What does the demise of USAID mean for Canada and Western allies?
The shuttering of the U.S. government’s marquee foreign aid agency — USAID — could have an enormous impact on Western allies and their ability to influence developing nations, a series of experts have warned.
It could also create a void that China would want to fill — the kind the Trump administration has been complaining about, most recently in Panama where the government had been poised to sign on to Beijing’s signature infrastructure campaign, known as the Belt and Road Initiative.
Over the last two weeks, dozens of senior USAID officials have been put on leave, thousands of contractors have been laid off and a freeze imposed on billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to other countries.
Canada’s foreign aid is little different than USAID programs. At their heart they are make work welfare programs for the middle class.
