A Conservative government would build a permanent military base in Nunavut and pay for it by 91裸聊视频渄ramatically cutting91裸聊视频� Canada91裸聊视频檚 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.

91裸聊视频淥ne hundred per cent of the cost of the base will come from the foreign aid budget,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚n fact, today91裸聊视频檚 announcement will actually reduce the deficit because I plan to cut foreign aid more than the full cost of the announcement that I91裸聊视频檝e made today.91裸聊视频�

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 Canada91裸聊视频檚 response to large-scale climate disasters.

Poilievre criticized foreign aid spending, saying much of it goes to 91裸聊视频渄ictators, terrorists and global bureaucracies.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e got our own problems at home. We have our own backyard to protect,91裸聊视频� he said.

When asked what the Conservative leader meant by his reference to 91裸聊视频渄ictators91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频渢errorists,91裸聊视频� Sebastian Skamski, Poilievre91裸聊视频檚 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 (UNRWA).

Multiple countries, including Canada, paused funding for UNRWA last year in response to claims that some of the agencies91裸聊视频� employees took part in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Last year, UNRWA investigated 19 staff members after claims were raised about their alleged connections to Hamas. In August 2024, UNRWA said that while the allegations against 10 of the staff members could not be substantiated, it was terminating the employment of nine of the employees because evidence suggested they 91裸聊视频渕ay have been involved91裸聊视频� 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 about alleged UNRWA ties to Hamas.

Poilievre did not offer a concrete estimate of the total size of his proposed 91裸聊视频渕assive91裸聊视频� cut to the foreign aid budget.

Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok said in a statement Monday afternoon that he is 91裸聊视频渉eartened91裸聊视频� to see political interest in the Arctic, but reminds Poilievre that decisions about the region can91裸聊视频檛 occur without 91裸聊视频渟ignificant input91裸聊视频� from northerners.

During his press conference, Poilievre said local residents and Inuit groups would be consulted on the construction of the new base.

Akeeagok said it91裸聊视频檚 more important 91裸聊视频渢han ever91裸聊视频� to make significant Arctic investments as the region91裸聊视频檚 geopolitical profile rises, and to ensure that community needs are met in the process.

Poilievre said Monday91裸聊视频檚 announcement is only part of his Arctic strategy and he will have more to say on other issues, like the regional economy, in the future.

Canada91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淲e cannot rely on the Americans to do it for us anymore. This is the reality, this is the wake-up call,91裸聊视频� Poilievre said.

Poilievre also said he would respond to U.S. President Donald Trump91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频渨ould be given back91裸聊视频� to the Canadian steel and aluminum industry, and any surplus would be used for 91裸聊视频渢ax relief.91裸聊视频�

Later in his press conference, however, when asked about northern food prices, Poilievre said 91裸聊视频渆very penny91裸聊视频� collected by counter-tariffs would be used to reduce other taxes to counter cost-of-living pressures.