Ottawa will cut funding for development work by 15 per cent over the next three years, but will preserve as much funding as it can for humanitarian aid, Canada’s secretary of state for international development told Canadian Affairs in an exclusive interview.
“We want to preserve as much as possible on the humanitarian side,” said Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for international development, which is part of Global Affairs Canada.
“But on the development side, [the cuts] will be pretty much across the board and evenly distributed,” he added.
Humanitarian aid and development work both aim to improve people’s lives. But they differ in their timing and approach. Humanitarian aid is typically delivered in response to emergencies or crises, such as wars or natural disasters.
Development work is focused on reducing poverty and improving stability through long-term infrastructure, education and governance investments. This may include building schools and training teachers, supporting local businesses or strengthening a country’s health-care systems.
Sarai told Canadian Affairs he is responsible for implementing the cuts mandated by the Carney government’s Comprehensive Expenditure Review. Launched in July 2025, the initiative is aimed at reducing operating costs across almost all government departments by $60 billion over five years.
Sarai said that, in addition to those cuts, Global Affairs will be reducing its staff in Canada.
Sarai said his goal is to make the department — which has been criticized for being slow and cumbersome to work with — more streamlined and efficient.
That will involve the use of AI, which can “help with mundane tasks, speed things up,” he said. “It will enable us to respond more quickly.”
To offset the cuts, Sarai said the department will also be looking for ways to use government funding to mobilize private investment for development work.
“We hope to mitigate the cuts by finding other funding,” he said, noting that could include working with private partners.
Sarai said a “keen interest” for the department will be the Indo-Pacific region, along with Africa and Latin America.
“We have great opportunities there in emerging markets,” Sarai said, adding there is a link between aid and trade. “Having development support our trade is key. We are trying to focus on where there are trade opportunities.”
That does not mean Canada will change what development projects it supports, he says. But it will be more focused on enabling Canada to get more trading opportunities.
This could include providing development support to Canadian companies that are working in the Global South. “I would be keen to help them out,” Sarai said.
‘Resources are tight’
Sarai says a key challenge for Global Affairs is getting the word out about how Canada’s support is having a positive impact on people in the Global South.
“We need to do more on social media to engage Canadians,” Sarai said, adding he will be relying on Canadian aid and development groups to help with that effort. The government will not provide additional resources for this work, however.
“Resources are tight,” he said.
When telling their stories, aid and development groups should not only share about feeding people or providing an education, but also how their work supports Canadian trade, he says.
Global Affairs Canada will also seek to create projects that involve more Canadians in development work, such as university students, service clubs, diaspora communities and faith groups, Sarai said.
Sarai praised the work of Canadian aid and development groups, noting, “our Canadian NGOs are some of the best in the world … they make us really proud whenever I travel around the world, the impact they have.”
He also praised the work of faith-based aid and development groups, noting they have strong support bases made up of people whose faith teaches them to give back.
“I love to see their work,” he said, noting they a “have a real commitment” to international relief and development.
In November, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the Canadian government no longer has a “feminist foreign policy.”
But Sarai says Canada’s commitment to the Feminist International Aid Policy will continue. An initiative of the Trudeau government, this policy places gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls at the core of international development efforts.
“We want to keep the principles of uplifting women and girls and investing in them,” Sarai said.
Sarai’s message to Canadians is that they can be proud of what the country is doing to improve lives around the world, and that a combination of economic development, trade and international development is “one of the best ways to alleviate poverty.”
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