Canada’s flagship development priority: maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This article explores the process through which Canada has positioned maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) as its flagship development priority, first at the 2010 Muskoka Initiative and more recently in negotiations surrounding the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This emphasis conflicts with the government’s recent alignment of development assistance with security and trade-related interests. We argue that a combination of policy path dependency with a constructivist focus on international identity and reputation building best explain the centrality of MNCH in Canada’s promotion of MNCH in the SDG process.