Canadian Policy & Aid

Canadian Foreign Policy Aid in the Pacific

The small island nations of the South Pacific continue to be among the poorest, most highly militarized, least economically and democratically secure in the world, and for many years PPP has been advocating that this reality be reflected in the priorities and goals of Canadian foreign policy and aid. While Canadians have long been concerned about investing in the development of the South Pacific, the Canadian government is still challenged in providing concrete aid and humanitarian relief to the Pacific island regions that would most benefit from foreign aid.

Canadian investment in the Pacific over the past thirty years began with the Canadian International Development Agency’s investment of $750,000 for a research vessel and marine science equipment for a tropical fisheries training project in the early 1970s, and grew through support of the now defunct International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD), and the Canada Fund. Following a major review of Canadian development assistance in 1986, which recommended an expansion of assistance to the South Pacific region with an emphasis on development and management of ocean resources, the Canadian government unveiled the Canada-South Pacific Ocean Development Program (C-SPOD) (originally run by ICOD), which by the end of 2004 will have provided $28 million over 14 years to the development of sustainable fisheries in the South Pacific. In 2001-2002, CIDA’s contributions to the South Pacific region included $5.15m in Bilateral Development Assistance, $1.53m through Canadian Partnerships, and $6.28m in Multilateral Development Assistance to countries in Oceania.