In countries all around the world, Canada’s official development assistance (ODA) has played a critical role in saving lives, reducing poverty, and strengthening communities. As we approach Budget 2026, we’re answering the questions we hear the most from everyday Canadians about the effectiveness of foreign assistance.
Q: Why spend money overseas when we have hunger and food insecurity in Canada?
A: We encourage Canadians to support ending hunger wherever it exists, and many of our member agencies are involved in addressing hunger both locally and globally. Foodgrains Bank is focused on addressing global hunger, and advocating for our government to maintain its support for Canadian ODA.
We believe Canada can show compassion and generosity to those experiencing poverty and food insecurity around the world AND provide support to improve the well-being of Canadians. What Canada provides in support for international assistance is far, far less than what Canada spends domestically to benefit Canadians, and is also lower than the United Nations’ recommended spend.
Currently, Canada spends about 0.32 percent of its Gross National Income on ODA, while the United Nations has a long-established target that donor countries should provide 0.7 percent of GNI. And this saves lives.
ODA is also an investment in our shared future. We live in a global community – and our actions to address critical global needs will ultimately help Canada flourish. We believe that through official development assistance, Canada can create a more prosperous, fair, and hopeful world. This is good for all of us. It means more global security, a stronger global economy, and more trade and investment opportunities for Canadians. It also reduces the cost of responding to disasters and famines in the future.
We recognize these are challenging times, and are not asking for an increase in federal funds going towards international assistance – we simply want to see no further cuts.
Q: Isn’t international assistance just creating dependency?
A: In crises like famine in Sudan, emergency assistance can save lives. Today, many organizations – including Foodgrains Bank – now integrate humanitarian assistance with long-term development and peacebuilding to build long-term resilience and reduce the need for external support over time. For example, we support farmers displaced by conflict with climate-resilient seeds and agricultural training so they can become self-reliant and feed their families.
Q: How do you know the money isn’t going to terrorists or bad actors? How do you make sure it gets to the communities it was intended for?
A: To ensure funds reach intended communities, Canadian Foodgrains Bank and its member agencies work through trusted local partners and apply robust accountability systems. Our 15 Canadian member agencies have worked with their local partners in 34 countries around the world for many years and have seen the efficacy of their work. They are trusted partners in the communities where they work and excel at providing access to food to the people who need it.
Corruption is a risk in many contexts, but organizations like ours have strong safeguards to ensure funds are directly utilized for humanitarian assistance. Our members work with long-standing, trusted partners overseas who are well positioned to ensure food is provided to those who need it most. All suppliers and organizations we work with are screened for terrorism, fraud and corruption, economic sanctions, and other risks.
Our programming also includes regular financial reporting, monitoring and evaluation, independent audits, and oversight mechanisms to ensure funds are directly utilized for the intended project. Funding and results are tracked throughout implementation, and community feedback systems most in need and achieving the intended impact.
Additionally, at Foodgrains Bank, we have dedicated CPA Volunteers/Auditors that visit local partners around the world and conduct thorough financial capacity assessments – not only to safeguard the assets of the organization, but also to help build financial literacy for our members’ partners.
While no system is entirely risk-free, these layers of oversight, transparency, and coordination are designed to minimize risks and ensure that assistance reaches the people it is intended to support as effectively as possible. We want to stay focused on the hundreds of thousands of people who can survive severe hunger because of this work – as well as the many thousands of families who now have a more stable livelihood so their families can better access nutritious food, education, and experience less worry from the stress of living in poverty.
Q: In 2025, the federal government announced a $2.7-billion reduction in international assistance over four years. With these cuts, what happens to the communities you work in?
The $2.7 billion reduction in international assistance over four years did not impact Foodgrains Bank projects where agreements were already in place. Since our beginning, Foodgrains Bank has had a strong relationship with the Government of Canada, no matter which party is in power, and we hope that will continue.
However, it is difficult to ascertain the impact of these cuts on new and future funding agreements for areas in the world experiencing crises. The decrease in funding is a significant loss of opportunity for the humanitarian and development sector, and is further compounded by other large funding cuts made by various other nations, which have had negative impacts on programming as many local partners have had to lay off staff and cut vital services.
Ultimately, because there are fewer workers employed to help various communities, it will result in less support being provided where it is most needed. Because of this, we share the concern of the humanitarian sector as a whole knowing that international relief and development has been cut in the 2025 federal budget.
When funding is no longer available, the consequences can be significant for communities experiencing hunger. The needs will remain as high as ever – potentially even increasing because of cuts – and with less money available to facilitate life-saving programs or hire staff to implement the projects, partner agencies are forced to choose: Do they help more people with significantly less food or agricultural support, or maintain the same level of assistance for fewer people?
Q: Is Canadian Foodgrains Bank asking the government to restore the funding that was removed in this year’s budget, or to maintain the current levels of funding?
A: This is a challenging time for Canadians, and there are many competing demands on the Canadian budget. While we’re disappointed with the cuts to the international assistance budget that were announced in November 2025, we recognize that it is unlikely at this time that they will be reversed. We are simply asking for no additional funding cuts to ODA in the upcoming federal budget – and to maintain the current funding levels.
At the Foodgrains Bank, we know that speaking up for change makes a difference. Hunger is preventable, and as Christians, we have a unique calling to engage in this work. Systemic causes require systems-level change – and we want resilient and just food systems.
Click here to join us today in asking the Canadian government to maintain support for Canadian ODA in the 2026 Budget.
