Canada's aid budget has been one of the first areas of government spending to be earmarked for cuts. While most Canadians support aid û Canada gives twice as much per capita as the USA û the issue is not politicized to the point where cuts have been reversed.
First to suffer have been the large number of NGOs which the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) supports. The regional focus of aid has shifted from traditional areas, such as francophone West Africa, to Southeast Asia. This reflects the growing importance of Canada's Asian minority trade links; Pacific trade is now 65% greater than trade across the Atlantic. Aid now aims to provide specific skills, rather than funding for large-scale development projects.
