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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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Quebec Conservative leader says his newly elected members will make mistakes
Quebec Conservatives will make mistakes: leader
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime says Quebecers should expect the newly elected members of his caucus to make some mistakes.
Duhaime made the comments as members of his team were sworn in at Quebec's national assembly.
His party had no seats before the Oct. 5 election, but now have the second-largest opposition caucus in the legislature.
The vast majority of the elected Quebec Conservatives are newcomers and several have already caused confusion and controversy.
The party's new whip, Renaud Labrecque, has called on his colleagues to exercise greater discipline.
This is the first time the Quebec Conservatives have had members elected to the Quebec legislature since a previous iteration of the party had members in the legislature in 1935.
Duhaime's Conservatives made a breakthrough by securing close to 21 per cent of the votes and winning 19 seats.
The leader called on English-speaking Quebecers during the swearing-in ceremony, placing himself as an alternative to the Quebec Liberal party.
"They've been taking you for granted for ages. You don't need to be hostages of those Liberals anymore," he said.
"They don't deserve your support. Our doors are open at the Conservative Party of Quebec, and we're welcoming you for the next blue wave."
Duhaime faces many challenges ahead, notably managing a largely inexperienced team.
Only former Coalition Avenir Québec member Maïté Blanchette Vézina, who joined the Conservatives in 2025, and Caroline Simard, a Liberal member of the national assembly from 2014 to 2018, have prior legislative experience.
But the Conservatives hold part of the balance of power in this new legislature, where the Parti Québécois government is in a minority with 60 of 127 seats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.
By Patrice Bergeron | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Calgary fire officials share home safety tips during school drills
Calgary officials recommend two escape routes per room and twice-yearly home drills.
With students now settled into the new year, Calgary fire officials have reminded residents that safety doesn’t end at the schoolyard line.
Members of the Calgary Fire Department (CFD) held a media availability on Oct. 22 at St. Elizabeth Seton School, located in the city’s northwest, to demonstrate the behind-the-scenes of fire drills.
Chief Steve Dongworth said each school must complete at least six fire drills each year, and that fire officials must attend at least one. He said this ensures staff, students, and the broader community know what to do.
“Firefighters attend the drill to support school staff, check access points, fire safety systems, evacuation procedures, and assembly areas — all critical parts of a fire escape plan,” said Dongworth.
“We also connect teachers with important fire safety educational resources, so that students and parents can learn what to do in emergency situations.”
He said that, over the years, the fire department has become more involved in spreading this awareness, including partnering with school boards. The basic principle remains the same, however: getting everyone out fast and efficiently.
“To get out quickly, to check that everyone’s accounted for by assembling in a position or a place where it’s agreed that’s what’s going to happen,” said Dongworth.
“So that we can, when we come, take care of whatever situation there is that needs to be taken care of.”
Kean Hallisey, this year’s junior fire chief, is a Grade 8 student who said he wants to become a fireman. He said that it’s important to take fire plans seriously not only at school, but at home, too.
Hallisey recommended that every home have an escape plan with two exit options for each room and a predetermined meeting location far from the home.
“You should practice it twice a year so you remember what to do and stay safe in a real emergency,” he said.
“If you have a pet or something, and you are out, stay out — you can ask the [firefighters] to get them. Hopefully, they can get it for you.”
For more information about home fire safety, visit the City of Calgary’s website.
Copyright 2026, LiveWire Calgary. All rights reserved.
Sarah Palmer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, LiveWire Calgary.
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Voici quand tu devrais «booker» tes vacances pour voyager durant les fériés 2023 au Canada
Va falloir t'y prendre d'avance si tu veux avoir du choix!
Chalet mignon devant un lac avec feu extérieur pour faire griller des guimauves, villa sur la plage avec vue sur de magnifiques couchers de soleil, ce n'est pas pour rien que ces logements de rêve se booke comme de petits pains chauds. Afin de t'aider à mettre toutes les chances de ton côté, l’entreprise de location de maisons de vacances, Vrbo, une filiale d'Expedia, a publié les meilleures dates pour faire la réservation de ton logement.
Selon la compagnie, les mois de janvier et de février seraient les plus populaires pour faire une demande de location puisqu'après les Fêtes, plusieurs Canadien.nes commencent déjà à organiser leurs vacances. Marque bien les dates proposées dans ton calendrier, car elles pourraient t'être bien utiles si tu désires t'offrir un repos bien mérité dans un décor haut en couleur. Eh oui, il faut faire vite pour avoir la chance de siroter son café sur son balcon dans les montagnes.
Vrbo prévoit, d’ailleurs, qu'en 2023, les réservations augmenteront grandement : « Toutes ces dates sont avancées de deux semaines par rapport aux années précédentes. Ces deux semaines sont déterminantes pour permettre ou non l'obtention d'un chalet de montagne convoité pour un voyage de ski pendant les vacances de printemps ou d'un chalet en bord de mer pour les vacances d'été annuelles. »
Ainsi, il te faudrait effectuer tes réservations environ deux mois à l'avance. En plus d'avoir une plus grande offre de logements et l'opportunité d'économiser, ce délai te permettrait d'obtenir plus de flexibilité pour des annulations ou modifications.
Voici les dates recommandées par l'entreprise de location :
Si ta maison de rêve se trouve à l'extérieur du pays ou de l'autre côté du Canada et qu'il te faut prendre l'avion, sache que l'agence de voyages Expedia a récemment publié sa liste des meilleurs trucs pour obtenir les prix les plus bas des compagnies aériennes et ça vaut assurément la peine d'y jeter un coup d'oeil . Tu pourras ainsi savoir quels sont les meilleurs jours et la bonne heure pour acheter tes billets au plus bas prix, quand est-il mieux de partir en voyage si l'on veut économiser et plus encore.
Avec ces astuces en poche, cela peut te permettre de te gâter sur des activités ou de bons repas.