The first months of Mark Carney’s premiership have been, in a word, contradictory. Depending on the day, he’s either preaching austerity or positioning himself as a progressive counterweight to Trump’s policies.
During the campaign just a few months ago, our Prime Minister made a pledge—on several occasions—that he would not cut foreign aid. He’s now directing ministers to make 15 per cent cuts across departments. He’s telling ambassadors and foreign service staff to get out there and make Canada a force for global good, while also demanding reductions in personnel and programs that help the world’s most vulnerable.
The result of this disjointed approach came a few weeks ago in New York, when PM Carney closed his major policy address with this line:
"Canada’s leadership will no longer be defined by the strength of our values, but by the value of our strength."
That line deserves scrutiny — not because Canada doesn’t need to be strong, but because our true strength has always come from the values that make us trusted and respected around the world. Real Canadian strength is not a choice between values and force; it is the combination of both. Investing in global stability through foreign aid is far more cost-effective than making and buying weapons.
Aid opens markets, stops epidemics at the source, and saves lives—all for less than two cents per federal dollar
The consequences of ignoring these principles are clear. When the Trump administration slashed USAID, contractors went unpaid, warehouses of food and medicine sat idle, and maternity wards stood empty—babies and mothers dying for lack of an anesthesiologist. This sent a simple message to the world: the word of the United States is meaningless.
Cutting development assistance, carefully built and optimized over decades, would break a promise. The ‘value of our strength’ is zero if the value of our commitments is worthless.
Canada topped an April poll of most trusted nations by World Atlas and the Reputation Institute. This global trust is not abstract—it is earned over decades through consistency, honesty, and keeping our word.
Elders trust us when we ask them to abandon harmful practices and embrace education for girls. Governments under strain trust us when we offer to build schools and roads in exchange for laying down arms. That trust is fragile; it must be protected.
The message from Canada’s aid sector is simple: hold the line. No cuts.
Do not follow the U.S., Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, or France—show the world what Canada means when it says it will play a positive, constructive role on the global stage. Civil servants at Global Affairs Canada should not face impossible choices about whether to fund a nutrition program for hungry children, a health clinic, or life-saving humanitarian aid.
Make the commitment. Canada’s strength comes from its values, not just its power. Without them, our alliances weaken, our word carries less weight, and our safety is diminished. With them, Canada is not only a reliable ally but the world’s most trusted partner. Immediately, these cuts will cost lives. But in the long term, they will cost trust, credibility, and goodwill.
Cutting aid is the surest way to cut in half the value of our word. To abandon our values now would not only be a mistake—it would be to abandon what makes us Canada.
Prime Minister Carney only needs to look South to see what an administration that all strength and no values looks like.
Louis Belanger
Director, Bigger than our Borders