The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was a federal

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was merged into the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2013 by the federal government under Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

History

CIDA was formed in 1968 by the Canadian government under

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

. CIDA reported to the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

through the Minister for International Cooperation. Its mandate was to "support

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

in order to reduce

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

and contribute to a more secure, equitable, and prosperous world." CIDA had its headquarters at 200 Promenade du Portage in

Gatineau, Quebec Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's ...

. CIDA funding was the subject of intense debate, and the Conservative government made major revisions to the funding process, including reductions to NGOs described as supporting "left-leaning causes", such as Montreal-based

Alternatives Founded in 1994, Alternatives, Action and Communication Network for International Development, is a non-governmental, international solidarity organization based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Alternatives works to promote justice and equality a ...

Demise

In March 2013, the Conservative government announced that CIDA would be folded into the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the organizations renamed as the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, later renamed as

Global Affairs Canada Global Affairs Canada (GAC; french: Affaires mondiales Canada; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department ...

. Critics said the merger would give insufficient attention to fighting poverty, but the Conservative government, and later the Liberal government that also kept CIDA programs under the same department, said the merger would lead to a more coherent international agenda. An internal report by the agency said that it would take up to 10 years for ex-CIDA employees to get used to the merger.

Mandate

#Social development #:CIDA has supported programs relating directly to the treatment of STDs in developing countries. It also cites basic

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and child protection as priorities in the social development of countries that it aids. #Economic well-being #:Promoted and funded

Microfinance Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...

and

Education for sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desir ...

programs. #Environmental sustainability #:With a focus upon issues such as climate change,

land degradation Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious ...

, and water supply, CIDA sought to help developing nations maintain healthy ecosystems. CIDA was a partner in the Canada Iraq Marshlands Initiative.University of Victori
"Reseeding a way of life in Iraq’s marshlands."
''The Ring'' (January, 2008). For example, CIDA was a major donor to the International

LUBILOSA LUBILOSA was the name of a research programme that aimed at developing a biological alternative to the chemical control of locusts. This name is an acronym of the French title of the programme: Lutte Biologique contre les Locustes et les Sauteri ...

Programme: which developed a

biological pesticide A Biopesticide is a biological substance or organism that damages, kills, or repels organisms seens as pests. Biological pest management intervention involves predatory, parasitic, or chemical relationships. They are obtained from organisms inclu ...

for

locust Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...

control, in support of small-holder farmers in the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

. #Governance #:CIDA strove for human rights, democracy, and good governance. The agency also supported gender equality.

Notes

External links

* *
Between Policy and Practice: Navigating CIDA's Democracy Agenda - Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy, by Geoffrey Cameron

Local Enterprise Investment Centre (LEIC) a centre funded by Canadian Government through Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
{{Authority control Former Canadian federal departments and agencies International development agencies History of the foreign relations of Canada

History

Demise

Mandate

See also

Notes

External links