OTTAWA, [February 2nd, 2026] — The Government of Canada is preparing to cut Canada’s international development assistance and is specifically targeting global health. These cuts have the potential to roll back life-saving international family planning funding, threatening millions of people’s access to contraception and undermining Canada’s global leadership on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
The new Just the Numbers report by the Guttmacher Institute, in collaboration with the Future Planning Initiative, shows Canada’s family planning investments save lives and prevent unsafe pregnancies. Yet proposed cuts of $2.7 billion to international assistance over four years would target essential global health programs—directly contradicting Canada’s 10-Year Commitment to Global Health and Rights, which pledged $700 million annually for SRHR.
“Canada’s investments deliver extraordinary impact. Cutting them now will strip away life-saving services, resulting in unsafe abortions and preventable deaths,” said Elizabeth Sully, Director of International Research at the Guttmacher Institute. “These aren’t abstract numbers—they’re real people who depend on these services.”
Between 2023–2024, Canada’s family planning funding helped avert 1.6 million unintended pregnancies and 478,000 unsafe abortions. The consequences of cuts are immediate. Every $10 million reduction would deny 623,000 people contraceptive care, cause 213,000 unintended pregnancies, lead to 63,000 unsafe abortions, and result in 277 preventable maternal deaths each year.
“These cuts ask a simple question: Who do we want Canada to be in the world?” said Frédérique Chabot, Executive Director of Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights. “Canada promised to be a reliable partner on reproductive rights. Walking that back tells the world our commitments disappear when things get hard.”
The Future Planning Initiative is calling on the Government of Canada to fully protect its $700 million annual commitment to SRHR under the 10-Year Commitment to Global Health and Rights and ensure family planning funding is not eroded through international assistance cuts.