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Canada working closely with EU on foreign aid as U.S. pulls back, Sarai says
Ottawa says it's working with EU on foreign aid
Canada's deepening ties with Europe could help fill some of the massive gaps left behind as the United States pulls back from foreign aid and embraces a "transactional" approach, says the secretary of state for international development.
"When we put all our heads together, I think the opportunities are endless," Randeep Sarai told The Canadian Press.
He said this effort includes recent talks with the European Union on leveraging private dollars and philanthropy for aid, while maintaining some government funding for the world's most vulnerable.
Sarai is overseeing a shift in foreign aid as the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney cuts back on global health spending and encourages more private funding in development projects.
Ottawa is cutting spending across government, seeking new trade partners and boosting the defence budget to make Canada less vulnerable to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats of annexation.
The Trump administration shut down the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, leading to what Harvard University researchers estimate to be hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths.
In April, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reported that the U.S. in 2025 accounted for 17 per cent of spending by rich countries on foreign aid, down from 30 per cent a year prior.
U.S. spending on foreign aid dropped by 57 per cent in 2025.
Most major donor states, including Canada, have cut back on aid funding. Ottawa spends about 1.6 per cent of its budget on foreign aid.
"Taxpayer dollars are very valuable. So if we can bring in the private sector along with them, the goal is (that) eventually the private sector will invest on their own. But initially, we'll use the taxpayer dollars to entice them," Sarai said.
Sarai added that Europe has looked to Carney for guidance on so-called blended finance because of his experience as a United Nations official.
Carney's UN role was to advise governments on climate finance, including ways for governments to work with the private sector and philanthropists to transition to net-zero carbon emissions.
Ireland hosted a meeting of EU development ministers earlier this month and invited Canada to attend.
Sarai said much of the discussion in Dublin was about how to leverage private capital without abandoning support for the world's most vulnerable people.
Sarai said Canada and European countries are also working with other nations with a reputation for robust foreign aid, including Japan, Korea and Gulf nations.
He said American officials have "come back, to some degree" on aid spending by funding vaccines for children in poor countries.
"Their aid has to benefit the American economy and American people," Sarai said.
"They have very clear guidelines on that and transactional nature of it, but that's their direction. So I would say it's very different from the other G7 partners, but at least we know where we're at."
The push for more private dollars in aid has many critics.
Co-operation Canada, a coalition of most Canadian aid groups operating abroad, said the sector supports innovative funding, with some caveats.
"If we are to use public funds to incentivize private capital, then there need to be some guardrails around … that we're we're using our public funds in the most efficient way possible," said Paul Farran, the group's advocacy director.
He said aid dollars shouldn't be used to subsidize endeavours that the private sector wouldn't have otherwise funded.
"Our international assistance should first and foremost be used to alleviate poverty and inequalities," Farran said.
Sarai said Canada is not going to surrender its support for the world's poorest to market forces.
He said that applies to Canada's programming in the 32 nations the UN describes as the world's least developed countries, as well as projects that focus on sexual health and reproductive rights.
He said the government has a different approach in high-growth countries, where it pursues "mutual economic prosperity" through projects that benefit Canadian companies and investors while creating jobs abroad.
"The Vietnams, Indonesias, Philippines in the world, we believe that they can now take care of those areas themselves. We don't need to invest in those particular areas for them," he said.
Sarai cited a new aid project in Thailand which will see Canada's development finance institution FinDev lend cash for microloans to women in rural areas looking to launch or expand businesses.
Canada is lending roughly $85 million, which is being matched by $280 million from the Japanese bank SMBC and the Asian Development Bank.
Last month, The House finance committee, which has a majority of Liberal MPs, called on Carney last month to provide predictable and clear aid funding in the Nov. 5 budget.
Aid groups told the committee that the federal government says its supports for refugees inside Canada amount to more than 17 per cent of its total development assistance. While that's a standard reporting practice for western countries, the aid groups said it makes it hard to tell how much Canadian cash is actually going abroad.
The MPs on the committee argued aid spending should be "guided by poverty and fragility" and should have "increasing transparency in the international assistance envelope."
The MPs also urged Canada to "reaffirm gender equality and women’s economic empowerment as drivers of poverty reduction and, therefore, as central priorities." Carney caused confusion a year ago by suggesting Canada no longer has a feminist foreign policy.
Co-operation Canada supports those calls and is urging Carney to reverse cuts to global health programs.
Farran said Canada should earmark $5.5 billion annually for "core" development aid abroad, which would boost funding for things like building schools or helping women advocate for political rights.
He also said Ottawa owes the public more clarity on how it is spending foreign aid and where it's cutting back.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
By Dylan Robertson | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Pair from Calgary attacked after Bruno Mars concert in Vancouver
Calgary pair attacked after Bruno Mars concert
Two people have been attacked after leaving a Bruno Mars show at BC Place Stadium, in the second violent incident after a major concert in Vancouver this year.
Vancouver police say the pair from Calgary were attacked near the Gastown neighbourhood at about 11 p.m. Wednesday as they walked from the concert.
Police say the male victim was repeatedly hit with a sharp object that may have been glass, cutting his left forearm, while the female victim was pushed into a light pole.
Officers arrested a 34-year-old man who had two outstanding warrants, and he has been charged with assault, assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.
The male victim was treated at the scene by paramedics while police say the suspect is in custody awaiting a bail hearing.
The attack comes after an AC/DC fan was attacked and seriously injured after the band's concert at BC Place on Aug. 13, when he was punched in the face from behind, causing him to fall and strike his head on the pavement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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B.C. election at a glance: NDP talks nursing ratios, Conservatives tout Surrey plan
B.C. election at a glance: Nursing, Surrey, arts
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The British Columbia election campaign is in its closing stages, with advance voting wrapping up ahead of final voting day on Saturday.
Here are some of the latest developments on the campaign trail.
ADVANCE VOTING DROPS SHARPLY
Six days of advance voting have ended, with Elections BC data showing numbers are down more than 11 per cent compared to 2024, bucking a two-decade upward trend.
There were 891,348 advance votes cast from Friday to Wednesday, representing about 24 per cent of all registered voters.
That compares to more than one million advance votes cast in 2024, when numbers spiked 49 per cent over the previous election.
This year's advance voting period overlapped with the municipal election that had its final voting day last Saturday.
EBY AND DOERKSON FOCUS ON SURREY
Interim B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson has unveiled what he calls the "Surrey success plan" for B.C.'s second-largest city.
Both Doerkson and NDP leader Eby have been concentrating on vote-rich Surrey in the final week of the campaign.
Doerkson says his party's plan has three pillars, health care, transit and transportation.
Both parties have pledged new hospitals and to extend the SkyTrain to Surrey's Newton neighbourhood, but differ on how to handle traffic problems, with the Conservatoves vowing to scrap an upgrade of the Massey tunnel in favour of a 10-lane bridge.
Doerkson is scheduled to hold a rally in the city that has 10 ridings later Thursday, while Eby was in Surrey on Wednesday and held a rally near city hall that drew hundreds of supporters.
The NDP leader, campaigning in Vancouver on Thursday, called Surrey "a vitally important city in the province."
NDP VOWS TO PUT NURSE-PATIENT RATIOS INTO LAW
Eby says the NDP would put minimum nurse-to-patient ratios into law.
He says in a campaign stop outside Vancouver General Hospital, where he was surrounded by nurses and other health care workers that establishing the ratios is "technical work" and they will vary depending on what type of care is being provided.
Eby says that work is already underway, and putting the ratios into legislation will ensure "nurses are not diverted to other purposes."
The NDP says in a statement that Eby has committed to adding 1,000 training places for nurses, nurse practitioners, allied health workers and care aides.
GREENS ROLL OUT RED CARPET FOR THE ARTS
The BC Greens have announced the party's plan to support the arts, from the movie industry to local performing spaces.
Leader Emily Lowan says the party would make it easier to film, perform and create in B.C.
She says underinvestment in the arts and the "cost-of-living crisis" have meant the closure of community arts spaces and put "downward pressure" on artists who make the province vibrant.
The party says it will make B.C. the easiest place in North America for film permitting, bring in simpler zoning and lower fees for smaller venues booking local artists, and increase the BC Arts Council budget by more than 50 per cent to $65 million.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.
By Canadian Press Staff | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Charles d'OD, sa publication jugée insensible et les réactions: on décortique la situation
Le 29 novembre 2020, Charles a publié une vidéo sur Instagram intitulée « Parlons Pénis », qui a fortement fait réagir à cause de la manière dont elle a été introduite. Pour mieux comprendre le tout, on décortique la situation entourant Charles d'OD et le backlash sur sa publication.
Inspiré du travail du Docteur Marc Galiano, un urologue et chirurgien français, Charles y parle sans tabou de mythes concernant la sexualité masculine.
La sélection de l'éditeur : Vincent nous dévoile le fameux « speech » d'élimination qu'il avait préparé pour Éloïse à OD
La vidéo et le lien avec le mouvement des femmes
Cette vidéo d'environ six minutes traite de différents mythes sur le pénis et sur la mécanique sexuelle masculine. Charles y introduit le sujet de la sexualité masculine en proposant que l'éjaculation, l'orgasme et le pénis sont des thèmes dont on n’entend pas souvent parler.
Ce qui a fait controverse n'est toutefois pas le contenu de cette vidéo, en fait, c'est la légende de celle-ci, et l'approche de Charles pour l'aborder.
Le diplômé en travail social interpellait ses abonnés avec la phrase :
« Boyz, c’est le temps qu’on s’inspire des femmes ; du processus de compréhension et d’acceptation de leur corps et de leur sexualité. C’est le temps qu’on parle de sexe et de pénis. »
On peut maintenant y lire : « Boyz, c’est le temps qu’on parle d'un sujet tabou ; le pénis. »
La réaction du public et la réponse initiale de Charles
Alors que certains commentaires remerciaient l'influenceur pour cet apprentissage, des internautes ont tenu à souligner un problème dans son discours : la mention du travail d’acceptation du corps et de la sexualité des femmes pour ramener la discussion autour de la sexualité des hommes.
Une publication Instagram partagée le 30 novembre par @aaann.e, qui se présente comme féministe et étudiante à la maîtrise en psychoéducation, a particulièrement circulé sur les réseaux sociaux.
Celle-ci explique ce que plusieurs reprochent à Charles dans les commentaires :
« Que tu parles de sexualité masculine ; tout à fait approprié. Que tu compares ta situation d'homme blanc privilégié au parcours houleux des femmes depuis la dernière décennie (yup), c'est complètement malhonnête. »
Elle y dénonce aussi le fait que la sexualité des hommes a longtemps été mise de l'avant et qu'il effaçait les messages de personnes ayant le même discours qu'elle.
[rebelmouse-image 26002736 photo_credit="charles.od_officiel | Instagram" expand=1 original_size="828x1405"] charles.od_officiel | Instagram
[rebelmouse-image 26002739 photo_credit="charles.od_officiel | Instagram" expand=1 original_size="828x1423"] charles.od_officiel | Instagram
Pour sa part, Charles a d'abord qualifié cette publication de violente et a affirmé qu'il avait le droit de « supprimer des commentaires [qu'il] juge déplacés » dans une story Instagram du 1er décembre.
Il a également déclaré qu'il trouvait déplacés les commentaires cherchant à trouver des défauts dans sa publication, en disant que « ce n'est pas parce qu'on aide des hommes qu'on nuit à la cause du féminisme ».
Les excuses et explications de Charles
Le 1er décembre au soir, Charles a fait une série de story Instagram dans laquelle il revient sur les événements des derniers jours :
« Je voulais prendre le temps de m'excuser par rapport à quelque chose que j'ai écrit. […] En aucun cas j'ai voulu comparer les luttes quotidiennes que vivent d'autres personnes, dont les femmes, avec ma situation, la situation des hommes en général. »
Il explique qu'après avoir lu tous les commentaires, il s'est rendu compte que son approche était insensible.
Il admet avoir été malhabile : « Je suis très conscient qu'on parle souvent des hommes pis qu'on devrait parler beaucoup plus souvent des groupes qui vivent des luttes quotidiennes… »
Charles explique que le but de sa vidéo était d'inviter les hommes à faire une introspection sur leur sexualité.
Il aborde ensuite le fait qu'il a supprimé plusieurs commentaires :
« Est-ce que c'était le meilleur move? Non. Est-ce que je me suis peut-être senti attaqué alors que ce n'était pas le cas? Sûrement, oui. »
Il avoue avoir supprimé des commentaires qu'il trouvait irrespectueux qui, après introspection, ne l'étaient pas selon lui. Charles confirme qu'il va continuer à effacer les insultes qu'il reçoit toujours en grande quantité depuis son passage à Occupation Double, mais qu'il sera plus vigilant afin de laisser la parole aux personnes bien intentionnées.
Il termine en remerciant Naila Rabel, que tu reconnais peut-être de l’émission québécoise 30 vies et qui tient un discours engagé sur les cause pro-black, anti-raciste et afro-féministe, de l'avoir aidé à comprendre la situation.