Backgrounder: Canadian participation at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and Canada’s 2023 Voluntary National Review

Canada’s delegation at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

Canada will be represented at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York on July 19, 2023, by a broad cross-section of Canadian society. Organizations participating in the delegation include:

Other levels of government
City of Burlington
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Government of Northwest Territories
Government of Nunavut
Government of Quebec

National Indigenous organizations
Assembly of First Nations

Civil society organizations
Alberta Council for Global Cooperation, Edmonton, AB
Association Tinhinan Canada, Ottawa, ON
Canadian Association of International Development Professionals, Galiano Island, BC
CSA Group, Ottawa, ON
Citizens for Public Justice, Ottawa, ON
Colleges and Institutes Canada, Ottawa, ON
Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario, Toronto, ON
Cooperation Canada, Ottawa, ON
Developing Young Leaders of Tomorrow Today, Windsor, ON
Digital Moment, Montréal, QC
Electricity Canada, Ottawa, ON
Food Secure Canada, Montréal, QC
Information and Communications Technology Council, Ottawa, ON
International Institute for Sustainable Development, Winnipeg, MB
International Longevity Centre Canada, Ottawa, ON
Pamir Canadian Multiculturalism Council, Calgary, AB
Regroupement des activistes pour l’inclusion au Québec, Montréal, QC
Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC
University of Guelph, Guelph, ON
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON
York University, Toronto, ON
Young Diplomats of Canada, Aurora and Toronto, ON

Canada’s Voluntary National Review: Progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Canada’s second Voluntary National Review assesses Canada’s achievements and experiences since 2018 across all SDGs, with a focus on five priority goals that are aligned with Canada’s domestic and international priorities. Like Canada’s first Voluntary National Review in 2018, this report was developed through consultation and reflects collaborative efforts to advance the 17 SDGs, including contributions and notable efforts from federal, provincial and territorial governments, municipalities, national Indigenous organizations, not-for-profit organizations, academia, the private sector and other civil society actors. It leverages robust data to measure Canada’s progress toward reaching its SDG ambitions and targets.

The results for each of the 17 SDGs are measured against the most current Canadian data available as of the end of April 2023 and applied to the Global Indicator Framework and the Canadian Indicator Framework. Specific focus is given to the following:

• No Poverty (SDG 1)
  Significant progress has been made on reducing poverty. Canada benefits from a strong and innovative economy and has surpassed its interim target of a 20% reduction in poverty by 2020. In 2021, there were close to 2.3 million fewer Canadians living in poverty than in 2015. This represents a 49% decrease in the overall poverty rate compared to 2015, the baseline year for Canada’s legislated poverty reduction targets. While recent data reflect the emergence of new challenges, including higher inflation, Canada remains well-positioned to achieve a 50% decrease in poverty by 2030, based on 2015 levels. Canada contributes to global efforts to eradicate poverty and increased its total international assistance resources to $8.4 billion in 2021–2022.

• Quality Education (SDG 4)
  Ensuring access to quality education is fundamental to tackling poverty, and Canada continues to demonstrate global leadership in investing in and ensuring access to quality education. Canadian educational outcomes are among the highest in the world. Overall rates of high school and post-secondary completion have risen, while the completion rate gap between Indigenous people and the general population has continued to narrow in the past years. Provinces and territories have responsibility for education in Canada. They work to support students, parents and education staff to ensure academic achievement and student well-being.
  
  The Government of Canada is making an historic investment of $30 billion over five years in an initiative to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners. Six provinces and territories have already reduced fees for regulated child care to $10-a-day or less, with Quebec and Yukon having achieved $10 a day or less before the Canada-wide agreements, while the remaining jurisdictions having reduced their fees by an average of at least 50%. Beginning in 2025–2026, when combined with previous investments announced since 2015, a minimum of $9.2 billion every year will be provided for Early Learning and Child Care and Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care.
  
  Globally, Canada continues to strive to ensure access to quality, safe and inclusive education, with a focus on marginalized girls and women and on refugee, displaced and host community children and youth (as framed by the G7 Charlevoix Education Initiative). This work is undertaken through Canada’s Together for Learning campaign, as well as through partnership, bilateral and multilateral investments, including the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait.

• Gender Equality (SDG 5)
  Canada has a long-standing commitment to gender equality and is taking concrete action to support women, girls and the 2SLGBTQI+ community. This includes ensuring equal pay for work of equal value in federally-regulated workplaces. Gender-based violence continues to be a significant barrier to achieving gender equality, which is why the first National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence was launched in 2022. This 10-year plan is a strategic framework for action within and across jurisdictions, with the goal of supporting victims, survivors and their families no matter where they live in Canada.
  
  Globally, Canada is the top-ranked Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development donor for the share of aid supporting gender equality, and is among the top-ranked for investments supporting women’s rights organizations. This includes international assistance that has reached more than 4 million girls and women and more than 1,800 women’s rights organizations, as well as a commitment to equality for 2SLGBTQI+ people and communities.

•  Climate Action (SDG 13) 
  
  Canada is taking bold action on climate change, as it works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030, and achieve net-zero emissions. In 2022, Canada released its 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, which included $9.1 billion in new investments to cut pollution and grow the economy. In June 2023, the Government of Canada released its National Adaptation Strategy to adapt and build resilience to the impacts of climate change. In 2022, the Government of Canada invested $1.6 billion in adaptation measures. This builds on the $4.9 billion that has already been invested in adaptation since 2011. In 2021, Canada committed $5.3 billion in climate financing to help low- and middle-income countries transition to sustainable and climate-resilient development. 
  
• Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17)
  
  Partnerships are key to advancing the 2030 Agenda. The Government of Canada committed to investing $59.8 million over 13 years through the SDG Funding Program to support whole-of-society stakeholders advancing the SDGs. Canada plays a leading international role on the development of global indicators as part of the United Nations Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators. Canada also mobilized $33 billion through its Total Official Support for Sustainable Development from 2018 to 2021. These investments are matched by Canada’s high-level commitment to global action, with Prime Minister Trudeau currently serving as co-chair of the United Nations Secretary General’s SDG Advocates Group with Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados.

A Whole-of-Society Approach to the Sustainable Development Goals

Canada’s work to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a shared responsibility requiring a whole-of-society effort to build stronger, safer and more inclusive communities that leave no one behind. Recent progress can be measured through the delivery of the following activities:

• The SDG Funding Program (2018) invests $59.8 million in funding over 13 years and has supported over 130 projects to date.
• Moving Forward Together: Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy (2021) sets out an approach to accelerate progress toward meeting the SDGs domestically and internationally.
• The Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda (2021) articulates how the Government of Canada will contribute to advancing the National Strategy at the federal level.
• Taking Action Together – Canada’s 2021 Annual Report on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (2022) is Canada’s first annual report on the SDGs and highlights whole-of-society efforts toward advancing the 2030 Agenda.

Statistics for all of the indicators are available to the public. Canada is tracking its progress on the goals through the Global Indicator Framework, as well as through the Canadian Indicator Framework, developed in 2019. The Canadian Indicator Framework is a set of indicators that more closely match Canada’s domestic priorities on the SDGs.

Canada will continue to release an annual report each year as a measure of transparency. Whole-of-society partners and stakeholders also carry out their own Voluntary Local Reviews, research studies and reports, which provide additional insights about progress on the SDGs in Canada.  

Opportunities for action and improvement

Canada has made good progress to date and, the Government is committed to continuing efforts toward the 2030 Agenda. In particular, the Government recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on Canadians, across many communities, organizations and sectors. All levels of government have taken steps to address the challenges of the pandemic and have kept to the 2030 Agenda’s principle of leaving no one behind. Many financial supports and other initiatives are helping those who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and these have put Canada solidly on a path to an inclusive and resilient recovery. Internationally, Canada has also provided assistance to other countries to respond to the pandemic.  

New initiatives and activities will also help usher in progress on several SDGs at once. For example, Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan is the most comprehensive plan of its kind in Canada’s history. This plan will support progress on Canada’s goals, for example, through its pollution pricing measures, its emphasis on clean fuels, and its measures affecting buildings, transport and agriculture.

Other SDGs still require additional action. Canada continues to note health inequalities for many populations, with significant and well-documented gaps in health outcomes for Indigenous peoples: this impacts Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3). Statistics continue to show the scale and impacts of gender inequality. This in turn affects Canada’s ability to make progress on other SDGs, especially Gender Equality (SDG 5) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10). Finally, many Canadians are facing challenges with higher food and housing prices, which impacts Zero Hunger (SDG 2) and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11). 

Canada continues to engage with other countries and multilateral organizations to support progress toward the 2030 Agenda. Canada’s international contributions are guided by priorities identified in Canada’s Feminist Foreign Policy, which incorporates its Feminist International Assistance Policy, its inclusive approach to trade, and its National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. Canada believes that a stronger rules-based international system, lasting peace and security, access to justice, prosperity and human rights, including diversity, inclusion and gender equality, are essential for results across all SDGs. Canada’s international investments are objectives and priorities outlined in Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development, which is the primary financing framework for implementing the 2030 Agenda.

Next steps

Building on the strong foundations established over the past eight years, Canada remains steadfast in enabling and accelerating progress to achieve the SDGs in an inclusive, whole-of-society approach to ensure that no one is left behind.