Peace in a Fragmented World: What Place for Peace and Stability in Canada’s Foreign Policy?

On July 8, Cooperation Canada welcomed partners and sector leaders for a discussion on the findings of the 2026 Global Peace Index, hosted in collaboration with the Institute for Economics & Peace. The event explored what the world’s leading measure of peacefulness reveals about today’s global security landscape and what it means for Canada’s role in advancing peace, conflict prevention and international cooperation. This blog builds on those discussions, reflecting on the report’s key findings and their implications for Canada’s future.

Peace at a Strategic Moment

The 2026 Global Peace Index (GPI) comes at a significant moment for Canada. As the government undertakes a review of its foreign policy, discussions have increasingly focused on strengthening Canada’s economic partnerships, enhancing national security and redefining its role in a more competitive international environment. Recent defence investments underscore Canada’s recognition of a changing security environment. At the same time, reductions in Official Development Assistance (ODA) risk weakening investments that help address some of the underlying drivers of instability, including poverty, weak institutions and inequalities. As highlighted by the 2026 GPI, investing in prevention remains one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce the long-term costs of violence.

These priorities are both necessary and timely. Yet they also raise an important question: where do peacebuilding, including diplomatic efforts, mediation, early warning systems, community and grassroots dialogue processes, support for human rights institutions, institutional capacity building, conflict prevention and other development investments that strengthen inclusive governance and social cohesion, fit within this vision?

The 2026 GPI offers a compelling perspective. Beyond documenting the deterioration of global peace, the report presents a broader argument: peace is not simply a humanitarian aspiration. It is an economic asset, a security imperative and a strategic investment. Rather than treating peace as a separate policy objective, the report presents it as a foundation for resilient economies and long-term prosperity.

For Canada, this insight is particularly relevant. The country has long combined diplomacy, development cooperation and multilateral engagement, through its longstanding contributions to UN peace operations, its support for the UN peace and security architecture, its Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), its support for the Women, Peace and Security agenda—including the Elsie Initiative, implemented under the FIAP to increase women’s participation in peacekeeping operations —and its active leadership within the G7. As it redefines its foreign policy, the challenge is not whether peace matters, but how it can be integrated more intentionally into its foreign policy choices.

Middle Powers Have More Weight Than Ever

One of the key messages emerging from the 2026 GPI is that global influence is becoming more widely distributed. As great power competition intensifies and multilateral institutions face growing challenges, middle powers have greater opportunities to shape collectively international outcomes.

In this increasingly multipolar world, countries with strong diplomatic networks, credible development partnerships and a commitment to multilateral cooperation are well placed to advance dialogue and help prevent conflict.

For Canada, this shift represents a strategic opportunity. Its influence has long rested not only on economic power or military alliances, but also on its ability to uphold international norms, and connect diplomacy, development and peacebuilding.

Rather than treating peacebuilding as separate from national interests, Canada can view it as a strategic tool that builds on its long-standing diplomatic tradition while strengthening its international influence, credibility, economic resilience and national security.

Economic Case for Prevention

Violence imposed an estimated economic cost of US$21.8 trillion in 2025, equivalent to 10.5% of global GDP. The GPI makes clear that the costs of conflicts extend far beyond the countries at war. Prolonged crises weaken economies, destroy infrastructure, and increase the long-term costs of recovery. In an interconnected world, instability in one region can quickly affect others, with 103 countries now involved in conflicts beyond their borders, compared with 59 in 2008.

The report also highlights the economic value of human life. Beyond humanitarian tragedy, every life loss represents lost skills, productivity and future development potential. Crises that drive forced displacement also generate broader international impacts, placing pressure on neighboring countries and, over time, affecting countries such as Canada through increased humanitarian needs, refugee resettlement and disruptions to global markets and supply chains.

For Canada, this reinforces an important point: national security and conflict prevention are not competing priorities. Investing in diplomacy, peacebuilding and prevention helps reduce the long-term costs of crises, supports more stable economic partnerships and strengthens Canada’s own security and prosperity. The report also highlights the broader economic value of conflict prevention, noting that “the difference between a prolonged stalemate and renewed escalation is stark: successful diplomacy that prevents further conflict could deliver approximately US$2.2 trillion in economic benefits globally”. Conflict prevention is therefore not simply a human objective, it is also a strategic investment.

The Arms-trade Question

Another important finding of the 2026 GPI concerns militarization, one of the three core dimensions used to measure peace. Beyond military spending, it includes arms, imports and exports, access to weapons and overall military capability. While the report does not suggest that military strength is incompatible with peace, it finds that lower levels of militarization are generally associated with more peaceful societies.

For Canada, this is not an argument against maintaining credible defense capabilities or meeting its security commitments. Rather, it raises the importance of policy coherence. As Canada increases defense spending and reduces international assistance, the objective should not only be to strengthen national security but also ensure that defense, diplomacy, development, conflict prevention and arms export policies reinforce one another.

A coherent approach recognizes that lasting security depends not on military readiness but also on preventing conflicts from emerging or escalating. Strengthening oversight of arms exports, investing in conflict prevention and peacebuilding and upholding Canada’s international commitments would reinforce both its security and its credibility as a champion of international peace.

Turning Insight Into Action

This 2026 GPI reminds us that peace is not maintained by military strength alone. It is strengthened through a balanced approach that combines defense, diplomacy, conflict prevention, respect for international humanitarian law and coherent public policy.

As Canada reflects on its future foreign policy, it has an opportunity to strengthen this balance. Meeting its NATO commitments can go hand in hand with greater investment in development, humanitarian action, conflict prevention and peacebuilding, recognizing that preventing conflict is 100 times less costly—and more effective—than responding once violence has escalated.

Canada could also reinforce its credibility by ensuring that its arms export policies remain consistent with its international commitments and by reopening discussions on measures such as Bill C-233, aimed to amend the export and import permits acts (of arms) to eliminate the exemption for US intend to close the loophole on arms trade, to strengthen oversight and accountability.

In an increasingly fragmented world, investing in peace is not separate from protecting Canada’s national interests—it is an essential part of doing so.