A Conservative government would build a permanent military base in Nunavut and pay for it by SA国际影视传媒渄ramatically cuttingSA国际影视传媒� CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 foreign aid budget, party leader Pierre Poilievre said Monday in Iqaluit.

Speaking at a press conference, Poilievre said CFB Iqaluit would serve as a base for Royal Canadian Air Force operations in the Arctic and for search and rescue missions. He said the base would be operational within two years of his Conservatives being elected to government.

SA国际影视传媒淥ne hundred per cent of the cost of the base will come from the foreign aid budget,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚n fact, todaySA国际影视传媒檚 announcement will actually reduce the deficit because I plan to cut foreign aid more than the full cost of the announcement that ISA国际影视传媒檝e made today.SA国际影视传媒�

According to a parliamentary report tabled last year, Canada spent $15.5 billion on foreign aid in the 2022-23 fiscal year. That included international assistance in conflict zones like Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, along with CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 response to large-scale climate disasters.

Poilievre criticized foreign aid spending, saying much of it goes to SA国际影视传媒渄ictators, terrorists and global bureaucracies.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檝e got our own problems at home. We have our own backyard to protect,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

When asked who the Conservative leader was referring to as SA国际影视传媒渄ictatorsSA国际影视传媒� and SA国际影视传媒渢errorists,SA国际影视传媒� Sebastian Skamski, PoilievreSA国际影视传媒檚 spokesperson, pointed to a speech Poilievre gave to the Conservative caucus in January 2024.

In that speech, Poilievre criticized the government for helping to fund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA.

Multiple countries, including Canada, paused funding for UNRWA last year in response to claims that some of the agenciesSA国际影视传媒� employees took part in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Last year UNRWA investigated 19 staff members after allegations were raised about their connection to Hamas. In August 2024 UNRWA determined that the allegations against 10 of them could not be substantiated, but nine of the employees were terminated because evidence suggested they SA国际影视传媒渕ay have been involvedSA国际影视传媒� in the Oct. 7 attack.

The Canadian government gave UNRWA $39 million in 2023. It restored its 2024 payments after seeing an interim report looking into the allegations of UNRWASA国际影视传媒檚 ties to Hamas.

Poilievre did not offer a concrete estimate of the total size of his proposed SA国际影视传媒渕assiveSA国际影视传媒� cut to the foreign aid budget.

SA国际影视传媒機annot rely on the AmericansSA国际影视传媒�

CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 military operates several outposts and training centres in the North.

Poilievre also pledged to double the number of Canadian Rangers to 4,000 and to purchase four heavy icebreakers SA国际影视传媒� two each for the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy.

The government announced construction of two new icebreakers for the Coast Guard last year; those projects are currently listed as in the design phase.

Poilievre said those Coast Guard vessels will be complete by 2029 if he becomes prime minister.

The Conservative leader said his Arctic defence strategy is being driven by a number of foreign threats, including the growing presence of Russian military units and Chinese vessels in the region.

Poilievre said he supports current Norad modernization initiatives and would continue that work if his party is elected, but added that Canada can no longer count on the U.S. to protect the Canadian Arctic.

SA国际影视传媒淲e cannot rely on the Americans to do it for us anymore. This is the reality, this is the wake-up call,SA国际影视传媒� Poilievre said.

Poilievre also said he would respond to U.S. President Donald TrumpSA国际影视传媒檚 threatened 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum and steel imports with matching retaliatory tariffs on American steel and aluminum.

Trump said Sunday he would officially announce the tariffs Monday.

Poilievre said that all proceeds from those tariffs SA国际影视传媒渨ould be given backSA国际影视传媒� to the Canadian steel and aluminum industry, and any surplus would be used for SA国际影视传媒渢ax relief.SA国际影视传媒�

Later in his press conference, however, when asked about northern food prices, Poilievre said SA国际影视传媒渆very pennySA国际影视传媒� collected by counter-tariffs would be used to reduce other taxes to counter cost-of-living pressures.

SA国际影视传媒擝y David Baxter, The Canadian Press, with files from Dylan Robertson