Program directory · Global Affairs Canada
International Business Development
- Department
- Global Affairs Canada
- Program code
- BVC03 (EA)
- Core responsibility
- Trade and Investment
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2024-25 · Appeared and later dropped
What it does
The International Business Development program delivers commercial services and advice to Canadian businesses and supports their pursuit of international business opportunities, as well as attract international students to Canada. This is primarily achieved through Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service, which helps Canadian businesses navigate export markets and connect to global value chains, and organizes sector-specific, targeted trade missions to priority markets. The program also develops the agenda for the department’s international commerce files, fosters coherence with partners, and enables our network to promote Canadian prosperity and competitiveness and client success. It has a strong measurement and results framework in place.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Business Development | This program | 2018-19 – 2026-27 | $773M |
| International Business Development, Investment Attraction and Innovation Support | Later program (name match, medium confidence) | 2025-26 – 2027-28 | — |
| International Business Development, Investment Attraction and Innovation Support | Later program (name match, high confidence) | 2026-27 – 2028-29 | — |
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Appears to be replaced by International Business Development, Investment Attraction and Innovation Support | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
| 2025-26 | Planned spending $173M, against $124M in 2024-25 (+39%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≥ 16,000 | 2020 | 16,942 | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 16,500 | 2021 | 16,882 | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 16,500 | 2022 | 16,769 The target for this period was increased just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021-22, international trade and travel continued to be disrupted by the pandemic, and the number of Canadian exporters declined. | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 17,000 | 2023 | 16,556 The target for this indicator was increased immediately prior to the pandemic and achievement continued to be impacted by COVID-19 disruptions. Even so, the target was only slightly (-2.6%) missed. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 11,000 | 2024 | 10,893 The result was slightly below the target due to decreases in business clients served in some more challenging international markets, such as Latin America and India. | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 11,000 | 2025 | 11,253 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 1,000 | 2019 | 1,133 | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 1,000 | 2020 | 1,411 | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 1,100 | 2021 | 1,340 | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 1,100 | 2022 | 1,372 | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 1,500 | 2023 | 1,374 The target for this period was increased immediately prior to the onset of the pandemic and achievement continued to be impacted by COVID-19 disruptions, particularly travel. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 1,500 | 2024 | 1,474 Despite a significant increase in 2023-24 in the number of concluded commercial agreements, the result was slightly under the target due to continued impacts of COVID-19 disruptions. | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 1,250 | 2025 | 1,369 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 85% | 2019 | 92% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 85% | 2020 | 91% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 85% | 2021 | 92% | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 85% | 2022 | 91% | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 90% | 2023 | 92% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 90% | 2024 | 92% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 90% | 2025 | 92% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
No indicators in the 2026-27 plan.
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $77M | $88.7M |
| 2019-20 | $96.9M | $104M |
| 2020-21 | $144M | $99.8M |
| 2021-22 | $134M | $108M |
| 2022-23 | $122M | $116M |
| 2023-24 | $128M | $132M |
| 2024-25 | $174M | $124M |
| 2025-26 | $173M* | — |
| 2026-27 | $170M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 359 | 393 |
| 2019-20 | 357 | 380 |
| 2020-21 | 449 | 426 |
| 2021-22 | 457 | 412 |
| 2022-23 | 440 | 430 |
| 2023-24 | 454 | 460 |
| 2024-25 | 492 | 470 |
| 2025-26 | 491* | — |
| 2026-27 | 483* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $76,966,659 | $76,453,664 | $64,856,974 | ||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $96,903,245 | $83,077,666 | $81,063,243 | ||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $144,463,821 | $142,392,791 | $142,906,455 | ||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $133,649,938 | $130,208,873 | $129,057,175 | ||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $122,297,358 | $120,820,134 | $121,343,256 | ||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $128,413,448 | $128,819,281 | $128,900,019 | ||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $174,291,478 | $172,500,143 | $169,796,510 | ||||||
| Actual | $88,656,480 | $103,915,123 | $99,839,143 | $108,112,633 | $115,660,004 | $132,400,289 | $123,972,084 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
