Experts say Africa will turn Canada into a “friend zone” if Ottawa does not improve the deal

Canada is largely irrelevant on the world's fastest-growing continent, experts say, and a pattern of trade, diplomacy and disinvestment in Africa means Ottawa is ceding ground to Russia and China.

“If the current approach is maintained, Africa will go to the friendship zone with Canada because it is warm,” said Stanley Achonu, Nigeria director of One Campaign.

His organization, which fights extreme poverty and preventable diseases, testified this week before the Senate foreign affairs committee, which is looking at how Canada's relationship with the continent will nearly double its population by 2050.

Liberals have promised an Africa strategy for years. The long-delayed document was described as a framework last year and has yet to be published.

In recent years, senators have warned that Canada is lagging behind peers and developing nations in setting trade and development strategies with the continent of more than one billion people.

They note that Africa accounts for most of the world's potential for solar panels and has vast reserves of essential minerals and carbon-reducing ecosystems. The World Bank says a continental free trade agreement could lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty and inject US$3.4 trillion into African economies.

Christopher McLennan, Canada's official overseeing foreign aid, says Africa needs better governance, bigger infrastructure projects and debt restructuring to get there.

Nicolas Moyer, head of education non-profit organization Cuso International, said Canada is losing ground in countries where Beijing and Moscow are gaining influence and downplaying Ottawa's large role in development work in previous decades.

“Canada needs Africa more than Africa needs Canada,” said Moyer, whose group was formerly known as the Canadian University Overseas Service.

“The longer the distance with Africa is maintained, the more difficult it will be to restore relations and build them in the future.”

Moyer said much of Africa could be a key partner for Canada, as South Korea develops. The country remembers Canada's sacrifice in the Korean War and decades of development work, and is now an economic powerhouse that views Ottawa as a key partner in everything from artificial intelligence to natural gas imports.

Moyer noted that Canada's investments have helped drive real change in Africa, with liberals and conservatives focusing on maternal health and women's education, for example.

These investments led to fewer teenage pregnancies and fewer child marriages, which helped dramatically reduce infant mortality rates.

“Canada can be a leader on the African continent, if not with the strength of its wallet, then with confidence, engagement and a long-term commitment to our partners,” Moyer said, but that “requires confronting anxiety.” much to change our course.'

This requires a decolonial approach to identifying what Africans want and playing a supportive role in promoting these goals, such as organizing international summits.

In places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Moyer's group has supported gender and sexual minorities by funding entrepreneurial projects.

This gives marginalized people a foothold in the economy so they can pursue their own projects, such as using radio programs to combat anti-gay stigma in a way that is not seen as imposing Western values.

Achonu said Canada's focus on LGBTQ+ rights will only grow if African countries feel respected and see Ottawa looking to invest in their own gains instead of lecturing on social issues, a strategy he says will leave the deal “dead on arrival.”

“Partnering first paves the way for future conversations around rights,” he said.

Many of these recommendations were contained in a report last July by the umbrella group of development organizations, Cooperation Canada, in which countries from Japan to India published strategies on how to engage with Africa.

He suggested that Canada focus on working with civil society groups in Africa, which requires working with more than just government officials on the continent to prevent authoritarian rule.

Achonu also said Ottawa should help finance infrastructure projects at low cost by tripling funding for development finance institution FinDev.

He noted that last year the government increased the agency's budget for work in the Indo-Pacific region by $750 million, and said that such an increase would help build African projects.

Achonu said China's popularity in Africa was partly driven by branding exercises.

“Across Africa, you see real infrastructure built by Chinese companies, funded by China or through loans. But I cannot say the same about Western partners who want Africa on their side,” he said.

Part of the problem is that Canada tends to fund programming instead of building projects, he said.

“Are there specific things that Africans can claim to be 'Canadian-built' or 'Canadian-made'?” And I'm not just saying that — Canada saves lives, and the investments you make in important areas like health are incredible.”

MacLennan said Canadian officials are still welcome in Africa, and he said Ottawa is not under the same pressure as European counterparts with a more visible presence in Africa because Canada's geographic location requires it to focus on a more visible presence. Indo-Pacific Ocean.

The Center for International Development Studies, a federal Crown corporation, has argued that Canada's relevance in Africa will be maintained in part through cooperation with individual countries.