Canadians support increased foreign aid and want leadership on maternal and child health

On the eve of the G8 and G20 Summits, 61% of Canadians believe their country should increase the amount of money spent on international aid. 

When asked whether Canada should contribute its “fair share” of international aid - the amount of money developed countries are committed to giving for international aid and development-,which is defined as 0.7% of the country’s Gross National Income (GNI), half (47%) think Canada should increase the amount of money it spends and give its fair share.  Another 14% think that the government should increase the amount of money it spends on international aid and development, but give less than its fair share.  Canada currently contributes below the average of donor nations and less than half of its fair share.                

Dennis Howlett, National Coordinator of the anti-poverty coalition “Make Poverty History” says he is not surprised by the response.  “Canadians have always seen themselves as global citizens with a strong sense of fairness.  It’s a tribute to our national values that we are not prepared to abandon our commitments because we are in an economic downturn.”

The new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll conducted in partnership with MakePovertyHistory.ca for its G8/G20 “At The Table” campaign, found that over three-quarters (77%) of Canadians think that it is important (either “very” or “somewhat important”) for Canada to be known as a world leader in funding solutions to reduce poverty and save the world's mothers and children.

The latest statistics show 1000 women die every day from pregnancy related causes, while annually, at least 10 million children under the age of 5 die. The poll shows Canadians support a broad range of services to address the needs of mothers and children including 61% support for access to safe abortions.

But trust in the G-8 leaders to address global issues on the summit agenda is low across the board.  A minority of Canadians trust (either “trust a lot” or “trust somewhat”) the leaders to address fighting poverty (37%), improve maternal health (43%), or tackle climate change (43%). Canadians have a little more trust in G-8 leaders to improve children's health (53%) and fix the global economy (58%).

On climate change, 74% of respondents think it is important that Canada be known as a world leader in finding solutions to and funding efforts to help poor people cope with the impact of climate change. But 67% of Canadians think Canada is not doing enough.

While the Canadian government has made promises to reduce child and maternal mortality, help Haiti rebuild and help developing countries deal with climate change, Canadians are sceptical that the government can keep these promises while freezing the international aid budget at the current level.  Two in five (38%) think it is realistic and three in five (62%) think it is unrealistic for Canada to keep its international aid commitments with the current budget frozen.

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