Mining self-interest? Canadian foreign aid and the extractive sector in Mongolia

Abstract

In the early 2010s, the Canadian government increasingly integrated commercial self-interest into its foreign aid program. This article analyzes the ostensible motives and impact of the rapid intensification of Canada's support to the extractive sector in Mongolia. It argues that, rather than a reflection of Mongolia’s needs, the decision was donor-driven and resulted in apparently poorly designed projects with limited potential to advance Canadian aid’s objective of reducing poverty, or even to meet the unofficial goal of benefitting Canadian mining companies. A potentially more productive approach would have been to help reduce, not reinforce, Mongolia’s extreme dependence on mining.