We are Going to the United Nations!

We are excited to be joining the Canadian delegation to the United Nations next week for the annual global SDGs check-in conference, the High Level Political Forum (HLPF).  

The HLPF is the primary UN platform dedicated to tracking and reviewing global progress on the SDGs, bringing countries and organizations from around the world together to present achievements, challenges, and strategies in advancing the SDGs agenda, as well as to share ideas, best practices and (in some cases) adopt additional negotiated declarations.

With time running short for the SDGs agenda (ending in 2030), it’s clear the world still has a long way to go. No country in the world is on track to achieve them and progress has been far too slow. In some cases, we are losing ground on critical objectives – wars are spreading, climate change is accelerating, and the norms of multilateralism are under dire threat.

Yet there is a lot to remain hopeful for. The SDGs are highly ambitious and have inspired governments to take meaningful action on large and complex challenges. Commitment to the SDGs remains high, with a large majority of countries expressing their strong support and demonstrating their commitment through votes in favour at the UN and presenting their own SDGs progress reports with the world (known as Voluntary National Reviews). Community organizations, city governments, and businesses have found common ground within the SDGs and have spurred new partnerships, new opportunities, and a momentum for change around the world.

As part of our time at HLPF 2026 we are honoured to be moderating Canada’s official side event, Cities That Work for People: Connecting Social Policy and Infrastructure for Resilient Communities. The session will focus on how community resilience depends on social and structural features of communities, with a focus on ensuring that physical infrastructure investments and social outcomes like inclusion, accessibility, equity and housing stability are considered together.

We look forward to the many conversations we’ll have next week at HLPF. As always, we will be focused on the ways in which the SDGs can be ‘localized’ and integrated into communities across Canada, with the opportunity to make local sustainability efforts more comprehensive and coordinated.