Our CEO Addresses the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade

A highlight of International Development Week 2026 was our CEO’s, Kate Higgins, appearance at the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade (AEFA) on February 5th, where she engaged directly with Senators on Canada’s role in addressing global challenges and the importance of predictable and well-resourced international assistance. 

Listen to the full statement via the Committee’s webcast. 

Read our CEO’s statement following her appearance before the Committee below. 

I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today on behalf of Cooperation Canada, the independent national voice for international cooperation representing over 100 Canadian development and humanitarian organizations. 

I would like to begin with a simple message: in this moment of global rupture, international development cooperation is not peripheral to Canada’s national interest. It is central to it. 

Canada is operating in a world that is more competitive, fragmented, and crisis-prone than it has been in decades. Conflicts are intensifying. Humanitarian needs are growing. Development gains are stalling or reversing. Human rights and democracy are under sustained attack. 

These challenges have devastating consequences for people and communities on the frontlines. But they do not remain distant. They cross borders quickly, shaping global stability and directly affecting Canada’s security, prosperity and opportunities. 

In this environment, Canada must lean into its role as a middle power — advancing its values and interests not through coercion, but through influence, credibility, trusted partnerships and principled engagement. 

And one of the most effective tools we have to do this is development cooperation. 

This week is International Development Week, and representatives from more than 60 international development and humanitarian organizations have been here, on Parliament Hill, meeting with parliamentarians – including some of you – from across political parties. 

Our message this week has been clear: development cooperation is not charity. It is a strategic investment in prevention, resilience and shared prosperity. 

It helps address shocks before they become crises — before climate impacts undermine food systems, before food insecurity fuels unrest, before instability hardens into conflict and before displacement accelerates. It strengthens the foundations that prevent these spirals, by supporting basic and critical services, inclusive governance, economic opportunity and community resilience. It supports peace and democracy by advancing human rights, gender equality and accountable institutions. 

Honourable Senators, this matters not only for our partners abroad, but for Canada itself. 

In a more contested world, influence is shaped by trust and long-term engagement as much as by economic or military power. For a country like Canada, international development cooperation is one of the most effective ways to build that influence — by establishing enduring relationships, reinforcing credibility and positioning Canada as a reliable partner. 

So what, specifically, should we do at this juncture? What are the most important priorities for Canadian development cooperation in this moment? 

This week, in our discussions with parliamentarians and decision-makers, we have been focusing on three priorities: 

First, as Canada reshapes its foreign policy as a middle power in a more fractured and competitive world, international development must be leveraged – alongside diplomacy, trade and defence — as a key pillar of Canadian influence and impact. 

Second, Canada must ensure a significant portion of Canada’s international assistance stays focused on poverty reduction, human rights and the communities most at risk.  This will mean largely concentrating our precious aid dollars in low-income and fragile contexts. These are the places where needs are greatest, risks are highest and where other forms of financing — including private capital — are least likely to reach and where development assistance is often irreplaceable. International assistance can expand economic opportunities and strengthen diplomatic relationships – and there are proven ways to do this.  But let’s make sure Canada’s aid stays true to global best practice, our values and our legislation, including the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act. 

And third, if we are to genuinely be true to our values, Canada must uphold international humanitarian law and strengthen principled humanitarian action, including supporting unimpeded humanitarian access. The horrors we see unfolding in the world must not be allowed to become a new normal. 

Canadian civil society organizations stand ready to do our part. We are globally recognized for delivering high-impact humanitarian and development results. We have long-standing and deep connections with communities and partners across the globe. And we have reach across Canada, connecting daily with hundreds of thousands of Canadians who donate, volunteer and advocate for this work. 

We are not naïve nor nostalgic. We are principled and pragmatic. We know that like any system, the international cooperation system needs to modernize and evolve. We believe we need to double-down on what works and where Canada can have the most impact. We believe we need to innovate, build new partnerships and ourselves be open to radical change. 

Chair and Honourable Senators, the question is not whether Canada can afford international development cooperation. 

The question is whether Canada can afford the consequences of underinvesting at a time when instability is rising and the costs of crisis are accelerating. 

International development cooperation remains one of the smartest investments Canada can make — for a safer, more prosperous world, and a safer, more prosperous Canada. 

Thank you.