Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals

Canadian ambition under partnerships for the goals

Canada's ambition^{Footnote 2} for this goal is to foster collaboration and partnerships to advance the SDGs, recognizing the catalytic potential of SDG 17 to help accelerate progress on all other SDGs. Canada is seeking to increase cross-sectoral collaboration domestically and abroad, including through its participation in multilateral forums and international assistance. In 2022, Canada provided $14.2 billion in Total Official Support for Sustainable Development^{Footnote 3}, of which $274 million supported SDG 17.

Measuring Progress: the Canadian Indicator Framework

In collaboration with federal departments and agencies, Statistics Canada has developed the Canadian Indicator Framework (CIF) for the Sustainable Development Goals. The CIF includes 76 indicators specific to Canada, which measure progress using a set of nationally relevant, objective and comprehensive indicators. CIF indicators for SDG 17 are:

• number of open datasets published by the Government of Canada
• total official support for sustainable development

What we are doing to foster partnerships for the goals in Canada

In February 2021, the Government of Canada launched Moving Forward Together: Canada's 2030 Agenda National Strategy. The Strategy is an important call to action to create and foster an enabling environment for whole-of-society collaboration to advance the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs both domestically and abroad.

In 2018, the Government of Canada committed up to 59.8 million for the SDG Funding Program over 13 years (2018 to 2031). The purpose of this Grants and Contributions program, is to support the participation of all stakeholders in the implementation of the SDGs in Canada and to foster local and community results. Partnerships aim at making progress on the SDGs, and advancing key priorities for the Government of Canada, including but not limited to gender equity, reconciliation and supporting groups or individuals in vulnerable situations in the spirit of leaving no one behind. Partners include:

• not-for-profit organizations
• provinces and territories
• municipalities
• academia
• the private sector
• members of Indigenous communities and organizations
• members of equity-deserving groups

Projects funded through the SDG Funding program also aim to foster reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples by funding engagement activities that contribute to the Government of Canada's commitment to a renewed relationship with First Nations, Inuit and Métis by establishing Indigenous peoples as key partners. This includes dedicated Engagement Protocol Agreements with National Indigenous Organizations to further promote and integrate Indigenous perspectives in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in Canada.

In Canada, Open Government is about making government more accessible to everyone. The Open Government Portal allows Canadian individuals and organizations to access government data and datasets, digital records, information on completed access to information request summaries and contracts.

This information provides an important mechanism to enhance transparency and support evidence-based dialogue and collaboration between governments and civil society to help achieve the SDGs and to measure progress in meeting them.

Statistics Canada supports transparent reporting of data and statistics that help Canadians better understand their country-its population, resources, economy, society and culture. This is done through publishing thousands of data tables where the public can select variables of interest to them and create customized data tables.

Furthermore, Statistics Canada has the mandate to report for the Government of Canada on indicators for the SDGs. In 2018, Statistics Canada released the SDG Data Hub. The Hub reports on Canada's data for the Global Indicator Framework. In addition, the Canadian Indicator Framework data hub is an open source platform that reports the most recent data for the Canadian SDG indicators.

Canada also supports research programs to promote knowledge exchanges with the private sector and establish partnerships with other science systems. Science and technology (S and T) partnerships involving industry are crucial for:

• accelerating innovation
• ensuring that the technologies necessary to achieve sustainable development are widely affordable
• driving economic growth

What Canada is doing to foster partnerships for the goals abroad

Canada continues to actively engage in multilateral discussions to advance the financing for development agenda, including within the G7, G20 and at the UN. Moreover, since 2016, Canada and Jamaica have co-chaired the UN Group of Friends of SDG Financing, which serves as a platform to promote solutions-oriented ideas and builds on the work of the Financing for the Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond Initiative, launched by Canada, Jamaica and the UN Secretary General in 2020.

Since 2022, in his role as Co-Chair of the UN Secretary-General's SDG Advocates group alongside Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados,Prime Minister Trudeau has been working alongside 17 SDG Advocates to inspire renewed focus, ambition, and commitment to achieving the Goals, including at signature events such as the 2023 SDG Summit and the 2023 High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development.

Canada's Development Finance Institution, FinDev Canada, supports the private sector in developing countries with a focus on SDGs 5, 7, 8, 9 and 13. FinDev Canada plays a key role in advancing Canada's development agenda, particularly women's economic empowerment and climate action in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. As of October 2023, FinDev Canada has announced $US 792 million in signed commitments with 41partners.

Canada's Innovative Finance Programs are piloting the use of targeted investments, through repayable funding, to support innovation and sustainable development in developing countries. These programs demonstrate that investing in support of the SDGs can provide both development and financial returns.

Canada is applying a gender lens across all innovative finance programming in order to drive gender inclusion and increase women's access to economic opportunities.

The International Assistance Innovation Program, a 5-year pilot program (2019 to 2024), makes targeted investments to help mobilize additional private investments in developing countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Sovereign Loans Program, a 5-year pilot program (2019 to 2024), provides low-interest sovereign loans, primarily to middle-income countries, to support their investments in poverty reduction and peace and security.

In 2021 to 2022, Canada provided development, humanitarian, and peace and security assistance globally through multilateral and bilateral mechanisms and by partnering with Canadian, international and local organizations. In total, Canada provided $8.4 billion^{Footnote 4} in international assistance, in line with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) objectives to:

• eradicate poverty
• advance gender equality
• build a more peaceful, more inclusive and more prosperous world

Of that, $7.5 billion qualified as Canadian official development assistance under the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act.

Canada has been leading discussions in the Ottawa Group on World Trade Organization reform on ways to ensure the multilateral trading system remains relevant for 21st century trade, including supporting the SDGs and global economic recovery.

Canada and Costa Rica co-chair the WTO Trade and Environment Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), which provides a space for developed and developing countries to work together on global environmental sustainability objectives.

Canada is also an active member of the WTO Informal Group on Trade and Gender and the Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), and has ed on the Global Trade and Gender Arrangement (GTAGA) under the Inclusive Trade Action Group (ITAG) that advances women's economic empowerment in international trade.

A founding member, Canada has contributed $10M since 2015 to the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF), an innovative public-private partnership that jointly designs trade facilitation solutions to support developing countries' implementation of their obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation. The GATF has undertaken activities in 31 countries, held numerous public private dialogues (88 in 2022) that have engaged 1081 SMEs.

Canada supports meaningful and active engagement with civil society. Canada continues to advocate for safe and supportive environments in which civil society can thrive around the world. These priorities are affirmed in Canada's Policy for Civil Society Partnerships for International Assistance: A Feminist Approach and the , to which Canada adheres. Both instruments outline Canada's commitment to working collaboratively with civil society.

The Government of Canada provides international leadership in open data and open, inclusive government. For example, it participates actively in the Open Government Partnership and Digital Nations, including chairing a working group that collaborates on existing standards, tools, methodologies and practices for sustainable information technology.

Canada plays a leading role internationally for the measurement of the SDGs. Canada is a founding member and now Co-chair of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators. Canada was instrumental in the:

• development of the Global Indicator Framework
• the 2020 Framework review and will also have a leading role in the 2025 Comprehensive Review of the Global Indicator Framework for SDGs other work of the group including leading the work on the interlinkages and intersectionality of SDGs

Canada is a founding member of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Steering Group on Statistics for SDGs and works collaboratively with other countries in the region to advance the robust measurement of SDG data and Statistics. This group has developed the Roadmap on Statistics for SDGs. The Roadmap provides guidance to those working in national statistical systems and other stakeholders on how to best navigate the complex task of measuring the achievement of the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda. By doing so, it strives to strengthen reliable data-based national information systems and support efforts to achieve the Goals. The Roadmap covers different aspects of measurement, such as:

• national coordination
• reporting on global SDG indicators
• tracking progress at various levels
• quality assurance
• leave no one behind communication
• Voluntary National Reviews
• capacity development

Canada is committed to enhancing policy coherence for sustainable development. This entails fostering synergies across economic, social and environmental policy areas with internal and external stakeholders. As part of this work, Canada is a member of the OECD's Informal Network of National Focal Points for Policy Coherence. As part of this group, member states can share best practices and discuss similar challenges.

Related links

• Canada's 2023 Voluntary National Review - A Continued Journey for Implementing the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals
• Statistics Canada's Global Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals Data Hub: Goal 17
• Statistics Canada's Canadian Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals Data Hub: Goal 17