2025 Budget Slashes Foreign Aid by $2.7 Billion Over Next Four Years

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Minister of Finance and National Revenue Francois-Philippe Champagne hold up copies of the budget as they pose for a photograph before the tabling of the federal budget on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Nov. 4, 2025. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget tabled on Nov. 4 forecasts $2.7 billion in cuts to foreign aid over the next four years.

The budget predicts $561 million in cost reductions next fiscal year for Global Affairs Canada (GAC), rising to $1.1 billion per year of projected savings within two years, saying that Canada’s foreign aid spending will return to pre-COVID levels and focus on “countries that need it the most.”