Development and Peace

Link to Development and Peace

About Us

Development and Peace (The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace) is the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis. Development and Peace is a membership led organization supported by parish collections, individual donations and government grants, principally from the Canadian International Development Agency.

Our vision: Committed to change

Our mission: Support partners in the Global South who promote alternatives to unfair social, political and economic structures. It educates the Canadian population about the causes of poverty and mobilizes Canadians towards actions for change. In the struggle for human dignity, the organization forms alliances with northern and southern groups working for social change. It also supports women in their search for social and economic justice.

Our action: For over 40 years, Development and Peace has supported 15,200 local initiatives in fields such as agriculture, education, community action as well as the consolidation of peace and advocacy for human rights in 70 countries.

Our belief: We believe that Canadians of all religious beliefs have a responsibility to help the world's poor and disadvantaged, either by urging governments, corporations and others to implement change, or by donating time or money to support development efforts.

We are a democratic movement: We depend on the commitment of thousands of Canadians determined to support the poor in their struggle for justice in the Global South. We draw our strength from our 13,000 members in Canada. Our work is supervised by a 22-member National Council composed of volunteers and two representatives of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Our global and Canadian partners: We collaborate with global and domestic partners to help carry out our mission. The support these partners provide helps in building an international solidarity movement. Caritas Internationalis, International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE), Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC), KAIROS.