Quebec humanitarian non-profit reeling from USAID cuts

The Trump administration’s cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are having a far-reaching impact.

After the call for a USAID funding freeze, organizations around the world — including in Quebec — fear what could come.

The Montreal group Centre d'étude et de Coopération Internationale (CECI) offers humanitarian aid in 17 countries including Mali. The group manages funding from USAID, the Canadian and Quebec governments, and other sources.

“For us, you know, the impact is really this project, so these 123,000 people who right now are not able to get the food aid, the shelter support, the violence protection,” says CECI executive director Philippe Dongier.

CECI’s work in West Africa has provided food and shelter for many displaced by war. Dongier says they also create jobs to help sway vulnerable populations from joining armed groups.

Without the $3 million that their project in Mali typically receives from USAID over 18 months, on-the-ground personnel are calling the situation a catastrophe.

“The impact is truly unimaginable in the sense that people were expecting a lot from CECI — in the sense that we saw very great results from the distribution that we did do,” says Mali project chief Boubacar Doumbia.

For CECI, USAID funding accounts for only 2.5 per cent of their overall budget and their other projects will be alright.

However, some efforts led by Quebec Association of International Cooperation (AQOCI) member groups face a different reality.

“The international aid provided by the United States is about 30 per cent of all international aid worldwide. So even if you’re not getting directly funded by the U.S. it’s impactful,” says AQOCI policy analyst Denis Côté.

He says AQOCI is calling on countries worldwide to step up.

“There’s about 30 countries that are considered donor countries around the world to provide international aid. And the United Nations had set a target, decades ago, that all of these countries should provide 0.7 per cent of their national wealth through international assistance. And today in 2025, still only five of these 30 countries have reached that target,” says the analyst.

According to the Government of Canada website, the country had no plan to achieve its 0.7 per cent target as of February 2024. Canada did however commit to increasing its international development assistance each year until 2030.

In a statement to CTV News, Global Affairs Canada said “the country’s efforts continue to alleviate poverty, advance human rights, and support the world’s most vulnerable as we work toward achieving the sustainable development goals.”

The agency added they are “assessing the situation following changes to U.S. foreign aid. No further decisions have been made at this time and we will have more to say as the situation evolves.”

CTV reached out to USAID for comment but did not hear back and the agency website has since been taken down.

Meanwhile, project leaders hope Trump’s administration will see the positive connection between humanitarian aid and social stability.