Federal Budget 2026: UNICEF Canada calls on Canada to stand up for children everywhere

Canada’s commitment to children can’t stop at our borders 

TORONTO, November 5, 2026 – In a time of economic uncertainty and global instability, investing in children is a national imperative. Strong beginnings build a stronger Canada. Investing in children globally helps build a more stable, prosperous and secure world. 

UNICEF Canada is encouraged by elements of the 2026 Federal Budget, including investments towards keeping children safe online and increased funding for Indigenous children. Broader investments to address homelessness, mental health, and food insecurity also offer potential to improve the lives of children and youth across Canada. But gaps remain. More than ever, a holistic, long-term, targeted vision for improving children’s well-being is needed in Canada. 

When it comes to supporting children abroad, the budget's ambition for children appears to stop at our borders. In a recent UNICEF Canada and Environics poll, data showed that 82% of Canadians want Canada to do at least as much as, if not more than, other countries to help children in the world's poorest countries. Budget 2026 is largely silent on what action Canada will take.        

Investing in children strengthens Canada 

Budget 2026 includes some promising measures for children that will help give every child a strong start in life, including: 

Protecting children’s rights online 

UNICEF Canada welcomes Budget 2026’s funding to support the creation of a Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission to keep children safe online and investments in organizations working to support children’s online safety as important steps towards creating a safer online world for children. As more of childhood unfolds online, Canada needs an approach that protects children from harm while respecting their rights to participation, privacy and information. 

Reducing child poverty 

UNICEF Canada is pleased to see Budget 2026’s measures to address homelessness through expanded access to affordable housing and integrated health and social supports, which have the potential to positively impact children and families experiencing homelessness. UNICEF Canada urges the government to go further to reduce child poverty, including through enhanced targeted income support for families with the greatest need. UNICEF’s Report Card 20 shows that one in five children in Canada live in poverty, underscoring the need for stronger investments and measures that specifically target the needs of children and families. 

Addressing barriers for Indigenous children 

UNICEF Canada is encouraged by the investments to support Indigenous children and families, including through additional funding for Jordan’s Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative. The federal government must continue working with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners to address ongoing systemic barriers and ensure children receive the health, social and educational services they need without delay.  

“Budget 2026 builds on a foundation of successful programs aimed at helping families make ends meet, ensuring children have nutritious food and providing timely mental health support. But progress hasn't come fast enough. In UNICEF's Report Card 20, Canada ranked 22nd out of 37 wealthy countries on children’s well-being. An integrated strategy that brings these building blocks together would help lead to healthier childhoods and a stronger, more resilient country,” said Sevaun Palvetzian, President and CEO of UNICEF Canada. 

A missed opportunity: leveraging international assistance for global stability 

UNICEF Canada is disappointed to see that Budget 2026 is largely silent on how Canada will support children in low-income and fragile countries. We look forward to Canada releasing an updated foreign policy with clear priorities and transparent funding commitments that will support essential development and humanitarian programming.   

Canada’s resilience at home is strengthened by sustained engagement in the world. International assistance helps children survive and thrive while strengthening the health, education and protection systems on which peaceful, stable societies depend.  

Canada must protect predictable, long-term investments in development and humanitarian assistance, including programs supporting child health, nutrition and immunization. Global investment has helped cut under-five mortality by half since 2000.  

These gains are too important to lose.   

Public support for Canadian leadership 

As Canada defines its role as a middle power, international assistance is a vital lever of strategic foreign policy. A recent Rockefeller Foundation survey across 34 countries found that 60 per cent of respondents expressed confidence and comfort in Canada taking a leading role in world affairs. This placed Canada at the top of the list, ahead of the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. 

Canadians support the country in taking on a leading role. The UNICEF Canada and Environics poll shows that 63 per cent believe that providing foreign aid to reduce hunger and disease among children will make the world a safer place for everyone, including Canadians themselves. Furthermore, 65 per cent of all Canadians say they feel proud when Canada helps children in the world's poorest countries.   

“Investing in children is both principled and pragmatic. Security and prosperity are built not only through defence and trade, but also in the classrooms, health centres and public systems that give children and communities a foundation for peace. Historically as a part of our country's foreign strategy, international development has helped to strengthen our influence abroad,” said Palvetzian. 

Masters of our own destiny: a child-rights approach to shaping Canada’s future 

Beyond individual budget measures, UNICEF Canada calls on the federal government to assess how proposed policies and spending decisions affect children’s rights. Budget 2026 could be strengthened with a more coordinated approach to children’s well-being as a driver of national resilience. This is why Canada needs a national strategy for children and youth to set clear goals, coordinate action and track progress. Children and young people must help shape that work. While Bill S-212 has failed to advance, the need for action remains urgent. Children cannot afford momentum to be lost. 

More broadly, being masters of our own destiny cannot mean turning inward. Canada’s security, prosperity and influence also depends on sustained global leadership, including investing in the children and communities whose futures will shape our shared world. 

“A budget should be judged not only by what it builds today, but by the future it makes possible. Children will live longest with the consequences of these decisions, and their well-being must be part of how Canada measures resilience and prosperity,” said Palvetzian. 

UNICEF Canada will continue working with the federal government and partners to put children’s rights and well-being at the heart of decisions shaping Canada’s future. 
 

Media Contact 

Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé 
Senior Manager, Media Relations 
UNICEF Canada 
ibourgeault-tasse@unicef.ca