McLeod Group blog by Pamela Branch, April 28, 2025

On January 20, the United States suspended virtually all its international development spending for 90 days, citing concerns with corruption and effectiveness. Other cash-strapped countries have followed. Read more…

McLeod Group blog by Stephen Brown, April 23, 2025

The recent turmoil in Washington has reshaped Canada’s 2025 election campaign, driving fundamental discussions on how Canada should position itself in the world. With election day looming, what are the contenders saying about foreign aid? Read more…

McLeod Group blog by Diana Rivington, April 22, 2025

Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre is a riveting read, and not just for policy nerds like me. The book’s author, lawyer and historian Mark Bourrie, chose the title after reading a column by David Brooks in the New York Times that identified Western politicians as either rippers or weavers. Read more…

McLeod Group blog by Kirsten Van Houten and Diana Rivington, April 10, 2025

The Trump administration has banned a growing list of terms in relation to research, policy and programming, including gender, gender equality, women, LGBTQ rights, disability and race. These changes are emboldening other states to undermine global commitments to gender equality, including at the UN. Read more…

McLeod Group blog by Lauchlan T. Munro, March 27, 2025

From 1945 until recently, the United States served as the cornerstone of the liberal rules-based international order in trade, finance and security. Read more…

McLeod Group blog by Lauchlan T. Munro, March 26, 2025

Here is a sentence no one could have written in the 1980s: “Canada’s political parties and provincial governments are united in supporting free trade with the United States”. Read more…

McLeod Group blog by Stephen Brown, March 19, 2025

The timing was unusual. After being delayed by well over a year, the Trudeau government finally released its Africa strategy, a mere eight days before a new government was sworn in and probably only a few weeks before new federal elections are called. Read more…

McLeod Group guest blog by S.L. Erikson, March 12, 2025

Aid can’t be run like a private equity or hedge fund. And yet, Benjamin Black, Donald Trump’s nominee to run the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), is eager to redirect USAID’s US$44 billion budget away from public, civil servant managers to private Wall Street financiers. Read more…

McLeod Group blog by Lauchlan T. Munro, February 4, 2025

In a midnight post on his social media platform X, Elon Musk announced what appears to be the “shutting… down” of the 63-year-old US Agency for International Development (USAID), America’s main vehicle for delivering development and humanitarian assistance overseas. Read more…

How Haiti and Canada can turn the urban exodus into an opportunity to decentralize and build a sustainable future for Haitians

McLeod Group guest blog by Mary Durran, February 3, 2025. Read more…