Welcome to our 2025 Election Toolkit! Your guide to help you engage with your electoral candidate easily and successfully.
Click on the buttons below to explore what's inside! There is also a downloadable pdf version.
Voters are headed to the polls on April 28 to select Canada’s next government. Now is the time for all our voices to be heard – whether you can vote or not – and to tell our local candidates that we want Canada’s next government to have a strong role in tackling the most pressing global challenges.
There is a worrying trend of countries cutting support for international assistance. Our future Members of Parliament (MPs) need to hear that everyday Canadians like us don’t want Canada to turn its back to our world. Canadian international assistance is an investment in a better future that helps to stop conflicts before they start, prevent disease outbreaks from becoming pandemics, and builds strong economies at home and abroad.
By working together, we can use this federal election to generate new political momentum in Canada for international assistance.
The United States has frozen nearly all activities of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The United Kingdom and the Netherlands have also slashed their international assistance budgets. These cuts put millions of lives at risk, threaten livelihoods, and jeopardize decades of progress toward the eradication of extreme poverty. For example:
Canada has a long legacy of making an impact around the globe no matter who is in power. For decades, Canada has supported health, education, immunization, and ensured access to nutritious foods, particularly for women and children. Importantly, this support has been maintained and has grown across successive governments, showing that supporting the health, wellbeing, and dignity of people around the world is a fundamental Canadian value.
Canadians are concerned about affordability at home but also care about Canada’s role in the world. A recent national poll by Abacus Data shows strong Canadian support for global engagement. Of the 2,300 people surveyed,
Canada’s commitment to a world without poverty and its willingness to back this commitment with resources must not be taken for granted. It depends on people like us speaking up to let decision-makers know that a better world starts with Canada.
Your voice matters. Your MP works for you. And the candidates who are campaigning to become your MP want to hear from you and hear your concerns. Right now, you have an incredible opportunity to inform candidates about your priorities, especially Canada must continue to be a global leader.
While voting is a critical part of an election, it’s not the only way you can participate and have your voice heard. And, actually, for the many in Canada who can't vote but are a critical part of our country, such as youth and Permanent Residents, this guide can help you engage in this election. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, there is a lot everyone can do to help make sure the next Canadian government steps up as a global leader.
Explore the actions you can take below. Use this list to navigate to the section you are interested in:
It’s important for you to find out who all is running to be your local Member of Parliament and build relationships with them. Your local candidates need to hear from you about the issues you care about (like international development!), why it’s important (to end extreme poverty!), and what you would like them to do about it if elected (implement policies and commit to funds that support people living in poverty!). Because a better world starts with Canada.
And consider this: by engaging with your candidates, you are building a relationship with your future Member of Parliament who has the power to influence large funding or policy decisions. You will have paved the way for more impactful conversations and interactions in the future.
How to find the candidates in your area
Their contact information should be clearly indicated on their website. Once you have that, you’re ready to engage!
There are many ways to engage with candidates to share with them why you care about international development:
Pro tip! Share your personal story or reasons with them about why you care and include examples of the issues you are most concerned about (malnutrition, immunization, education, etc.).
Throughout an election season, candidates and party volunteers will send you flyers with information about a candidate, their party, and priorities. But did you know that you can give them material that tells them what you care about?
We are organizing a nationwide Day of Action on April 5th when advocates across Canada will be dropping off our A Better World Starts with Canada handout to the offices of their candidates. Getting this information into the hands of candidates is a great way to let them know that constituents in their riding care about international development and can help ensure they become champions for global issues if elected.
To make our Day of Action a success, we need you and your voice. All you have to do is download and print the handout and give one out to every candidate office in your riding. Make sure to let your networks know and encourage them to join in! (You don't have access to a printer? Contact us ASAP at action@resultscanada.ca and we can mail you a copy.)
Register to join our Day of Action and we will email or text you reminders and information.
Throughout the election, community centres, libraries, universities and school will host local all-candidates' debates, where representatives from all parties will debate their priorities and respond to voters’ questions. This is a great opportunity to ask your local candidates about Canadian global leadership and international assistance.
Check out the candidate websites and social media accounts to get news on upcoming forums in your area. Make sure you attend so you can:
Here are some questions that you could raise at a debate or forum:
Show your candidates and community that you care about ending global poverty by putting this sign in your window! (Don't have access to a printer? Contact us at action@resultscanada.ca and we can mail you a copy.) Help increase the power of the message by taking a picture of your window sign, posting it on social media, and tagging your candidates!
Did you know that a news outlet’s opinion section is often the most frequently read? Importantly, letters in your local paper will be read by your candidates so they can learn what constituents are thinking about different issues. It’s a great (and free!) opportunity to show how people in Canada – and their riding – care about international development.
Check out our resources on getting published!
Become as active on social media as possible. Your online reactions and input can help to significantly shift online discourse. When crafting your posts, be sure to tag the candidates in your area and include relevant hashtags like #elxn2025 – this will help ensure that your posts get seen by the people you intended and reach a greater audience. Check out our social media tips for more advice!
Here are some sample posts you can use or adapt:
All Canadian citizens who are 18 or older on election day can cast a ballot in this election. Not eligible? You can still have an impact with the actions above!
When you take part in an election and express your view, you make democracy work. Voting is how you choose which people represent you in government. And those representatives shape the country and our leadership on the world stage.
Important links for voters:
Working together to tackle major global challenges like conflict, inequality and climate change is needed now more than ever. As others step back and the world suffers, we need to act together to ensure that Canada makes strategic investments to a healthier, more prosperous, and more secure world.
International assistance works. It not only saves millions of lives but also opens a world of potential and growth. Canada’s global investments build allies and trade partners around the world by strengthening communities, growing economies, and saving lives. We help prevent deadly disease outbreaks before they reach our shores, build sustainable markets and communities, and help defuse crises like armed conflicts before they begin.
We have played a key role in countless critical areas. Our global investments have helped to
Canadian international assistance helps to save those who are suffering and dying simply because of where they are born and builds a better world for all – including Canadians.
Only $0.37 of every $100 that Canadians earn supports international assistance – pennies which have an incredibly strong return on investment of making our world better for everyone.
Canadian international assistance helps to support over 1,300 Canadian organizations to strengthen economies and build communities around the world – while providing meaningful employment for tens of thousands of Canadians.
Canadians don’t back away when others are in trouble. Every year, tens of thousands of Canadians donate to international assistance organizations, showing their support for a healthy world, free from poverty.
Because of international assistance, our world is healthier and more prosperous than it was only 20 years ago – thanks to the leadership and commitment of countries like Canada. Looking forward, we want a better world, and a better world starts with Canada.
Learn more and find answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about Canadian aid.
If you have any questions, please contact action@resultscanada.ca.
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