PM Trudeau Announces Canada Will Spend $8.4 Million on Research to Understand How ‘Climate Change Interacts with Democratic Decline’

Trudeau: “2024 will be the biggest election year in history, with countries representing more than half the world’s population going to the polls. Unfortunately, many of these elections are unlikely to meet the criteria of what academic experts would view as free and fair. In Russia, the recent presidential election was stacked in favor of the current leader. But for those of us who do run free and fair elections, we have to continue our work to improve our democracies. For example, earlier today, discussions around the importance of inclusion and youth empowerment will hopefully lead to more young people participating in their communities and countries. We’re all facing a series of challenges, new and old. Were still reeling from a pandemic that put immense pressure on our democracies. We’re seeing growing distrust of government and media, and increased polarization, exacerbated by misinformation and disinformation. We’re dealing with insecurity caused by armed conflicts and climate change. So today, I’m announcing that Canada’s investing $84 million on research across the Global South to better understood how climate change interacts with democratic decline. These initiatives will also help protect the human rights of environmental defenders. On top of the uncertainty caused by different crises, we’re also seeing direct threats to individuals globally through transnational repression. This is why Canada is increasing and expanding its funding for access now to ensure human rights defenders and others facing digital threats have the resources they need to protect themselves.”