Canadian aid groups are in the midst of the aftershocks after the U.S. sent an earthquake of slashed funding through humanitarian crisis zones – and say Canada has an opportunity to rewrite the rules of foreign aid in its wake.

In some regions, work has stopped altogether. War Child Canada was negotiating funding from USAID and the U.S. government for its work in Sudan. The U.S. federal aid agency was responsible for more than half of all humanitarian spending in Sudan, said Dr Samantha Nutt, founder and president of War Child Canada. 

“[USAID] was a significant source of revenue for us,” Dr Nutt said. The cuts meant that War Child Canada could not resume some humanitarian operations. 

As one of the only organizations with an on-the-ground presence in Afghanistan, War Child Canada is often subcontracted by other humanitarian organizations. 

“When those contracts evaporate, that has a very direct and immediate impact on our programming.”

Where operations haven’t ceased, making programs happen has become prohibitively expensive, said Dr Nutt. “Organizations just can’t absorb these types of costs.”

In Ethiopia, USAID funding supported 90 per cent of the ready-to-use therapeutic food packaging delivered to children, said Sevaun Palvetzian, CEO of UNICEF Canada.

“It was absolutely shocking,” said Palvetzian. “You can imagine with different leadership changes come a different focus in priority, but these were catastrophic cuts with little, if any, notice.” 

Meanwhile, Partners in Health Canada supports healthcare delivery in 11 countries, working with local governments and public health bodies. They say USAID funding goes towards healthcare infrastructure and systems, such as logistics, transportation and supply chains. 

The total loss is hard to quantify, said Mark Brender, national director of Partners in Health Canada. Although USAID made up less than 10 per cent of Partners in Health’s overall funding, Brender said the impact on medical supply chains will be felt for a long time. 

“The entire system has had the rug pulled up from under it in so many places.”

Canadian foundation provides emergency funds

These organizations have only been able to continue operating in humanitarian zones because of emergency funding provided by the Slaight Family Foundation. 

In July 2025, the Foundation announced it would commit $13 million in funding to 13 Canadian organizations impacted by USAID’s dismantling. This funding—divided among each organization–will be distributed over two years. 

UNICEF Canada, Partners in Health Canada, and War Child Canada all said that the emergency funding has allowed them to continue life-saving aid and programming, pay staff salaries, develop a crisis plan and re-prioritize for the long term. 

Other recipients include the Canadian Red Cross, Human Rights Watch Canada, Right to Play, and Save the Children Canada. 

Usually, the Slaight Family Foundation would undergo a long research period before choosing specific grantees, said Terry Smith, program director at the foundation. Having already funded these 13 organizations, the foundation felt comfortable providing them with additional emergency funding, Smith said. 

“That $1 million is an incredible investment in impact,” said Palvetzian. “We are beyond grateful to see Canadian leaders step in where others have stepped away.”

However, there are no plans to renew this emergency funding going forward, Smith said. 

Can Canada make up for the shortfall?

When President Donald Trump and his administration announced in February 2025 that USAID would be dismantled within the week and all American staff abroad were to return to the United States, the sudden $35 billion hole in funding “cratered the humanitarian space,” Palvetzian added. 

The cuts and clawbacks have been continuing since. In August, President Trump also moved to cancel foreign aid payments that Congress had already approved, and then in September, he asked the Supreme Court to uphold this decision.

Dr Nutt and Palvetzian said that the U.S. was not the first foreign aid department to shift away from its commitments: the UK, Germany and Canada also reduced international assistance and development spending. 

It is predicted that the cuts have already led to thousands of deaths, and that figure will climb into the millions by 2030. 

“I don’t know if the U.S. will ever rebuild its aid commitment,” Dr Nutt said. 

“On top of that, they have signalled to the rest of the world that it is okay to opt out.

“It gives permission to historically progressive governments that tried to achieve 0.7 per cent of national wealth as a contribution to humanitarian spending to say ‘This is no longer a priority, and we have our own needs.’”

While Brender was uncertain about the future of humanitarian funding, the Slaight Family Foundation and Dr. Nutt hoped that other donors, grantmakers, and governments would offset some of the lethal impacts. 

“This is an opportunity [for Canada] to take a leadership role,” Dr Nutt said. 

“Not everyone is buying into this Trumpian view of the world. Canada does not have to follow the U.S.’s lead,” she added. 

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