Canada 7th in foreign aid spending, but a fifth goes to refugees inside the country
This spring’s budget didn’t include a consolidated figure for how much Ottawa plans to spend on aid. Development Minister Ahmed Hussen and his department did not provide a specific number in the immediate wake of the budget either.
OTTAWA – While Canada is one of the top contributors to foreign aid among some of the world’s richest countries, a fifth of the spending never leaves Canada’s borders.
Some 19 per cent of Canada’s aid reported to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development last year benefited refugees and Ukrainians within Canada.
“Most Canadians would not think that counts, because when we think of foreign aid we think of something happening in other countries, not costs that we have here,” said Elise Legault, Canada director with the One Campaign, an anti-poverty advocacy group.
Canada ranks seventh for dollars spent on foreign aid, according to the OECD, a group of mostly rich countries.
