Global Development

By the end of February 2021, the federal government had committed more than $2 billion to the global response to COVID-19, including support for low- and middle-income countries to access vaccines. Canada joined other donors in allowing developing countries to suspend debt-service payments during the pandemic. However, the government came under criticism for its decision to procure vaccines for Canadians from the COVAX facility, a move that risks undermining global efforts to protect essential health workers in the world’s poorest countries.

Canada has continued to engage with civil society to design a feminist foreign policy. In order to live up to the promise of its feminist agenda, Canada should increase its international assistance, especially at a time when the need is greater than ever. The government should commit at least $7.8 billion for the International Assistance Envelope in 2021–2022, including increased investments to tackle gender-based violence globally, which is a current gap in its feminist programming.