The dismantling of much of the United States Agency for International Development has reshaped the global aid landscape. As the world’s largest aid donor retreats, countries facing conflict, hunger, climate disasters and democratic backsliding are being left with fewer resources and fewer reliable partners. 

Canada now faces a defining question: will it help fill the gap, or follow the same path of retreat?

The answer is increasingly troubling. Budget 2025 announced $2.7 billion in cuts to international development assistance over four years, reducing Canada’s aid spending at a time of rising global need. 

The cuts are not as sudden or sweeping as those in the United States. Canada is not dismantling Global Affairs Canada. But the direction is similar: a shift away from long term development, peacebuilding and humanitarian support, and toward a more transactional foreign policy centred on trade, defence and national economic interests. 

This matters because international assistance is not charity. It is a core instrument of peace and security. Canadian aid supports health systems, food security, gender equality, democratic institutions, climate adaptation and crisis response. When these investments shrink, instability grows. Fragile states become more vulnerable to conflict, authoritarian influence and humanitarian collapse.

The global trend is alarming. The OECD projected a further decline in official development assistance in 2025, following a drop in 2024, while analysts warned that wealthy countries were reducing aid even as needs increased. 

For WFM Canada, this moment underscores a central principle: global challenges require global responsibility. Peace, justice and human security cannot be protected through military spending alone. They require strong international institutions, adequate financing and sustained co operation across borders.

Canada has long claimed a role as a constructive middle power. That role depends not only on what Canada says, but on what it funds.

In a post-USAID world, Canada should not join the retreat from international responsibility. It should help lead the renewal of multilateral action.