-canadas-foreign-aid-budget-cuts-hurt-global-health","status":"publish","type":"blog22","link":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/hill-times-oped-canadas-foreign-aid-budget-cuts-hurt-global-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Hill Times OpEd: Canada\u2019s foreign aid budget cuts hurt global health"},"content":{"rendered":"This OpEd was published at the Hill Times on November 12, 2025: https:\/\/www.hilltimes.com\/story\/2025\/11\/12\/canadas-foreign-aid-budget-cuts-hurt-global-health\/481601\/\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
The $2.7-billion cut places Canada\u2019s reputation in jeopardy on the world stage, and will leave the most vulnerable to simply fend for themselves.<\/h5>\n

On Nov. 4, Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled the first federal budget of his political career. Framed as a \u201cgenerational investment budget,\u201d the announcement proposed big-ticket increases for trade, military spending, and nation-building. It also revealed a $2.7-billion cut to Canada\u2019s foreign aid, notably to development funding for global health. This represents a marked departure not only from Canada\u2019s past foreign policy interests and international development agenda, but a clear retraction from Carney\u2019s election promise that foreign aid would not be cut<\/a>. This unwelcome announcement jeopardizes Canada\u2019s reputation on the world stage, and will leave the most vulnerable to simply fend for themselves.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s International Assistance Envelope<\/a> is what sources this country\u2019s foreign aid. It provides critical contributions to ending poverty and the growing inequities around the world. It funds humanitarian aid, food security, and peace-building efforts. It also delivers crucial human rights and gender equality programming, and invests in lifesaving global health partnerships, including for pandemic prevention and preparedness.<\/p>\n

The Carney government\u2019s intention to cut its foreign aid comes in the aftermath of the shuttering of USAID\u2014previously the world\u2019s largest aid donor<\/a>\u2014and a projected nine to 17 per cent net decline in Official Development Assistance<\/a> in 2025. It also comes on the eve of the Eighth Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria<\/a>\u2014a global public-private-partnership that has saved more than 70 million lives<\/a> since its creation in 2002. A successful Eighth Replenishment<\/a> would save at least 23 million additional lives and prevent 400 million new infections.<\/p>\n

Strong investments in global health mean global health solidarity to keep everyone safe from the next pandemic. These investments also contribute to massive reductions in preventable maternal and child deaths, enabling more children to go to and stay in school, and stronger workforces and economies, which translate to new trading opportunities for Canada.<\/p>\n

While delivering remarks to the United Nations General Assembly in September, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand emphasized that \u201cCanada will not turn inward.\u201d It is equally critical that we do not look downward, either. We cannot take our cues from the Trump administration\u2019s isolationist policies, or the misguided decisions taken by other G7 nations. We cannot shift away from our strong history of leadership in international human rights, health, and development.<\/p>\n

These values remain important to Canadians: even as anxieties have grown about cost of living and housing affordability here at home, 77 per cent of Canadians believe<\/a> that it is important to maintain Canada\u2019s history of supporting other countries in need, and 81 per cent supported our federal government providing assistance.<\/p>\n

These core values need to be more than just a pillar of our foreign policy; they must be the bedrock. Having this strong foundation will only bolster our defence, security, and economic resilience.<\/p>\n

In his remarks to the Security Council in June 2025, United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres emphasized that development<\/a> \u201cgives peace a fighting chance\u201d and is \u201cthe first line of defence against conflict.\u201d Health crises are another barrier to peace<\/a>, as they can force governments to divert resources away from diplomacy and security as well as exacerbating tensions. Healthy populations are also required for a healthy economy<\/a>: disease, pandemics, malnutrition, and other health issues have the power to rapidly dismantle the labour market and supply chains.<\/p>\n

Likewise, a values-driven foreign policy agenda will contribute to Canada remaining \u201coutward-looking.\u201d Ten years after<\/a> the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development outlined its 17 goals, only a third are on track to be fulfilled or making moderate progress and 18 per cent are regressing. Without \u201curgent multilateralism,\u201d these goals will not be met. With not only the United States but France, Germany, and the United Kingdom all slashing their assistance budgets<\/a>, Canada has a real opportunity to be a responsible role model in this multilateral pursuit.<\/p>\n

Right now, we have the opportunity to reaffirm our values as Canadians and reassert ourselves as an international leader in global health equity, human rights, and development\u2014and, as a result, global security. Canada must meet this moment. But to do so, our government needs to withdraw proposed budget cuts to its lifesaving foreign assistance.<\/p>\n

Drew-Anne Glennie is the communications specialist at the HIV Legal Network, Janet Butler-McPhee is the co-executive director, and Robin Montgomery is a consultant at the organization.","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","publication_topics":[],"publication_language":[],"class_list":["post-25296","blog22","type-blog22","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog22\/25296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog22"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog22"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"publication_topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_topics?post=25296"},{"taxonomy":"publication_language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_language?post=25296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}