In July 2027, Canada will present their Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the United Nations High Level Political Forum. The VNR will reflect on Canada’s successes and challenges in achieving the SDGs, as well as highlight opportunities to accelerate progress towards the goals.
The VNR will demonstrate Canada’s commitment to a “whole-of-society” approach to advancing SDGs by showcasing how the contributions of and partnerships between governments, Indigenous Peoples, businesses, civil society organizations, academia, and communities are building a more sustainable future. Members of the public and those working on the SDGs can contribute to Canada’s VNR by sharing ideas, stories, and insights on the SDGs through the Government of Canada’s VNR consultation.
Global Lessons on SDGs Implementation
This past summer, the Sustainable Development Solution Network’s SDG Transformation Centre released the 11th edition of the Sustainable Development Report 2026, which reports on UN Member States’ progress on the SDGs and reflects on the successes of the SDG framework and lessons learned since its adoption.
Canada was ranked 28th out of 169 countries, with improvement in several goal areas (no poverty, industry, innovation and infrastructure, and gender equality) and progress stagnating in others (zero hunger, responsible consumption and production, and life on land).
Global commitments to the SDGs remain strong, however no country is on track to achieve the SDGs by 2030. From the past decade of SDG implementation, there are several key lessons that can accelerate progress including: ending ongoing wars and redirect military expenditures toward peace and human development; establish an ambitious timeline for SDG implementation; organize implementation around major transformations; adopt long-term investment plans to support these transformations; strengthen continental, regional, and local cooperation and investment; introducing new global taxes to finance global public goods; and developing global governance frameworks for AI, biotechnology, and other emerging technologies.
While the SDGs provide a vision for the future, there needs to be increased focus on implementation mechanisms, such as sustainable financing, governance frameworks and data, for the ambition of the goals to be realized. Achieving the SDGs requires whole-of-society collaboration and action to move beyond business as usual.
Canada's performance on SDSN's 2026 Sustainable Development Report.
Canada’s 2027 Voluntary National Review is an opportunity to highlight how the SDGs have been progressing and identify where there are opportunities to accelerate action to build a more sustainable Canada in the final years of the 2030 Agenda.