Global Affairs Canada


Global Affairs Canada is the department of the Government of Canada that manages Canada's diplomatic and consular relations, promotes Canadian international trade, and leads Canada's international development and humanitarian assistance. It is also responsible for maintaining Canadian government offices abroad with diplomatic and consular status on behalf of all government departments.
According to the OECD, Canada's total official development assistance increased in 2022 due to exceptional support to Ukraine and its pandemic response in developing countries, increased costs for in-donor refugees as well as higher contributions to international organizations, representing 0.37% of gross national income.

History

The department has undergone numerous name changes and re-organizations since its founding in 1909. Originally established as the "Department of External Affairs", GAC has been known by a variety of names throughout its lifetime. Its current legal name is the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, but its "applied" name used within government is Global Affairs Canada often shorted in the Canadian media to simply "Global Affairs".

Origins (early 20th century)

GAC was first founded as the Department of External Affairs on 1 June 1909.
During and after World War I, Canada assumed greater control over its foreign relations, with its full autonomy in this field confirmed by the Statute of Westminster in 1931. For historical reasons, the name External Affairs was retained.
The Department of Trade and Commerce, which included the Trade Commissioner Service, had been created in 1892. In 1969, it was combined with the Department of Industry to form the Department of Industry Trade and Commerce. Both External Affairs and ITC maintained networks of offices abroad, with varying degrees of coordination among them. The Department of Citizenship and Immigration also had offices abroad, in some cases dating back to Confederation.

Reorganization (1970s–80s)

In the 1970s and early 1980s, there were growing efforts to ensure coordination among all Canadian government offices outside Canada and to strengthen the leadership role and authority of heads of post over all Canadian government staff in their areas of accreditation. This led to a 1979 decision by Prime Minister Joe Clark to consolidate the various streams of the Canadian Foreign Service, including the "political" stream, the Trade Commissioner Service, and the Immigration Foreign Service.
This was followed in 1982 by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's decision to combine External Affairs and International Trade into a single department. It initially retained the name of Department of External Affairs, but was subsequently renamed External Affairs and International Trade. The change was reflected in a new Department of External Affairs Act passed in 1983. The 1982 merger was part of larger reorganization of government that also combined the Industry component of ITC with the Department of Regional Economic Expansion.

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (1993–95)

The department's name was changed to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1993, about 60 years after Canada had gained control over its foreign policy in 1931—though this change was only formalized by an Act of Parliament in 1995. DFAIT maintained two separate ministers: the Minister of Foreign Affairs, with lead responsibility for the portfolio, and the Minister of International Trade. The Minister for International Cooperation, who was responsible for agencies such as the Canadian International Development Agency, also fell under DFAIT. Moreover, the responsibilities of DFAIT would include Canadian relations with Commonwealth nations—though such nations are not considered 'foreign' to one another.
CIDA had been formally established in 1968, although a preceding External Aid Office was created as a branch of the External Affairs Department in 1960, building on roots that go back to the Colombo Plan in the early 1950s.

Recent developments (21st century)

Through an administrative separation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, two separate departments named Foreign Affairs Canada and International Trade Canada were created in December 2003. However, legislation to formally abolish DFAIT and provide a statutory basis for the separate departments failed to pass a first vote in the House of Commons on 15 February 2005. The government, nonetheless, maintained the administrative separation of the two departments despite neither having been established through an Act of Parliament.
In early 2006, under the new government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Affairs Canada and International Trade Canada were re-joined to again form a single department known as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.
In 2013, included within the Conservative government's omnibus budget bill, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 21, 2013 and other measures, was a section that would fold CIDA into the department, creating the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. The bill received royal assent on 26 June 2013.
On 4 November 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's new Liberal government again modified the name of the department. While its legal name remains the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, its public designation under the Federal Identity Program is Global Affairs Canada. Despite the change to the applied title of the department, the senior minister responsible is still called the Minister of Foreign Affairs, rather than "Minister of Global Affairs", in line with the terminology used in other jurisdictions and in international law.

Functions and structure

GAC is headquartered in the Lester B. Pearson Building at 125 Sussex Drive on the banks of the Rideau River in Ottawa, but operates out of several properties in Canada's National Capital Region.

Ministers

Ministers and parliamentary secretaries to ministers are elected members of the House of Commons and accountable to Parliament. Ministers are also members of the cabinet and privy council. The current leadership of GAC is provided by three ministers, each with their own responsibilities.
The minister of foreign affairs is the senior minister in the department, with responsibility for foreign policy matters as well as the department overall. This ministerial portfolio includes:
The portfolio of the Secretary of State is responsible for international development, poverty reduction, and humanitarian assistance. This ministerial portfolio includes:
The minister of international trade is responsible for matters of international trade. This ministerial portfolio includes:
The institute is Global Affairs Canada's primary training provider. It offers training to clients in federal, provincial, and municipal governments, as well as to non-governmental organizations, foreign governments and organizations, academic institutions, and, in certain cases, private sector companies.

Current departmental structure

are senior public servants who take political direction from ministers and are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department.
The current departmental structure, and corresponding executives, are as follows:
Branches of Global Affairs each have their own Assistant Deputy Minister, who report to all three deputy ministers:
  • Strategic Planning and Policy
  • Consular, Security and Emergency Management Branch
  • Global Issues
  • International Security
  • International Business Development, Investment & Innovation
  • Trade Policy & Negotiation
  • International Platform
  • Legal Advisor
  • Human Resources
  • Corporate Finance and Operations

    Organizations

Included in the portfolios of the three Global Affairs ministers are:
  • Crown corporations:
  • # Business Development Bank of Canada
  • # Canadian Commercial Corporation
  • # Export Development Canada
  • # International Development Research Centre
  • # Invest in Canada
  • shared-governance corporations :
  • # Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
  • # International Joint Commission
  • # Permanent Joint Board on Defense
  • # Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission
  • international organizations:
  • # African Development Bank
  • # Asian Development Bank
  • # Inter-American Development Bank
  • # Caribbean Development Bank
  • # Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council