Canadian aid workers warn 'catastrophic' USAID halt puts Ottawa's projects in limbo

Demonstrators and lawmakers rally against President Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk as they disrupt the federal government, including dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development, which administers foreign aid approved by Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, J. Scott Applewhite

OTTAWA — Canada’s aid sector is bracing for cataclysmic suffering worldwide, and is asking Ottawa to help fill gaps as Washington winds down the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Numerous Canadian projects are in limbo as the world’s largest aid funder freezes funding to multilateral programs, and it’s unclear what will happen to millions of dollars Ottawa had sent to USAID for programming.

The aid coalition Cooperation Canada says millions of people are being abruptly cut off from lifesaving supplies.

“The impact of this is catastrophic, for thousands and likely millions of people around the world,” said the group’s head Kate Higgins. “It forces Canada and Canadians to think about what sort of country we want to be.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has tasked billionaire ally Elon Musk to cut the U.S. budget. The exercise has involved a 90-day freeze on most American foreign aid, pending a review aimed at ensuring the spending aligns with American interests. Thousands of staff have been placed on paid leave, though courts are reviewing those orders.

Multiple news reports have contradicted claims by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that most of that agency’s life-saving programs abroad are still operating through waivers.

The Associated Press reported examples last Friday, such as $450 million U.S. in food grown by U.S. farmers -- sufficient to feed 36 million people -- which had not been paid for and thus not delivered. Some 1.6 million people displaced by war in Sudan’s Darfur region are cut off from the funds needed to run water pumps in the desert.

Cooperation Canada represents dozens of Canadian non-profits working in international development and humanitarian assistance, many of whom run projects that run off of systems operated by USAID, or United Nations agencies that have significant U.S. funding.

“Many of those will need to shut down,” Higgins said of Canadian programs.

That includes emergency medicine, basic education and hunger relief. It’s leaving organizations trying to redesign their programs and working with organizations from other countries to try filling the gaps.

Higgins said Global Affairs Canada has been in touch with the aid sector to help manage the disruption, but things are already falling apart.

“Critical partners, that are part of the implementation of those projects, are shutting their doors,” she said.

In addition, data from Global Affairs Canada shows a total of $40 million in development projects listed as currently operational that Ottawa had funded USAID to execute. The projects included climate-change adaptation in Peruvian watersheds and a fund that helps LGBTQ+ activists fleeing violence.

Global Affairs Canada did not provide the status of each project, including how much of the Canadian funding allocated to USAID has yet to be spent.

“Global Affairs Canada is assessing the situation following changes to U.S. foreign aid,” wrote spokesman Louis-Carl Brissette Lesage. “No further decisions have been made at this time, and we will have more to say as the situation evolves.”

USAID did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen’s office wrote in a statement that Ottawa is “deeply concerned” after decades of partnering with USAID.

“The loss of USAID’s leadership and resources represents a dangerous retreat that risks decades of progress in fighting inequality, starvation, pandemics, and authoritarianism,” wrote spokeswoman Olivia Batten.

“Global challenges demand collective action, and we will continue to do our part by forging new partnerships that support peace, security and prosperity for all.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said last Friday she “definitely” plans to discuss USAID this week with Rubio, who is overseeing the agency on an interim basis.

The two are set to meet at the G7 foreign ministers' meeting that Joly will chair in Germany, occurring alongside the Munich Security Conference.

Higgins said it’s “critical” that Canada use that opportunity “to show leadership at this very destabilizing point in global history.”

Joly told the Halifax Chamber of Commerce that the U.S. withdrawal from foreign aid will only give adversaries more sway in the developing world.

“I have my own opinions on what the U.S. administration is doing with U.S. aid, but I’ll keep these opinions to myself, for obvious reasons,” she said last Friday.

“When we create a vacuum, only China and Russia can benefit from it.”

Higgins said she hopes Canadians live up to their reputation as a compassionate country “that understands that what happens in other countries has direct implications for our own safety and security and prosperity.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press