Canada’s strategy for responsible business conduct abroad

New strategy for responsible business conduct abroad

In 2022, Canada launched a new responsible business conduct Strategy – Responsible Business Conduct Abroad: Canada’s Strategy for the Future. This 5-year Strategy (2022-2027) sets priorities for the Government of Canada, through the Trade Commissioner Service and partners, to support Canadian companies abroad to:

• adopt world leading responsible business practices
• help them gain a competitive advantage 
• mitigate risks 
• contribute to a strong and inclusive economic recovery

The new strategy applies to all Canadian companies active abroad, regardless of size, sector or scope and reaffirms Canada’s expectation that Canadian companies contribute to sustainable development and support Canada’s commitments to human rights by integrating responsible business practices throughout their operations, including international supply chains.

To develop the 2022 strategy, Global Affairs Canada consulted with a diverse range of stakeholders. This included a formal public engagement process via the Consulting with Canadians website. A summary of the findings from these consultations is available through the what we heard report.

2014 Corporate Social Responsibility strategy

Canada’s enhanced Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, Doing Business the Canadian Way: A Strategy to Advance CSR in Canada’s Extractive Sector Abroad, was announced in November 2014. Focused on the extractive sector, it demonstrated the Government of Canada’s expectation that Canadian companies will promote Canadian values and operate with the highest ethical standards.

Global Affairs Canada completed a thorough evaluation of the 2014 strategy in 2020. Results are available in the Final Report: Horizontal Evaluation of Canada’s Enhanced Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy.

2009 Corporate Social Responsibility strategy

In 2009, the Government of Canada launched its first CSR strategy, Building the Canadian Advantage: Canada’s Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy for the Canadian International Extractive Sector. It outlined Canada’s commitment to promoting corporate social responsibility.

In 2014, the Government of Canada published the Summative Evaluation of Canada’s Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy for the Canadian International Extractive Sector - Final Report.