Canadians and Increased Foreign Aid: Do They Support It?

Do Canadians support an increase in the foreign aid budget?

That’s the question Angus Reid, in partnership with World Vision Canada, sought to answer in March.

They asked the question after the Federal Government increased the amount it was prodiving for foreign aid in the 2018 budget.

The survey concluded that Canadians have mixed feelings about an increase to the aid budget.

On the one hand, 64% of Canadians say Canada has a “moral obligation to help those in developing countries.”

Yet only 28% say Canada should spend more than it currently does. 27% say it should spend less, and 46% say it is about right.

This lack of support for an increase in aid persists even when Canadians are told that Canada’s aid spending is way below the internationally-accepted target of 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI).

Speaking of which, 48% of Canadians think Canada is spending more than 0.7%, or that it has already reached that target.

Only 26% know Canada is below the target for aid spending.

Why Should Canada Provide Aid?

When asked why Canada should provide aid, the top reason is to alleviate suffering (45%), followed by helping people become more self-sufficient (44%).

Other reasons, in order, are more global stability and peace (29%), reducing the threat of terrorism (14%), uniting different cultures and building bonds between people (10%), providing opportunities for Canadian business (8%).

13% said they could see no benefits of government aid.

Concerns About Aid

The main concern Canadians have about government aid is that it doesn’t reach those who need it most (50%).

39% are worried that it is being wasted or used inefficiently; 37% think it will divert funds away from needs at home; 16% think Canada can’t afford it; 11% think it is badly spent on poor projects; 8% don’t think we get enough bang for the buck.

As for who holds these concerns, older Canadians (55-plus) are most likely to worry about aid not reaching the needy, and waste.

Giving and Engagement

As for how many Canadians personally donate to Canadian aid groups, 21% say they make a donation.

When asked how they give, 56% say it is a spontaneous response, likely to a natural disaster or other crisis in the news.

44% say they plan their giving. Importantly for NGOs, those who say they plan their giving also give more.

The most common amount given by those who donate is between $101 and $250 a year, according to the pollster.

When it comes to engagement, 45% say they are engaged with an NGO by receiving mail or e-mail or following them on social media, or by donating.

55% say they have no involvement at all.

Of those who say they are most supported of Canadian aid—what the pollster calls the “true believers”—only 33% have made a donation and 40% say they have no connection to any NGO.

This show, the pollster says, that even among the top supporters of aid “there are still a great deal of people on the sidelines.”

In terms of what causes people personally want to support, the well-being of children is first, followed by health, humanitarian relief, alleviation of extreme poverty, human rights (including the rights of women), economic development and refugees.

As always, surveys like this are to be taken with a grain of salt. 

I'd guess that, for many respondents, the first time they thought about the subject of aid was when they were contacted by the pollster. And the answers people give are shaped by the questions they are asked.

But it is still good information, and corroborates what other surveys have discovered about Canadian attitudes towards aid. 

And if nothing else, they remind NGO professionals that we live in a bubble, and the way we see the world is not the way everyone sees it.

And that's always a good reminder.

Read the full report here.

Also see another report from Angus Reid about Canadian attitudes towards foreign aid.