Following the launch of the Canada-Africa Economic Cooperation Strategy on March 6, 2025, there has been lots of responses – all containing accolades on the government and most also containing expression of surprise and disappointment at the “unfulfilled expectations” of the strategy statement.
One key takeaway for me was that Ben Marc Diendéré, Canada’s Permanent Observer to the African Union, was appointed as Canada’s Special Envoy for Africa. Mr. Diendéré is mandated to engage with high-level stakeholders and work with Canada’s Heads of Mission in the region to advance Canadian interests, including promoting trade. I think this is where the call for patience is golden! Let us assume that the government of Canada hasn’t figured it out yet, so this is their route to “figuring it out!” I think we should give Ben Marc some runway for an effective take-off – allow for the mandate on him to commence, and position to be on the table as an asset when the time comes, if you count yourself a stakeholder.
But how prepared is Africa to take advantage of this opportunity? Oftentimes, we expect the “developed world” to come with everything and turn our economic landscape around. Is that a feasible, sustainable practice? I think not. Let’s first attempt to dissect Canada, as the expected “new” investor in Africa…
According to the 2025 Global Peace Index by the Institute for Economics and Peace, IEP (an organisation I’m proudly part of as a Peace Ambassador, Canada ranked 14th out of 163 countries, dropping three places from 11th position in 2024. Canada was among the top 10 most peaceful countries as of 2021. What this immediately means is that Canada is now one of those nations fighting rising crime rates intensely. It takes a lot of money (and rapidly evolving technology) to fight crime! According to Statistics Canada, as of 2024, Canada spent approximately $522 per person annually on crime-related activities. This figure includes expenditures on policing, courts, corrections, and other public safety services, with about 90% of that spending being at the provincial and municipal levels. Canada’s population was 41.3 million then, leading to a total annual average cost of $21.56 billion. With a population projection of 42.2 million in 2025, it would cost the government $22.03 billion this year. This is about five times the GDP of Burundi and about 25% of Ghana’s GDP!
services, capital, and people, fostering economic integration, it would take a lot more to effectively turn the African project around. It would take an EU-like model!
According to the Publications Office of the EU, the European Union (EU) model is a unique system of regional cooperation where member states pool some sovereignty in areas of common interest, while remaining sovereign in others, with decision-making happening through a mix of supranational and intergovernmental processes (common institutions), including the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, and the European Court of Justice, that are responsible for law-making, policy implementation, and judicial oversight.
So, while we are hopeful for future meaningful engagement with the Canadian government around the new strategy, we must admit that there’s a massive ‘in-house clean-up” to do in order for Africa to derive the required and anticipated benefits from intercontinental relationships. Looking at this from the eyes of the Institute for Economics and Peace, Africa has to align with the pillars of positive peace – well-functioning government, a sound business environment, equitable distribution of resources, acceptance of the rights of others, good relations with neighbors, a free flow of information, high levels of human capital, and low levels of corruption.
I am willing to be patient with and prepared for CA-ECS; are you?
Uche Okugo, MBA
Africa-Canada Economic Development Relations
Research, Policy and Advocacy
