Canada is becoming an afterthought in Africa

Canada’s prosperity depends on international trade. Yet Ottawa remains conspicuously slow to engage with Africa, a burgeoning hub of economic dynamism and an increasingly important geopolitical player. Instead, Canada’s presence on the continent is dissipating. The Liberal government deserves credit for its proposed Canada-Africa Economic Co-operation Strategy (CA-ECS). The plan is premised around support for the African Continental Free Trade Area—the world’s largest free-trade zone—as well as facilitating investments in infrastructure, and expanding partnerships in research and innovation. But its progress has slowed since the public feedback process launched last May. Canada’s African diaspora, Africa-facing organizations, and allied groups have participated in consultations, and submitted input via designated channels. Yet they’ve been given no clear indication of what to expect and when. And if the glacial pace of development of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy is a benchmark—taking more than three years to materialize—Canada could lack a coherent approach to Africa for a while. A possible change in government next year might delay matters even further. This is a major problem. By far the world’s youngest region, Africa’s trajectory will profoundly impact the energy transition, international migration, global security, and more. Mutually beneficial market opportunities around clean power, agriculture, financial tech, education, digital connectivity, and logistics are already abundant. Tapfuma Musewe, left, and Kyle Hiebert. Handout photographs Post-pandemic concerns over African governments falling into debt distress are easing as well. The African Development Bank’s latest annual economic outlook report suggests the continent will possess 11 of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies in 2024. The bank’s analysis also indicates fiscal deficits have stabilized; the average of debt-to-GDP ratios across Africa will decline to 60 per cent this year, down from 63.5 per cent between 2021 and 2023. Local currencies are gaining strength, too. And investors are mobilizing: the prospect of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve has reduced the average risk premium for African debt over United States treasuries down to the lowest levels since early 2022. Geopolitical shifts are providing added effect. The rebalancing of global power away from western hegemony has countries across the Global South embracing greater agency in a multipolar world. This includes African nations which are busy courting the opportunities that come with competition. India, Japan, and the U.S. have each launched charm offensives in Africa to counter China’s vast footprint there. Beijing, meanwhile, is evolving away from mega infrastructure project partnerships toward more nuanced political and economic engagement. Kremlin-linked entities have struck a flurry of deals with African governments dating back to 2014. Turkey, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates are pouring money and diplomatic attention into Africa in a bid to cement their status as regional powers. European countries seek to tap the continent’s vast energy supplies as they pivot away from Russia. Canada is virtually irrelevant by comparison. In 2021, our country did roughly $13-billion in combined trade with Africa’s 54 countries and collective market of 1.5-billion people. That’s slightly more than we traded with Mexico and the Netherlands alone last year. True, Canada has invested in successful development projects around improving female reproductive health. But these get overshadowed by instances of Canadian corporate malfeasance and Ottawa’s cuts to foreign aid. Then there is our near complete withdrawal from United Nations peacekeeping and stabilization missions—aside from a brief, virtue-signalling flop in Mali beginning in 2018. Ottawa must take Africa seriously, and soon. Lecturing sovereign, diverse African nations on social issues and platitudes about democracy will also not get very far. Rather, African experts point to how western engagement should focus on enabling democracy-agnostic improvements to service delivery that can unlock economic growth. This will require much greater effort to better understand and appreciate the unique needs, perspectives, and interests of individual African countries themselves. Canada’s African diaspora over the last year has dedicated significant time and resources to clearly and repeatedly communicate this to the Liberal government. The upcoming federal budget will therefore reveal whether expediting the CA-ECS is a priority for Ottawa. If not, this will signal to African leaders and their citizens more of the same: you’re good enough for us to extract your resources and send you some meagre aid for your problems, but we don’t consider you peers and equitable stakeholders. Tapfuma Musewe is the associate director of sustainable finance at EYElliance, and founder of Afrifursa, an organization that connects members of the African diaspora and others with opportunities for collaboration across Africa. Kyle Hiebert is an independent analyst and contributing writer to the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He was formerly based in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa, as the deputy editor of the Africa Conflict Monitor. The Hill Times

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Canada is becoming an afterthought in Africa

Global power is moving away from western hegemony, and African nations are busy courting the opportunities that come with competition.

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