Sources of Canadian Foreign Policy in Africa

This chapter provides an overview of the sources of Canadian foreign policy in Africa, and examines Canada's leadership in promoting the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) initiative that was launched by African leaders in October 2001. It provides some detailed historical and contemporary analysis in order to contextualise understanding of the main factors that have influenced Canadian internationalism on the African continent. The chapter discusses the perception of poverty and conflict in Africa reinforces the overall practice of Canadian government policy. It also reinforced the literature which is skewed towards the analysis of the provision of development assistance to African states. As one of the key implementers of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) programmes in African states, Canadian NGOs, in collaboration with the media and Canadian churches used key events in Africa such as famine, HIV/AIDS, and violent conflicts to call for more Canadian efforts to alleviate the suffering in African states.