Giving Compass' Take:

• Canada still has some work to do on its SDG progress; issues like childhood obesity and inequality are concerns for the Great White North. Fortunately, Brookings provides a framework on how Canada can achieve its SDGs 

• Food insecurity and environmental issues aren't unique to Canada. Should other countries tap into Brookings' recommendations to address their own challenges? What can donors glean from their advice?

• Canada is also working to help vulnerable people beyond its borders. Learn more about its innovative financing for global development.

Canada enjoys some of the world’s highest average living standards. The country is widely admired for its natural beauty and its cities rank among the most livable in the world. Not surprisingly, outside observers look at Canada with admiration and Canadians themselves are proud of their natural riches and the society they have built. But below the surface, Canada, like other countries, faces profound challenges. Many segments of the population face economic and social exclusion.

Why do the SDGs Matter to Canada?

Like other advanced economies, Canada is not accustomed to tracking progress against international benchmarks like the SDGs. It already has many expert communities and policymakers working on the economic, social, and environmental problems embedded in the goals. But the SDGs offer something that Canada and other countries urgently need—a multidimensional definition of societal success—one in which the benefits of economic progress are broadly shared and environmental sustainability is safeguarded. The SDGs offer a tool for putting everyone on the same page, literally and figuratively.

How is Canada Doing on the SDGs at Home?

Surprisingly, Canada is not yet wholly on track to achieve any of the SDGs at home. The country has been successful in many areas, ranging from eliminating dollar-a-day-type extreme poverty (SDG target 1.1) to reducing child mortality (SDG 3.2) and premature mortality from cardiovascular disease (SDG 3.4). But more than half of recently assessed SDG indicators—44 of 73—are either moving backward or need a breakthrough. Increasing rates of food insecurity, child obesity, and substance abuse all represent major challenges, as do gender inequality and environmental concerns. It is not that Canada cannot achieve the goals, but that breakthroughs are needed to meet the needs of people or issues that are systematically getting left behind. Importantly, Canada’s SDG trajectories needs to be unpacked—by province, municipality, gender, age, indigenous status, disability status, immigration status, and so forth. On many indicators, some groups in Canada are on track while others are not. For example, women register higher estimated food insecurity than men in almost all regions, and food insecurity is highest in Canada’s northern territories, in which the majority of the population is indigenous. Indeed, Canada’s indigenous people are most likely to be falling behind across the board.

How then should decisionmakers in Canada focus their efforts? The operative question is not whether any single goal is more important than another. The key question is which issues are already on track for success and which require accelerated trajectories or breakthroughs—to tackle systemic gaps or key populations being left behind. An assessment of domestic SDG trends and inter-connections can help identify where to focus attention and drive action.

Read the full article about Canada and the SDGs by Margaret Biggs and John McArthur at Brookings