A global movement for debt justice
Turn Debt
into Hope
Cancel unjust debt.
Change the financial system.
Why debt justice matters
Debt is costing
the future.
Many countries spend more on debt repayments than on health care, education or climate action.
Debt is not only an economic issue. It shapes access to clean water, public services, climate protection and a dignified future. Countries and Indigenous communities continue to carry the costs of resource extraction, land dispossession and climate disruption.
Debt justice means transforming the system so governments can invest in people and the Earth—not endless repayments.
The campaign
Three demands.
One systemic shift.
Turn Debt into Hope is a global ecumenical campaign challenging the financial structures that keep countries trapped in crisis.
What we asked Canada to do
Use power
for justice.
Each ask targets a different part of the debt system—and the unequal power holding it in place.
Debt cancellation
Cancel unsustainable debt
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Debt cancellation
Cancel unsustainable debt
Canada should review its bilateral debts and cancel those that have become unjust or unsustainable—without conditions.
Why it matters: Many countries are forced to choose between repaying creditors and funding essential services. Cancellation frees resources for health care, education, climate action and community well-being.
Financial reform
Champion a global framework
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Financial reform
Champion a global framework
Canada should use its influence in the G7, G20, International Monetary Fund and World Bank to support a United Nations Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt.
Why it matters: The current system is slow, unequal and shaped by creditors. A binding UN framework could create a fairer, more transparent process for preventing and resolving debt crises.
Climate justice
Deliver fair climate finance
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Climate justice
Deliver fair climate finance
Canada should provide at least 60 per cent of its bilateral climate finance through grants—and use grants, not loans, for climate adaptation and loss and damage.
Why it matters: Countries facing the greatest climate impacts often contributed the least to the crisis. Loans deepen their debt. Grants fund climate action without creating another financial burden.
A powerful movement across Canada
People moved
the issue.
KAIROS led the Canadian campaign with Citizens for Public Justice, Development and Peace–Caritas Canada, the Office of Religious Congregations for Integral Ecology and The Canadian Council of Churches.
The Canadian campaign concluded on June 30, 2026. The global movement continues.
Rooted in Jubilee
A legacy of
debt cancellation.
Turn Debt into Hope builds on Jubilee 2000, which helped cancel $100 billion in debt for 36 countries at the start of this century.
The call for Jubilee is rooted in traditions of cancelling debts, restoring relationships, caring for the land and ending poverty and inequality. That call remains urgent.
The global movement continues
Add your name.
Change the system.
Join the call for a financial system that serves people and the planet.