Last month, in Seville, Spain, global leaders, including Cooperation Canada, gathered at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) to rethink the future of global finance.
With overlapping crises—climate collapse, inequality, conflict and democratic erosion—this once-in-a-decade gathering was pivotal, especially for Canadians who value fairness and multilateralism.
Canada’s UN ambassador Bob Rae joined global leaders as the conference concluded with the Compromiso de Sevilla—a joint commitment to reform the way we finance development. The U.S. absence from the final agreement was notable—but it allowed others to salvage ambition and reshape the narrative.
Rae opened the plenary with a quote from Leonard Cohen: “Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” The Compromiso may be far from perfect, but it represents one of those cracks—an opening to rethink the foundations of global finance.
But will Canada step into that light?
FfD4 revealed a strong global appetite for change but also resistance, particularly from wealthier nations. Civil society participation was restricted. Proposals for structural reform were diluted. Canada hesitated to address the roots of inequality.
Yet, glimmers of progress emerged. Civil society demands like tax justice, debt cancellation, and financial reform are gaining momentum. Brazil, South Africa and Spain announced plans to tax the world’s wealthiest, signalling the Global South are increasingly coordinated and vocal.
Still, the structural barriers are enormous. Many low- and middle-income countries pay interest rates up to 12 times higher than wealthier peers. Approximately 3.4 billion people reside in countries that allocate more funds to debt payments than to education or healthcare. The IMF’s favoured term, “fiscal consolidation,” is just a rebrand of failed austerity and structural adjustment policies.
For Canada, these developments demand a shift in strategy. A reliance on innovative finance and private capital mobilization is no longer enough. Canada has contributed to financial innovation—but without justice, that’s not leadership.
We must ask tougher questions: How will Canada tackle tax abuse, unsustainable debt, and unfair trade? How do we build a system that prioritizes people over markets?
As one delegate aptly pointed out, these are not just elephants in the room—they are mammoths.
What must Canada do next?
Canada should support the democratic global finance by advancing real tax and debt reform and amplifying the voices of those most affected by inequality.
We must realign our international assistance with its original purpose: tackling poverty and reducing inequality. This isn’t about the value of aid—it’s about living our values and leaving no one behind. While Canada deserves credit for resisting the global trend of aid cuts, our commitments must be protected and strengthened.
We must restore trust in multilateralism and uphold international humanitarian law. Double standards on human rights, like Canada’s inaction on atrocities in Palestine, fuel suffering, deepen insecurity and damage global credibility.
We must reassess our global role, not just as donors, but as partners. “Aid” is outdated—papering over colonial wounds. What’s needed is a new model of cooperation based on shared responsibility.
Seville offers that opportunity. The rise in global military spending proves this isn’t about scarcity. Development cooperation is about shared security, including ours.
Canada helped shape consensus in Seville—no small feat in a fractured world. But consensus is no excuse for complacency.
With COP30 in Brazil, the G20 in South Africa and Canada chairing the G7, we have a choice: lead or lose our seat at the table.
If we want to belong, we must act accordingly. That means investing in cooperation, championing fairness and standing with the majority of the world burdened by crises they didn’t create.
As Prime Minister Mark Carney asserts, Canada must step up as others step back. This is one of those moments. Let’s not miss it.
Paul Farran is the director of policy at Cooperation Canada.
The Hill Times