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Welcome to CharityVillage Connects – a series that highlights topics vital to the nonprofit sector in Canada. CharityVillage is a resource to over 170,000 charitable and nonprofit organizations in Canada. This series, hosted by President Mary Barroll, will provide in-depth conversations with experts in the nonprofit sector. We’ll examine diversity, equity and inclusion, innovations in fundraising, the gap in female representation in leadership and many other subjects crucial to the growth and development of charities throughout Canada.
Thank
Welcome to Charity Village Connects.
I'm your host, Mary Barrell.
That's the sound of a hummingbird pollinating our world and making it a better place.
The hummingbird is Charity Village's logo because we strive, like the industrious
hummingbird, to make connections across the nonprofit sector and help make positive
change.
Over this series of podcasts, we'll explore topics that are vital to the nonprofit sector
in Canada.
Topics like diversity, equity and inclusion, mental health in the workplace,
the gap in female representation and leadership, and many other subjects crucial to the
sector.
We'll offer insight that will help you make sense of your life as a nonprofit
professional, make connections to help navigate challenges, and support your organization
to deliver on its mission.
Good evening.
We begin tonight with breaking news.
U.S.
tariffs on Canada have been delayed at the 11th hour, putting a potentially devastating
trade war on hold, at least for now.
after a phone call with...
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it will also beef up border security in
exchange for a one-month delay on new tariffs.
In the last episode of Charity Village Connects, we talked to government relations and
fundraising experts about how non-profits and charities can navigate the political change
and economic impacts coming at us at such a dizzying pace.
As we brace ourselves for the changes sure to come with Canada's imminent federal and
provincial elections, our entire country is reeling from the political storm created by
our American neighbors' elected Trump administration.
The potential for tariffs alone is enough to threaten the livelihoods of millions of
Canadians and radically alter how business is done along the longest undefended border in
the world.
And then, just as Canada was about to be hit with 10 to 25 percent tariffs on all goods,
U.S.
President Donald Trump changed his mind and announced a one-month reprieve for Canada and
Mexico.
Tonight, just hours before a trade war was set to commence, a partial step back from the
brink.
President Trump saying he'll delay 25 % tariffs on Mexico because Mexico's president made
concessions involving the border, delaying the tariffs for 30 days while talks continue.
While late this afternoon, a 30-day delay on tariffs against Canada, too, after Canada's
prime minister said he will also beef up border security following President Trump's
tariff threat, including spending $1.3 billion reinforcing the border with 10,000
frontline personnel.
Just when we thought we'd gotten a bit of a breather on the tariff front, and a better
understanding of the impacts of changes in the U.S.
government and in our very relationship with our neighbor, less than a week later, we were
hit with yet another curveball and more uncertainty.
President Trump announces a 25 % tariff on aluminum and steel imports from all foreign
sources.
But at least Canada is not the target this time.
Right?
Wrong.
We're doing a 25 % tariff on steel in a loan room.
Yes, this would affect all countries.
But you know who this hits the hardest?
Canada is the leading exporter of steel to the United States, responsible for about
one-fifth of all U.S.
steel imports worth around $8-9 billion U.S.
last year.
And here's aluminum again.
Canada is the top exporter to the U.S.
and it's not even close.
It sends the U.S.
more aluminum every year than every other country combined.
If you're feeling a bit of whiplash, you're not alone.
The talk of tariffs is far from over and we're left to adjust and prepare for what comes
next.
And there's more.
With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation,
The bureaucracy in Ottawa is essentially frozen with prorogation of Parliament until March
24th.
And the new Liberal Prime Minister, whoever that might be, is likely to have an
abbreviated tenure, with opposition parties threatening a non-confidence vote as soon as
Parliament returns.
This will trigger a federal election, likely by May.
And that could push us into the summer without a working federal bureaucracy.
This could impact the non-profit sector by delaying decisions, including any pertaining to
funding.
On top of that, we've had three provincial elections in 2024 and are scheduled to have
three more, plus two territorial elections in 2025.
The Premier of the largest and most populated province in Canada has decided he needs a
stronger mandate to deal with the new challenges that are coming from across the border.
Here's Premier Doug Ford making his pitch to Ontarians.
When times are tough, I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.
I will work with anyone and I will stand up to anyone in order to protect our province and
our people.
I'm prepared to do whatever is necessary and whatever it takes to protect our jobs,
businesses, families and communities.
That's why on February 27th, I'm asking for your vote.
I'm asking you for a stronger mandate by electing your local Ontario PC candidates.
The stronger the mandate, the better.
And together, we will protect Ontario.
These are all big, nation-altering events.
It's a lot to unpack and has tremendous impact on how charities and nonprofits operate.
Organizations already pushed to the brink.
are expecting increased demand on their services should the Canadian economy falter as a
result of US imposed tariffs.
The ability to raise donations from the public and access government funding remains a
high concern.
A Charity Insights Canada project survey recently asked nonprofits what they saw as the
most significant emerging challenges and risks currently facing the sector as a whole.
88 % of respondents said financial instability
and funding uncertainties were their greatest concern.
And 54 % of respondents cited global economic uncertainties being their biggest worry.
Many organizations are also worried about how ideological shifts, such as rollbacks on DEI
and anti-LGBTQI policies happening across the border, are making their way into Canadian
public discourse and affecting the people they serve.
So we thought it worthwhile to dig even deeper into the topic of governmental change and
find out how nonprofit organizations across the country are coping with it all.
We believe in partnerships, not just working with government, but also other nonprofit
organizations and corporates as well.
And so when you do have a shift in government, whether it's at the provincial level,
impending federal level or at the municipal level, it can change the way that we work
because
Different governments and different parties use different language to work in community or
they have a different set of priorities which reflect their constituency.
And so oftentimes we have to adjust to the language, the leadership and the sentiment of
the time.
Now that there's a potential change in government, we're also preparing for what that
could mean under a different prime minister and a different party.
I think uncertainty is the name of the game when it comes to elections, realistically.
But I think we always try to be pragmatic, maybe is a good word, in that there's a lot of
opportunity too, right?
With change comes opportunity.
And so similar to other organizations, we are worried about the cost of living, how it's
impacting community, people, the organizations that we're servicing.
And then on top of that, you know, obviously, consistent concern over the last few years
has been
the affordability and availability of housing.
We're seeing rising homelessness in communities across the country.
It is a really stressful time for charities and I think it's important to acknowledge
that.
I think that if we do see these tariffs go into effect, for example, I think it's quite
easy or safe to assume that there is a recession in Canada.
We're going to feel it in two different ways in the charitable sector.
On the one hand,
we likely will see demand increase as people potentially lose jobs, as money gets tighter.
We've seen this time and again over the last several years with food banks across the
country reporting skyrocketing numbers.
And I don't intend to say this to cause any sort of fear, but it's a reality that we need
to really be thinking of and trying to almost future-proof your organization to the extent
that you can, given all the uncertainty.
The uncertainty doesn't give us a clear pathway about what is going to happen in the
future regarding LGBTQI refugees.
Are we going to be open to supporting them and their right to seek asylum?
Are we going to be cutting funding even further to settlement organizations that are
already struggling to provide support to migrants and refugees in general and also of
course impacting LGBTQI people?
Across provinces, we have also seen troubling trends of policies that roll back
protections for trans and non-binary people.
And this shift in policies contributes to an increasing hostile environment that can make
settlement even more difficult for trans and non-binary people and queer people in
general.
We are very, very concerned.
I think we are all watching with an ease the divisive and the hostile rhetoric out of the
border.
We are absolutely concerned about the impacts on tariffs, on cleaning economy, on
industries, given that most of our companies are small and medium enterprises.
We are concerned about potential loss of jobs, increasing competition and making it even
more difficult for those who have been historically marginalized to find meaningful
employment.
We are concerned about the fear and the harm caused by the anti-immigrant rhetoric,
policies and actions.
And honestly, our hearts go out to the people who spend their lives contributing to the US
economy and are now being turned away and expected to return to the countries they fled
with no concern to the danger that might face there.
And it is honestly horrifying to watch how this powerful country is turning its back to
basic human rights.
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that change is the only constant in life.
And it's true.
The one thing we can count on
other than death and taxes, is change, and we all experience it.
Yet it's incredibly rare to go through societal and political change like what we're
experiencing right now.
It truly feels monumental, and it provokes many questions about what course of action we
should take to survive and move through it.
This is reason enough for us to do a second episode on navigating changing political and
economic landscapes.
and ask our nonprofit leaders on the front lines just how they are handling all of the
societal transformation.
And there's a lot to handle, starting with the impact of U.S.
tariffs on the Canadian economy and ultimately the nonprofit sector and the communities
they serve.
The word tariff is the most beautiful word in the dictionary.
More beautiful than love.
More beautiful than respect.
No less beautiful than religion.
As you know, we have about a $200 billion deficit with Canada getting close to $200
billion.
They've treated us very unfairly.
And I say, why should we be subsidizing Canada?
In our previous episode, our guest, Chris Holtz, a government relations expert, outlined
what US tariffs would mean for Canadians in general and nonprofits in particular.
Chris Holtz is a principal at Campbell Strategies and also a government relations advisor
for Capital W, a consulting firm specializing in fundraising for nonprofits.
Economists have been pretty clear that there will be significant impacts to the Canadian
economy, jobs.
The economy for 2025 is going to be quite rocky.
Depending on how long these tariffs last, is this process going to be a year, multiple
years, or is this something that will conclude in a few weeks time?
We really don't know the answer to that, but there are impacts for sure on business, on
job creation for charities and nonprofits.
That also means in some cases there will be more that organizations need to do because of
their mandates to support Canadians or Ontarians or British Columbians, wherever we may
operate.
In some cases, it may also mean a loss of revenue because governments are taking funding
and dedicating it to new.
needs and requirements, for example, folks that have lost jobs in industry or something.
I can't predict the absolute future, but what I can say is dynamic impacts right across
the board.
And it's not just from a Canada perspective, our friends of the U S will also be impacted
by this.
Tariffs are not a one way street.
Tariffs will also be imposed by Canadians on U S exports and they will have a significant
impact as well.
There will be impacts for the United States.
There's no question, but.
proportionally is going to be harder for us.
That will have a significant impact on GDP.
Some of the economists in this country have already come out to say somewhere between 2
and 4 % impact on GDP.
That's bad news.
That's not going to be great.
It means that there may be ripple effects around inflation.
We've just gone through it, but the inflation rates may be increasing.
Job numbers may be decreasing, i.e.
unemployment.
It's clear that tariffs will continue to be a threat as long as Donald Trump is President
of the United States.
Andrew Chinnallol has given the matter a lot of thought.
CEO of Community Foundations Canada, Andrew Chinnallol works closely with the CFC
leadership team and foundations across Canada to help the philanthropic sector transform,
innovate, and meet the new challenges of 2025, including, of course, tariffs.
Here's what he has to say about how these will directly impact our economy.
be looking for the nonprofit sector as an example to provide some of those supports.
You know, the other thing that happens with tariffs is inflation.
And the Bank of Canada has been battling inflation for a few years now and it looked like
they were coming to the end of it.
Inflation at a number that is sustainable and manageable.
But of course, 25 % tariffs by the U.S.
but also our own retaliation efforts will increase the goods of many, many items.
And so
Inflation will continue to be persistent and be problematic for Canadians, reducing
disposable income.
People already can't afford groceries, already can't afford to pay for housing costs.
And so this definitely puts a lot of people over the edge.
When Canadians can't afford groceries and are pushed over the edge, often the first place
they go is a community food bank to help them get by.
So much so that food bank usage has become something of a bellwether for economic decline,
inflation, high cost of living and increasing poverty.
And like all Canadian nonprofits and charities, food banks across Canada are already
facing unprecedented demand.
According to the Food Bank's Canada Hunger Count, in March 2024 there were over 2 million
visits to food banks in Canada, the highest number in history.
representing a 6 % increase compared to 2023, and a 90 % increase compared to 2019.
The proportion of food bank clients whose main source of income comes from employment is
now at an all-time high of 18.1%, surpassing the previous year's 16.7%.
You see the line around the corner?
That happens on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
In addition to these sobering statistics, there are signs that the food bank system in
Canada is reaching its absolute limit.
Feed Ontario is one of the largest hunger relief organizations in North America, helping
deliver millions of pounds of food across the province to where it's needed.
Their CEO, Carolyn Stewart, says organizations like Feed Ontario and its member community
food banks were supposed to be a temporary emergency measure.
not the solution to a much larger problem.
Unfortunately, they are needed more than ever, as Carolyn Stewart explains.
We service 145 direct member food banks who support over 1,100 agencies.
So an agency is anything from a community kitchen, a shelter, a meal program, really
anything that provides emergency food support to someone in need.
And to give you a picture of what it's looking like in short, it's not good.
It is getting exponentially worse every single year.
We have seen eight consecutive years of growth and demand at food banks with need now
surpassing 1 million people accessing our services over 7.6 million times in the last
year.
This is the highest number on record that we've ever been recording data, which we've been
doing for quite some time.
Realistically, what's most importantly is that our network was really never built to
withstand this level of demand.
I think sometimes people forget that food banks are meant as an emergency measure.
We are meant as a temporary mechanism to help people get by.
We're definitely not a solution.
And so what we're seeing is the response to this growing demand, exponential demand,
really weighing on the food bank network with 40 % of our network.
reporting they've had to either reduce the amount of food that they're providing just to
make sure that they're able to meet demand, but also potentially even change types of
services or reduce wraparound supports because they provide additional services beyond
emergency food support.
So unfortunately, things are not good and the amount of change and upheaval that's
happening in the country does not give us hope that things are going to get better anytime
soon.
I asked Carolyn Stewart if the tariff threats from south of the border are a concern for
Feed Ontario.
It's a very concerning time for a lot of people in communities.
We're seeing changes to social policies, people's rights, and even decisions that can
drastically impact our economy.
And so when it comes to our network, and particularly given how overstretched they already
are, as I said, we're seeing the highest demand ever on record.
but the concern of the actions out to the border and what that could result in in terms of
job losses for so many Ontarians and Canadians, what that may mean for businesses who are
partners but may no longer have funding to support organizations or partner on key
initiatives that are helping ensure that we can provide our services.
And so it's so many unknowns right now, which is what the biggest concerns for us are.
We're already seeing governments, as we've seen, take action, make promises regarding
emergency relief for business, but we haven't necessarily seen the government's response
on what the emergency response will be for people and for families.
And so again, we need to make sure we're taking a broad lens and approaching policy and
responses to situations.
looking at the complexity, because it's not just one-to-one, right?
We know that something as complex as poverty is so many different things intertwine and
contribute to how someone gets there, but also what leads them to barriers to even getting
out of poverty.
And so with what we're seeing and the drastic impacts that we can see on our economy, if
these tariffs are put into place, are, I think, huge cause for concern for everybody.
Food security is only one of several issues that will be impacted by tariffs and their
repercussions on the Canadian economy.
Nicole Dinesse is Senior Manager, Strategic Communications and Brand at Canada Helps, a
charity and Canada's largest online donation and fundraising platform.
She has this to say about the economic impact being felt across the entire non-profit
sector.
It is a really stressful time for charities and I think it's important to acknowledge
that.
I think that if we do see these tariffs go into effect, I think it's safe to assume that
there is a recession in Canada.
We're going to feel it in two different ways in the charitable sector.
On the one hand, we likely will see demand increase as people potentially lose jobs.
As money gets tighter, we've seen this time and again over the last several years.
with food banks across the country reporting skyrocketing numbers.
And on the flip side, of course, there's your donors, there are supporters.
And at Canada Helps through our giving report for the last several years, we have reported
on the fact that we are seeing fewer Canadians based on CRA data, giving to registered
charities, and just to sort of remind listeners.
In 2010, that number was 23 % of Canadians actually claiming a charitable donation on
their tax filer data.
And in 2021, that number dropped to 17%.
It's been a steady decline in terms of the number of Canadians who are making those
charitable donations and claiming it on their taxes.
All illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning
millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.
And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our
country.
Canada is bracing for an influx of asylum seekers fleeing the US after Donald Trump's
election victory.
The former president's renewed promise to enact widespread deportation as he comes to
power has set Canadian police and immigrant groups on high alert.
Canadian authorities, especially the RCMP, have been preparing for a potential surge in
border crossing.
Another direct result of Trump's election is an anticipated surge in border crossings due
to Trump's threats of mass deportations.
Asylum seekers are sure to put an additional strain on Canada's non-profits working with
refugees and other migrants.
Chris Holtz weighs in on this factor.
The Trump presidency and their campaign has been very clear that immigration reform and
illegal migrants, that there will be significant changes.
that mean for us in Canada?
It means that border...
Communities may see an influx of folks crossing the border, like what happened six, seven,
eight years ago, where folks are crossing the border, maybe illegally to come to Canada in
part because of concerns that they may be arrested in the United States and sent back to
countries of origin.
What that means for Canadian communities is there may be a very large influx of illegal
migrants to use that term to Canada.
And what that means from a charity and nonprofit perspective.
is that organizations that provide service to folks that are migrants, that are recent
immigrants or refugees, may have a lot more work to do.
They may be more funding as well.
So that actually might be an opportunity, but the time for that basically is now until
sometime in the future.
Mosaic is one of the largest immigrant-serving organizations in Canada.
serving over 30,000 immigrant, refugee, migrant, and mainstream clients annually from
Greater Vancouver and all over British Columbia.
With services such as settlement support, English language training, employment
assistance, and family services.
I spoke to Mosaic's CEO, Olga Stakova, about what she's been seeing in terms of asylum
seekers arriving from south of the border.
We've already heard from some of our partner organizations that
people who were in the US and they were considering making an asylum claim in BC are
expediting this process, are initiating this process.
We are also hearing about individuals starting to come to Canada on visitor visas,
especially individuals from the LGBTQI communities.
We are quite concerned about the lack of capacity to manage the increased arrivals,
especially if it is around seeking asylum and legal aid is already backlogged.
It's taking refugee claimants two to three months to make a claim for asylum.
And with the potential increase arrivals, the length can extend significantly.
We see backlog at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, the independent
administrative tribunal that is responsible for making decisions who receives refugee
protection.
We see our shelters already full.
We are very close contact with shelters across Metro Vancouver.
And they constantly report that
More than half of the clients using shelters are refugee claimants, are people who are
coming to this country to seek asylum and escape persecution.
We lack the capacity for the initial emergency housing upon arrival.
And this will become especially problematic when we start seeing families arrive.
Because if individuals arrive, they could go to shelters for men or women.
When you see families arriving, they will need to be separated to be able to even use
shelters.
So there's a lot of additional trauma and harm that can happen.
certainly lots to prepare for.
In addition to the impact of increased migration of asylum seekers arriving in Canada from
the US, Olga Stakova is also concerned about the migration of anti-immigrant rhetoric and
policies crossing over the border from the US into Canada.
We are very, very concerned.
I think we are all watching with an ease the divisive and the hostile rhetoric out of the
border.
We are concerned about the fear and the harm caused by the anti-immigrant rhetoric,
policies and actions.
And honestly, our hearts go out to the people who spend their lives contributing to the US
economy and are now being turned away and expected to return to the countries they fled
with no concern to the danger that might face there.
And it is honestly horrifying to watch how this powerful country is turning its back to
basic human rights.
You have to have your eyes open.
It is hard to prepare for everything that comes.
There is, of course,
We are looking at repairing and potentially expecting increased arrivals from US.
People who historically would seek refuge in US or seek asylum might decide not to do that
and come to Canada.
Olga Stakova says in many ways the anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S.
has already influenced Canadian public discourse as well as federal policies and funding
to the organizations who serve refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants.
Those recent changes in the Canadian political landscape reflect that reality.
Our clients have most certainly been impacted and so have organizations like Mosaic.
by the changing political landscape and the narrative they're displaying out on the
national political stage.
We know that as a country we face a number of serious challenges.
We have seen the cost of living go up.
We have seen severe shortages of housing, particularly affordable housing, challenges
accessing healthcare, and unfortunately, immigrants have been often painted in the public
discourse as the source of these challenges, which is a sentiment that is very misplaced
and honestly dangerous and harmful.
as it goes hand in hand in the steep increase in incidents of racism and hate experienced
by newcomers every day, and the significant change in public sentiment towards immigration
that we've seen over the past year.
And then, of course, we've seen the federal government respond to these sentiments and
dramatically reduce immigration levels applying for the next three years.
We will reduce the number of immigrants we bring in over the next three years, which will
result in a pause in the population growth over the next...
Two years.
We didn't get the balance quite right.
Not quite an admission of fault, but the Prime Minister says Canada will be cutting the
number of immigrants coming here on a permanent basis.
It's a 22.5 % cut for the next two years with even lower targets set for 2027.
Local organizations that provide support to immigrants and other newcomers are feeling the
impact of the federal government's new immigration targets.
Funding cuts have left many of them struggling to help those who are already here.
Olga Sakova says the impacts don't just affect the immigrants who want to come to Canada,
but also the ones who are already here, with cuts to funding, services and their sense of
safety in our country.
And while some adjustments to our immigration policies and targets were needed and
expected, I think everyone was surprised with just how large these reductions were.
and that a number of policies introduced to deter people from coming to Canada.
So we would change from a country who was proud to broadcast to the world how welcoming we
are of immigrants and how appreciated and essential they are to a country that is actively
trying to discourage people from coming here, putting more and more obstacles in the way.
And of course, the immigration targets directly inform the budgets available for Immigrant
Services, which led to very drastic funding cuts that we've recently seen.
And the sector is understandably bracing itself for new cuts amid political changes and
fiscal realities across the country.
So the impact really on our clients and organizations is twofold.
On one hand, there is cuts to funding that will reduce services available.
And it's all compounded by the negative rhetoric and the scapegoating of newcomers that
causes real harm and fear in the newcomer communities.
We're repeatedly hearing from our clients that they're not feeling safe in Canada anymore.
And this unease extends to our staff and not only staff and mosaic and immigrant serving
sector, the staff and not-for-profit sector who are often immigrants themselves.
And their well-being and their safety is also impacted by this rhetoric.
Immigrants, both here and south of the border, are not alone in feeling threatened by the
rhetoric and new policies in the United States.
Some of Trump's biggest campaign promises were focused on rolling back diversity, equity,
and inclusion initiatives and policies.
Trump declared an outright war on transgender rights.
He ran on those promises and didn't waste any time taking action once he was elected.
compete against our girls in their sports.
Kamala is for they-them.
President Trump is for you.
I'm Donald J.
Trump and I approve this message.
My administration has taken action to abolish all diversity, equity, and inclusion
nonsense.
And these are policies that were absolute nonsense throughout the government and the
private sector.
And I've made it official policy of the United States that there are only two genders,
male
and female.
And we will have no men participating in women's sports and transgender operations, which
became the rage, will occur very rarely.
As part of our new credentialing body for teachers, we will promote positive education
about the nuclear family, the roles of mothers and fathers, and celebrating rather than
erasing the things that make men and women different and unique.
I will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing.
that the only genders recognized by the United States government are male and female, and
they are assigned at birth.
To help us understand the effects of this kind of rhetoric and policies coming from the
Trump administration are having on the LGBTQI community here in Canada, I spoke with Alex
Dougman, co-executive director of Rainbow Refugee, a Vancouver-based organization that
promotes safe, equitable migration and communities of belonging for people fleeing
persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity,
gender expression or HIV status.
Alex Dugman is a transgender lawyer specializing in human rights, reproductive, sexual
health law, LGBTQI rights and refugee rights.
I asked Alex Dugman how the rhetoric is affecting the targeted communities.
My thoughts around these are very preliminary, but of course we're scared.
What we see down south in our neighbors is a scary environment where
trans and LGBTQI people in general, but also people of color in the US are really
struggling right now in understanding how they're going to feel protected or how they can
exercise their rights or their constitutional rights.
It has had implications for asylum seekers and refugees in the US.
And of course, it's going to have implications in Canada as that develops.
And also the rising of anti-LGBTQI sentiments in the US have ripple effects in Canada.
It may shape policies, funding, and public discourse.
And that can also create an increased sense of unsafety and violence to our communities.
For instance, more restrictive asylum policies or executive orders from the US
administration, of course, influence and has an impact in the Canadian asylum policy.
There's already happening that it's an increased mass deportation and visa cancellations
in the U.S.
And we're very concerned about how many LGBTQ people are being sent back to death and risk
of violence.
Like I mentioned before, the spillover effect on the Canadian discourse as the U.S.
policy shift, we see emboldened anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies.
And we saw even last year some march against trans people.
and policies going around in provinces that affect the youth.
And so all the wall-backs policies in the US definitely have an effect in Canada.
And we already seen that the federal government is committing $1.3 billion to border
surveillance and expanding our CMP presence, drone use, and CVSA personnel.
For us, that is very problematic because we would think that those
funds would be better used in injecting the refugee protection system with better support,
with more processing times, with having more people engaged in the conversations and in
settlement.
And instead of that, we're turning that funding towards more surveillance, more possibly
deportations, just to appease the rhetoric that is happening now from our neighbors.
So.
We're deeply concerned about what's happening and the effects that we'll have in Canada
for sure.
In addition to managing an increase in asylum seekers, Alex Dugman describes some of the
biggest issues rainbow refugee clients in Canada are facing.
Once they're here, I would say housing insecurity, there's a lot of
discrimination in the rental market and lack of affordable housing.
And many of our clients struggle to find safe and stable housing, especially if you're an
LGBTQ person, you can't just live anywhere or in any housing situation.
There's also employment barriers.
So LGBTQI newcomers often face workplace discrimination, credential recognition issues and
challenges accessing stable employment.
We have mental health concerns.
A lot of people, of course, come with trauma.
They're fleeing persecution.
They're fleeing terrible conditions in their home country.
So they have had to travel to different countries on their way to Canada.
And there's no real free access to mental health supports right now.
Health care access.
A lot of refugees are dependent on a federal program called IFHP.
And many of the service providers here in Canada do not register with IFHP, so there's
less service providers available to address their health care needs.
And like I said before, Legal Aid, who also has a shortage in their funding, are now
turning away a lot of our clients and not giving them free legal representation.
And then there's the funding cuts to the settlement sector.
which means there's much more strain on the system and less people and resources, human
resources and financial resources, to be able to address the needs and meet the needs of
LGBTQI newcomers in general.
So I would say those are, in a summary, all the challenges that we're seeing right now.
Alex Dugman explains that the sharp increase in demand for services hasn't only been
provoked by the new Trump administration.
It's a global trend.
Not only last year, but in the past few years, we have experienced a progressive rise in
service demand.
This increase is driven by the global surge of anti-LGBTQI sentiments, shifting
immigration policies, and the growing number of LGBTQI asylum seekers arriving here in
Canada.
as a volunteer-based organization in the past, we used to support around 90 people per
year that were asylum seekers and did around
25 to 30 private sponsorship of refugees and now we're supporting over 700 or 800 asylum
seekers per year.
So you see that the numbers have gone up exponentially and we are sponsoring around 60 to
70 people per year through the private sponsorship program.
So definitely we've seen a rise for many reasons that we can experience here.
And now, of course, with the new Trump's administration, we're also seeing a rise of
people
reaching out from the US.
The uncertainty doesn't give us a clear pathway about what is going to happen in the
future regarding LGBTQI refugees.
Are we going to be open to supporting them and their right to seek asylum?
Are we going to be cutting funding even further to settlement organizations that are
already struggling to provide support to migrants and refugees in general, and also, of
course, impacting LGBTQI people?
We saw in BC how the ongoing challenges of affordable housing shortages, limited
healthcare access and gaps in legal aid disproportionately impact LGBTQI refugees and
asylum seekers in not being able to get those services.
And then across provinces, we have also seen traveling trends of policies that roll back
protections for trans and non-binary people.
And this shift in policies contribute to an increasing hostile environment that can make
settlement even more difficult for trans and non-binary people and queer people in
general.
So at the same time that we see in Canada shifting their narrative and the rhetoric around
newcomers and shifting their protections and rhetoric and narratives around trans people,
it becomes an intersectional
risk to LGBTQI refugees and asylum seekers for sure.
And Meta told employees Friday, given the shifting legal and policy landscape, the
company's changing DEI programs focused on hiring, training, and picking suppliers.
Florida, Texas, Iowa, and Utah have all banned DEI offices and initiatives at
universities.
Alabama has restricted them.
Some of the changes go beyond what the laws require.
For instance, the University of Utah is getting rid of its Black Cultural Center, Women's
Resource Center, and LGBT Resource Center.
Members of the LGBTQI community are, of course, not the only ones being targeted by the
Trump administration.
The new U.S.
government has also taken steps to roll back initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and
inclusion, or DEI, with an executive order mandating the termination of all DEI programs
within the federal government, including positions such as chief diversity officers and
equity-related grants
and contracts.
Federal departments are also now prohibited from issuing contracts to private
organizations that enforce DEI frameworks.
That's led to a wave of DEI rollbacks across corporate America.
Many states didn't wait long to pass laws designed to dismantle DEI policies and programs
in schools and universities.
At Community Foundations of Canada,
Andrew Chunalal is seeing, in real time, the impact of Trump's policies on the work that
community foundations do every day, and how they're having a spillover effect in Canada
already.
I think leaders, particularly in the US, are just worried.
They don't want to be on the wrong side of this government because they seem to have a
punitive response and a quick action.
And so I think there's a high degree of caution.
We're seeing companies in the news every single day abandoning their DEI programs,
universities abandoning their DEI programs in the US.
So obviously when fear is in the air, these are the types of reactions that you're going
to get.
More broadly speaking, what we've seen from Trump is a very targeted approach in anti-DEI,
anti-CSR, anti-ESG, anti-equality, anti-climate change.
And that is precisely where many nonprofit organizations have been working diligently for
quite some time now.
You know, we have partners that are Canadian corporations that have parent companies in
the U.S.
are expressing a deep apprehension about doing that work in Canada now for fear of
retribution from the government in the U.S.
And so this is creating and stoking a lot of anxiety and also a lot of people of color.
voted for this president, lot of women voted for this president.
My sense is that what people want is economic prosperity.
They want a strong economy and they're prioritizing that right now, recognizing that some
of the trade-offs are going to be some of these policies that would have benefited them.
I think that might be true in Canada as well.
So I think we really have to take stock in the work that we've been doing in those spaces
and really understanding is this work valuable?
How can we do it better?
but also recognizing that we need to build a strong economy too.
And we need to support the government's activities in doing that.
Economies keep us going.
We can't have policies that take away from building a resilient economy as well.
And I think the way that it's been framed is climate related endeavors and DEI and ESG and
CSR are getting in the way of us having more profitable companies and stronger economies.
I think that's a false narrative.
I think they actually support
The opposite and can be part of the solution.
I just think as a sector, we need to be better at articulating that and showing that these
types of frameworks can do good over time.
I think there's still this false narrative that, you know, all the things I talked about,
DEI, CSR, ESG are getting in the way of companies expanding and growing and building
profitability.
And I think that narrative is out there.
I think it's not completely accurate.
It's not supported by data.
When, you know, we had the accident, the terrible tragedy where we had the helicopter and
the airplane, when the president's first reaction is blaming it on DEI, that has an
impact.
And people start to believe and buy into that narrative because it's the president of the
United States and his word carries a lot.
I think it even impacts Canadians when they hear things like that and they start to
wonder, is this the truth?
And so we spend a lot of time trying to
fact check some of that information and really uncover what the truth actually is, which
is a difficult thing in 2025 trying to figure out what truth is.
I'm here to ask for your support.
I'm here to earn your trust to lead that fight.
I'm back home in Edmonton to declare my candidacy for Leader of the Liberal Party and
Prime Minister of Canada.
I'm running to be leader of the Liberal Party and our next Prime Minister.
I'm in this to fight for you.
To fight for Canadians.
To fight for Canada.
Join me.
We are in this together.
We are at this place in this time because we have a job to do.
To pass on intact what we inherited from those who came before us to those who come after
us.
With federal elections just around the corner,
As Canadians watch the flurry of draconian political measures being put in place south of
the border, they're also bracing themselves for how these policies will affect the
political climate here.
Chris Holtz predicts that no matter which party is elected to lead the next federal
government, funding to the nonprofit sector will be sure to decrease.
think that the reality is fiscal restraint is coming regardless of what party is in power.
I think
The magnitude may be different based on the flavor.
You know, if it's a blue punch that we're all drinking, then it's going to be much
tighter.
If it's the red punch that we have a drinking, it's not going to be the same.
It's going to be watered down.
So what I mean by that is they've already signaled that the level of funding that's even
under a liberal government, one that has been very loose on the taps, that is probably
changing.
So I think from a funding perspective, there's going to be change, but the magnitude is
going to be different based on the brands that are elected.
No party has fully put out their platform and that process is literally underway right
now.
But the expectation, at least at the federal level, is that there will be some significant
changes in priorities.
And candidly, there probably is going to be reduction in funding that has been available
for things like grants and contributions that charities and nonprofits rely on.
Or.
Some of the program areas where we currently provide a lot of funding may be changed
fundamentally because there's a different vision for how that program should be delivered.
And that might impact fee for service models that a number of charities and nonprofits
rely on.
As we wait to find out how our elections will play out and just exactly what kind of cards
the Canadian nonprofit sector will be dealt, how should organizations take steps to
alleviate the damage that may be caused by the anticipated decreases in government
funding?
Andrew Chinnallol offers some lessons he's learned from past crises.
If I could go back to the financial crises back in 2007 and 2008, the market.
had very significant declines in a very short period of time.
And it really dried up our granting reserves quickly.
And we learned a lesson from that, which is we can't have all of our assets in traditional
markets.
We need to think about investing differently so that when markets take a turn, we've got
some other ways to help community.
And we've done a lot of that through our mission-based investing, investing in social
enterprises, which are uncorrelated markets.
And so not impacted by
tariffs in the same way that traditional markets are.
So that's one thing.
During the pandemic, we had another downturn in the market as well, impacted our granting
reserves, but we're able to work with partners such as government to move a significant
amount of capital into communities.
We're working with corporate organizations that were also moving capital into communities.
We will be continuing to work with government if there's bailout packages available for
communities impacted or industries impacted, continuing to work with our corporate
partners.
who also have an investment in the communities in which they sell their goods, employ
people, et cetera, they may want to help and use a community foundation or a community
foundation network in that regard.
And so although, yes, our own granting will experience some level of impairment through a
market downturn, we believe there's a lot of resources in the Canadian economy and we are
willing to work with anybody who has those resources and work with us to help deploy them
and to support communities.
Nicole Dinesi has this advice about how organizations can organize and generate
alternative sources of revenue in the event of decreased government funding.
One of the things right off the bat is taking this moment in time to figure out and audit
your revenue sources.
How much money comes in offline through Canada Post, for example.
How much comes in through social fundraising, peer-to-peer fundraising.
marathons, walkathons, those types of fundraising events.
Understanding your monthly donors, understanding how much comes in through one-time
donations or legacy gifts or gifts in honor of someone, for example, really trying to take
an audit and an assessment of your revenue sources and consider that if you were to lose
one of those revenue sources,
A, what are the other revenue sources that you would have to turn to in order to make up
for that loss?
Or B, what would you need to do in terms of turning that revenue source back on, so to
speak?
And I wanna highlight two other more specific points because these are trends that we
continue to see at Canada Helps and I think it's really important for charity leaders to
know this.
One has to do with monthly giving and the other one has to do with securities.
So in terms of monthly giving, if your organization does not have a monthly giving
strategy, it is imperative that now is the time to make that happen.
So to give you a sense, in 2024, dollars raised through Canada helps through monthly
giving grew by about 8 % year over year.
And that surpassed about $86 million on Canada helps.
And it is not only good for the charities that receive that funding because it is a
reliable financial foundation to allow for charities to make sure that they know what
money is coming into them month after month after month.
So charities really need to own that.
And it's particularly helpful for younger donors as well who want to budget.
They're giving, example, they feel passionate about causes and it really helps them sort
of stay on track and make sure that they don't forget to make a donation by the end of the
year.
Now, the other last point I'll make on this topic, if your charity is not on your
securities game in terms of securities donations, if securities is not an option on your
site, this needs to be on the radar of organizations across the country.
We have seen
a really large growth in the number of securities donations on Canada Help.
So to give you again, a snapshot of 2024, we raised $57 million in securities donations
last calendar year, and that was nearly a 40 % increase from the year before.
Now, of course, it is heavily tied to the stock market, which I need to acknowledge as
well, but making sure that you have that ability on your website to donate securities.
and we of course make it really easy at Canada Helps and deal with sort of the broker
process and all that sort of stuff.
You could potentially be losing big fundraising dollars from donors who have securities
and they want to reduce their capital gains tax, for example.
So I think that's a really important trend.
In addition to adopting new ways of raising funds, it may be time for nonprofits to
collaborate with other organizations.
Rethink how they operate.
and advocate for governments to also rethink their funding priorities.
Carolyn Stewart has this to say.
What we're seeing is the old ways of how we do something is no longer working.
So we're trying to find more collaborative approaches to our work, whether that be
collaborative leveraging of resources, finding ways to be more efficient.
We launched a new project called Feed Collaboration around food procurement to do it more
effectively, which has been very successful.
So overall, that's what we're really focusing on.
But either way, we know it's essential for the province to invest in the sustainability of
the nonprofit sector and really to ensure that they can continue doing the work that they
are doing because it is essential.
What we've seen and why we've become more entrenched in the social safety net is because
we've become progressively relied upon during economic downturns or to fill
the holes left by bad public policies.
It's not surprising that our growth in need mirrors the lack of affordable housing being
built in the last 40 years, the disinvestments that we've seen in our social support
programs over the last several decades.
All of these things are coming to a head at once.
When you don't take care of something, it starts to fall apart.
What we're seeing is the result of decades of under investment in social programs.
And so they're increasingly relying upon nonprofits or charity organizations to fill those
holes.
So Feed Ontario doesn't want food banks to continue as they traditionally have.
In fact, we'd love to become unnecessary and extinct.
It would be wonderful, but I do think radical system change is needed for us to get there.
We need to see poverty as a key priority across the board because they don't understand
that an investment dollar proactively.
can reduce costs, even if we're looking at it not in a social argument, but rather an
economic argument, investing upfront, proactively to avoid that is such a return on
investment when it comes to success of people and communities in our province.
And as we're saying, prioritize people and make sure that poverty reduction is something
that they're looking to do and hopefully put us out of a job.
Alex Dukeman also believes collaborating with other organizations is essential for the
long-term success of nonprofits.
also do a lot of coalition building.
We don't believe that just one organization or one person really should hold all the
conversations or have all the answers.
So we engage in coalition building.
We hear from each other.
We engage with newcomers and newcomers have leadership roles within our organizations, but
also engaging with Immigration Canada.
in being able to provide their own input about what's going on.
You know, I'm speaking to you on this podcast and we do other media awareness, race
awareness, and we bring the issues publicly and a lot of training and education.
So what I would say is definitely engage in coalition building, in movement building first
with the organizations who are doing the same work that you do.
and then together engage with the departments at the federal government that are able to
provide you with answers that you can relate to and be consistent.
One of the things that I was talking to an IRCC official not long ago, we were discussing,
well, how do we make this happen?
And I said, you know, for me, it's about repetition.
I will repeat myself as many times and we will repeat ourselves as many times until that
seed starts to grow.
And until also people take ownership of the idea.
So creating those relationships, I would say, and being honest and transparent in those
relationships and doing it in a coalition building way, I think would be much more
effective than trying to do it solo or bringing things in a very oppositional way.
would say collaboration is probably the main tool.
that has been very effective.
How do we collaborate with each other for the well-being of anyone who is in Canada right
now?
Olga Stakova echoes the sentiment that nonprofits will achieve greater success in
advocating for their clientele if they can find ways of working collaboratively.
At times when funding is scarce, is greater need to partner and leverage each other's
expertise.
It is really time to map out the resources we collectively have.
and understand the role that expertise we each have to find ways to work collaboratively
and advocate jointly for the best outcomes of our clients.
I'll give you an example.
So in BC, we have a well-funded employment program called WordBC.
And the immigrant-serving organization worked very closely with the employment service
providers to map out some of the key barriers that newcomers can face and maybe to lay
some gaps in WordBC services.
So we intentionally got together to understand, okay, there is...
this well-funded program providing wealth of supports, but we might not see newcomers
actually go and get the benefits.
Why is it?
And we were able to successfully advocate with the funders to change the eligibility
definitions and the type of services to ensure that newcomers don't fall through the
cracks.
So now, work-business services are open to refugee claimants.
Refugee claimants can come and seek services and get supports in getting employment.
They made language training and eligibility expense when
helping newcomers achieve the language levels that are needed to participate in skills
training programs.
And these are just a few examples of what's possible when we work together on identifying
the barriers, on mapping out what services are there and advocating together.
The reality is not-for-profit sector is very dependable on government funding and social
services should be funded by the various levels of government.
As the non-profit sector faces these latest challenges,
and tries its best to handle ever-growing needs with increasingly reduced resources.
Nicole Dinesse offers an example of one way non-profits can help Canadians demonstrate
their values and mitigate the damage being done.
When Donald Trump was elected the first time, I actually remember we were seeing a fair
number of individuals the day after the election donating to journalism charities or
democracy charities, for example.
I remember maybe a month or so after the 2017 inauguration, there was quite a significant
fundraiser in support of immigration charities, for example.
So we've also seen sort of spin-off fundraising campaigns that take issues that are in the
news and then use that as a fundraising point so that, and I know the word is rage
donations, you know, making those rage donations of when people are not happy with what is
taking place.
That is a lot to digest and ponder.
It's been a thought-provoking journey putting together this podcast.
We're at a moment in history where rapid foundational change is literally reshaping our
world.
It can't be overstated how important and transformational these changes to the political
and economic landscape are.
and how smart and savvy the sector will need to become to navigate them.
I asked each of our guests to share some final reflections and words of advice.
The advice I'm giving myself every day is to listen and to hear what's going on, but there
is a big distance between rhetoric and reality.
And you can get caught up in the rhetoric and that can create a lot of anxiety, stress and
concern.
But as leaders, we have to understand what's going on.
We have to be calm and we have to see that there is opportunity out there and that we can
come through this as a unified and united country.
I think at this moment, even though there is a number of reasons to be on edge and feeling
that uncertainty, the first realist step is really to just take a deep breath.
Particularly for leaders in the sector, people are looking to you, donors, supporters,
individuals who...
receive support from your organization, staff, volunteers, they are all looking to you to
steer this ship.
And I think that if I was to say anything to a charitable leader today is to sit down with
your finance team and figure out where your money is coming in and try to safeguard and
figure out ways to understand if one of those funding sources goes down.
What are the other doors that you could potentially open to try to make up for that
funding loss?
Historically, not-for-profits are very focused on services.
We put all the energy and efforts into serving clients and making our services the best.
We don't necessarily look at our organizational stability and resilience.
And those are the things I think we need to strengthen because there's a lot of people
that depend on social service organization and will continue to depend.
So how do we as organization also build our own capacity to manage
change in these times, to be able to do appropriate decision-making and risk assessment
because we'll have fewer resources.
We need to use them in the best way that provides the most, the highest return on our
investment.
And we need be very selective what we pursue.
So what is our process to get to the decisions?
And I think that's part that our sector is now looking at how do we strengthen our ability
to do that and pivot as we need to based on thoughtful decision-making and understanding
the risks.
One of the things that we have learned at Rainbow Refugee and that I have learned in my
own personal journey has been how to do this work from a solidarity perspective more than
a charity perspective.
And this is a shifting paradigm around NGOs because when you do it from a solidarity
perspective, you are not only thinking that the need is on the other side, you're not
othering the person who's needing the support.
You're not thinking that you have all the answers and then the other person is in need and
you're here to provide them with the answers, but you are co-creating those answers.
People have so much to teach us about their cultures, about their practices, about how we
can support each other in community.
So I would say if we can maybe research and inquire what are the differences between
coming from a solidarity perspective and a charity perspective.
and shift that paradigm, think it will make for stronger communities and for communities
of belonging to contribute to our societies in better ways.
Yeah, I think take a breath.
Remember that the work that you do is vitally important.
Remember to share the stories of the people you serve because you are making such an
incredible difference in their lives every single day.
And also just get out there and vote.
To be quite honest, your strongest tool and those in the community is your voice.
So make sure to encourage everyone in your community to participate in the democratic
process.
I think the 2022 election had the lowest voter turnout ever on record.
So if we can encourage people to share what they want to see in their communities, I think
that that's the first step in getting there and to remain hopeful because change is
possible if we all want it to be there.
That brings to a close our second of two episodes on navigating political and societal
change.
Big issues to think about at a momentous time in history.
I'd like to thank our guests for sharing their insights and wise counsel.
And I hope the podcast provides you with new strategies, advice, and perhaps even a little
comfort as you navigate these tumultuous times.
Be sure to visit our website and our show notes for more information on the resources,
reports and programs mentioned in this episode.
If you'd like to hear more of what our guests have to say, check out our full video
interviews on our website.
Charity Village is proud to be the Canadian source for non-profit news, employment
services, crowdfunding, e-learning, HR resources and tools and so much more.
Please take a moment to check out our website at charityvillage.com.
Up next on Charity Village.
We're going to tackle another big issue on the minds of many.
What does population growth mean for nonprofits and charities?
Recently, we've seen significant increases in our population.
Unfortunately, without the commensurate increase in funding for housing, social services,
health care and infrastructure.
Problems were so severe that the federal government had to walk back immigration numbers
with significant cuts.
saying they didn't get the balance quite right.
Although Canada is now curtailing immigration, our population is expected to rise
nonetheless.
What does population growth mean for non-profits and charities?
We'll hear from experts and professionals on the front lines of the charitable sector
about the effects of a burgeoning population.
I'm Mary Barrell.
Thanks for listening.