Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promises that if elected prime minister, he will cut “wasteful” funding to “terrorists” and boost Canada’s military.
“My common-sense plan will cut wasteful foreign aid that goes to dictators, terrorists, and multinational bureaucracies and put that money into reinforcing our military,” Mr. Poilievre said to reporters Feb. 15 in Montreal.
“Bring our money home,” he added.
Canada and several other countries recently suspended funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after it was revealed that several of its employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attack against Israel. The UN is currently investigating the issue, with Canada’s resumption of funding contingent on the results.
Canada has also been criticized for its involvement in the Beijing-founded Asian Infrastructure Bank. Although Ottawa has suspended funding after a whistleblower said there is overt Chinese Communist Party control over the bank, the Tories say Canada should completely drop its funding of Beijing’s multi-lateral bank.
Mr. Poilievre said Canada is currently relying too much on the United States for its defence and should be responsible for its own security. He said he would cut from bureaucratic spending to boost military funding.
“We will cut back-office bureaucracy and use the savings to bolster frontline resources for our soldiers, sailors, and airmen,” he said.
He also said if elected, he plans to eliminate “incompetence and corruption” in procurement, stopping the “wasteful spending of billions of dollars” on defence contractors.
The Conservative leader has indicated that a government led by him will work to meet Canada’s NATO spending commitment of 2 percent of the nation’s GDP, a target Ottawa consistently misses.
International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen called the Conservative leader’s proposals “shocking.”
“It will lead to diminishing Canada’s influence on the world stage; it will mean that it is a cut against support to most vulnerable people in the world,” Mr. Hussen told reporters in Ottawa.
On Feb. 15, reporters peppered Mr. Hussen with questions on Canada’s decision to temporarily stop UNRWA funding in light of recent reports the organization will run out of money in a few weeks.
“The Canadian funding to UNRWA, particularly with respect to the Gaza response, is there,” Mr. Hussen said, referencing the more than $100 million the organization has already been given.
Commenting on the United Nations investigation, he said: “This affects future funding. You asked me how long this is going to go for. It depends on how long the investigation takes.”
