Issue Deep Dive: Canada/Family Planning

Policy Context

Canada adopts the WHO definition of family planning which comprises information, means, and methods that allow people to attain their desired number of children and determine the spacing of their pregnancies.

Canada’s approach to SRH is based on a comprehensive definition of SRHR, guided by the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission. Supporting comprehensive SRHR means enabling all individuals to have the rights, knowledge, and means to make decisions and access services concerning their reproductive lives and sexuality, free from criminalization, coercion, discrimination, and violence.

In Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, both family planning and SRH are addressed under the action area ‘human dignity’. The policy frames family planning and SRHR within the larger lens of gender equality, global health, and human rights, emphasizing their importance in ensuring the best outcomes for women and girls. In particular, funding to address this action area of the FIAP supports:

Tackling deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and polio;
Strengthening health systems;
Reproductive health services;
Comprehensive sexuality education;
Family planning and contraceptives;
Safe and legal abortion and post-abortion care;
Preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence, including “child, early and forced marriage,” also known as conjugal slavery, and female genital cutting; and
Advocacy activities for SRHR.

Family planning and SRH are also key priorities within Canada’s 10-Year Commitment to Global Health and Rights 2020-2030. The 10YC is Canada’s largest and longest financial commitment in international development assistance. Through this commitment, Canada aims to reach an average of CAD1.4 billion in funding to advance the health and rights of women and girls annually by FY2023-2024, and maintain these levels until 2030. The 10YC specifically pledges an allocation of CAD700 million a year for SRHR with a particular focus on scaling up investments in neglected or under-funded areas, including:

Safe abortion and post-abortion care;
Comprehensive sexuality education;
Family planning and contraception; and
SRHR advocacy.

The 10YC is a key vehicle for implementing Canada’s FIAP and supporting the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 10YC’s two CAD700 million pillars of health and nutrition and a comprehensive approach to SRHR are mutually reinforcing.