Poilievre promises more homes and Arctic spending, less taxes in Iqaluit visit

Impact of carbon ‘tax’ is ‘far worse’ than in rest of Canada: Conservative leader

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at a rally in Iqaluit on Monday. It was his first visit to Nunavut’s capital since becoming party leader in 2022. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)

By Arty Sarkisian

Northern communities will “empty out” if the Conservatives don’t win the next federal election, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told supporters at a rally in Iqaluit on Monday.

“It is simply impossible to pay the bills and to heat the homes,” Poilievre said of the impact of the federal carbon pricing plan, which critics call a carbon tax, on Canadians.

Approximately 40 people gathered at the Frobisher Inn conference centre for Poilievre’s “Axe the Tax” rally, including Government of Nunavut ministers David Akeeagok and Daniel Qavvik and Iqaluit deputy Mayor Kimberly Smith.

At the rally, which lasted about a half-hour, Poilievre was introduced by British Columbia MP Bob Zimmer, the Conservative northern affairs critic.

Poilievre emphasized the importance of repealing the carbon pollution pricing system, his signature promise.

The federal government introduced carbon pricing in 2019 to help reduce the consumption of carbon-based fuels. Revenue raised through the program is returned to taxpayers through rebates from the federal government.

In April, fuel prices in Nunavut went up due to an increase in the federal pricing.

Poilievre argued the federal program will have a “far worse” effect on the Canadian Arctic than in the rest of the country due to higher costs to deliver products.

Nunavummiut receive $100 per year, issued as a $25 payment every three months, as part of Nunavut’s rebate that is intended to help offset the increase in fuel prices.

Poilievre also touched on issues affecting the Canadian Arctic, saying he would ensure Indigenous people are “first winners” from resource expedition projects by having businesses pay part of their federal income tax to local authorities.

He promised to get more homes built, bolster the Canadian Armed Forces’ presence in the Arctic, introduce more recovery services for drug addiction, and protect hunters’ rights to own rifles.

The Conservatives have not yet selected a Nunavut candidate to represent the party in the next federal election, which is scheduled for October 2025.

The Conservatives last held the seat between 2008 and 2015. New Democrats and Liberals have represented the riding since 2015, including current NDP MP Lori Idlout who was elected in 2021.

“Northerners expect more than just catchphrases and slogans,” Idlout said in a “reality check” email sent out Monday by the federal NDP party about the Poilievre rally.

It said Poilievre brought “empty words” to Nunavut’s capital, adding he failed to act on the issues he talked about Monday during his time as a junior minister in then-prime minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet.

The rally ended with Poilievre stopping for photos and signing his campaign posters.

Iqaluit was his final stop on his way back to Ottawa Monday after campaigning in British Columbia and Yellowknife.

 

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(51) Comments:

  1. Posted by Dave on

    I think Ms Idlout underestimates the desire for change.

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  2. Posted by its due buuuut on

    A Trump wanna be. Not a Trudeau fan but this gut is dangerous to Canadian identity.

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    • Posted by B Aglukark on

      Iqaluit is not nunavut , Iqaluit doesn’t feel like nunavut, Iqaluit doesn’t sound like nunavut, Iqaluit doesn’t act like nunavut nor does it work like nunavut. If this party wants to win in Nunavut, the party will must choose an individual who thinks like Nunavut, speaks like Nunavut, walks with Nunavut, works with Nunavut and knows Nunavut.

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      • Posted by Iqaluit Mom on

        Explain to me how this man thinks, speaks walks, like a Nunavummiut. He is a politician who knows his target audience… those who will believe him just because they are unhappy with current leadership (or lack thereof). Feel free to be made a fool of.

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      • Posted by lol on

        Nunavut is great because people still can’t even appreciate overt racism is being expressed when they say this kind of stuff. This is the mind of many Nunavummuit.

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    • Posted by MARS on

      You managed to say nothing and make zero argument. Typical Liberal voter.. no answers, no argument.. just don’t vote for that guy rhetoric… grow up.

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  3. Posted by Lori Idlout has our vote period on

    Lori continues to travel and hear from us and represent us. She will continue to be our MP. The Conservative Party don’t even know who will try to represent us. My vote ain’t going to be for a Convoy Party leader.

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    • Posted by Real Sluffi on

      Lori has “your” vote, you mean. She may or may not win, but let’s at least face reality, a fourth party back bencher will accomplish almost nothing for us in the next Parliament.

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      • Posted by Kunavut on

        Still better to have a voice you trust to one that will sell you out at the first chance.

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    • Posted by legaleagle on

      Lori’s spouse owns multi million dollar buildings throughout Iqaluit. Ya she cares about the poor. She represents her own interests or that of her spouse. Keep voting NDP. Keep getting nothing done. That’s the plan. Continued catch and release for criminals. You wonder why crime is out of control in Iqaluit and BC? You couldn’t pay me to vote NDP

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      • Posted by Why on

        Why do you have a problem with successful people. Would you prefer to be represented y some lay-out who has never accomplished anything. She earned a law degree and they have achieved financial success and that’s a bad thing.

  4. Posted by Anyone But Conservative on

    Poilievre is a sleazeball. He runs around promising to cut taxes, but then he says he will fund more housing up here. Obviously, his real goal is to cut taxes on the big corporations. For example, the big private landlords (including REITs and Private Equity and hedge funds) will pay fewer taxes, and will make more money. So, the rich will hide more money offshore.

    We all know that any cut in taxes will mean a decline in quality of services. Poilievre is trying to emulate Reagan and Thatcher. This will result in Canada declining into Trumpism, all while the rich get even richer.

    Poilievre cannot be trusted. He always has tricks up his sleeve. He uses Trump-style tactics to promote himself as a populist. But meanwhile, he solicits huge amounts of money from rich businesspeople , who of course expect mega-favours in return.

    I suggest we send Poilievre to Mar-A-Lago to hobnob with Donald Trump, then build a wall around Mar-A-Lago and kept the two in exile in there permanently. And, then throw in Doug Ford, Danielle Smith, John Rustad, Greg Abbott, Ron DeSantis, Christopher Luxon, and Jair Bolsonaro in there too. All can spend the rest of their lives in luxury, safely segregated incommunicado from the rest of the world, so that they are prevented for doing further damage via Koch-Brothers-style neoliberalism (as promoted by the Atlas Network think tanks that they and the rest of Big Business have been funding with Dark Money through the intentionally opaque Donors Trust).

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    • Posted by Forever Amazed on

      I believe you are describing lieberals (primarily) and the libdip coalition. Who is not more sleazy than sellout Singh for making a deal with the devil? The lieberals are beyond sleaze.

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      • Posted by Johnny Oh Ima on

        very intelligent, slogan and play on words, where do you come up with these brilliant play on words?

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    • Posted by Lucretius on

      Since 2015, when the Liberals were first elected, federal debt has gone from $634B to $1,173B, essentially doubled.

      Canada has to pay $46.5B this year just to service that debt (just the interest). Canada could fund 14 Nunavut Territories just with that money. People like to complain about foreign aid up north. Last year we only spent 1/10 as much of our debt servicing helping other countries.

      If you don’t like the idea of our money going to Ukraine, why might anybody be ok with our tax dollars going to institutional investors?

      In other words, around quarter of all the income tax collected in Canada this year will go towards servicing this debt before one cent is used to build an expensive house in Nunavut.

      At the same time, our per capita GDP is going down, meaning our country is selling and producing less. That means less income tax, less corporate tax, and less GST collected. Almost all the money that is spent up here comes from those 3 things.

      Being a good socialist and blaming big business or the wealthy does not really help when they already making less, and you need them working, profiting and spending to pay down debt.

      So, even though we are in debt way more, we can afford that debt less. For the liberals to have left Canada in such a state since 2015 is no mark of success.

      The Conservatives will predictably stop Ottawa spending money. I would say if you ever heard their leader say he is going to free up money to pay for anything, he is probably referring to the $46.5B we pay on interest on the national debt.

      And really, who can blame Polievre for doing this? That is where we are at folks. If you think a conservative government is bad, just be thankful you are not Venezuelan, Argentinian, Russian or Greek when they hit to sovereign debt wall.

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      • Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

        “The Conservatives will predictably stop Ottawa spending money” Prior to the pandemic, do you know who was responsible for 75% of ALL Canadian national debt? The same Conservatives you claim will be responsible spenders.

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  5. Posted by Sure on

    Do you think the Conservatives will justify investing in First Nations and Inuit to their base? Be real now.

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    • Posted by Incredulous on

      Just curious…. Trudeau promised clean drinking water for all indigenous people. How many times did he deliver on this promise to the first peoples of this nation?; How could the conservatives do worse than zero?

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      • Posted by You asked about water on

        144 advisories have been lifted, I believe 28 are in progress. Somewhat better than your claim of 0. Or will this one be labelled fake news by conservatives

  6. Posted by MARS on

    Poilievre has stated how he will free up money to be able to do these things. Do you live under a rock? What are these Trump-style tactics you speak of, care to elaborate with specifics?
    What do you think the current government is doing so well?
    Your whole ramble is sleazy and it sounds like you have paranoia or are delusional.

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    • Posted by Your not listening on

      Insults, name calling, misinformation,, sounds like a mini trump to me. He should be sanctioned for his inane states in questin period yesterday. Rant at someone then ask for support. Great tactic, ehe.

  7. Posted by nunamiut on

    What make me consider, perhaps if he cut out the GST for Nunavut, Nunavut already is more expensive, and all the goods that are shipped up north has already be paid and GST included within the southern price before being shipped.

    lets say ply wood;
    Montreal price $22 Plus GST $1.10 – 23.10

    Gets to Nunavut

    Nunavut price $64 plus GST $3.20 – 67.20 for the same ply..

    $3 may not seem a lot, but when you include everything Nunavummiut buy, feds are getting a lot more from Nunavut via per capita wise for the same product.

    That i what is going to make a difference.

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  8. Posted by anon on

    I cant believe with the current state of Canada, that there are still LIBS/NDP supporters. I thought this in the last election as well, and still the LIBS got it. What exactly are you voting for? More taxes, more immigrants with no infrastructure for home building to house them. No pipelines or oil rig jobs for our citizens to work at, no mining for critical elements for your precious electric vehicles. So what exactly is it, that the current government does? Why take 100 dollars to give back 80 and call it a rebate? How bout just take the 20 they apparently need. Who are we paying this money to, to stop global warming? It implies if we pay enough we wont have any global warming but no, that’s not the case. Instead it makes it more difficult for underpaid households to keep themselves afloat in an economy created by the current government that wouldn’t throw them a life line unless they paid for it first.

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    • Posted by Taxes pay for things on

      I can’t believe with the state of their platform and party that anyone could stomach voting for Conservatives.

      We’re facing an existential threat to our survival as a species in climate change and the Cons have no plan to tackle it. A carbon tax does work to limit usage of fossil fuels the same way a tax on cigarettes and alcohol limit consumption of those products.

      The fact of the matter is that most people are getting more back in carbon tax rebates than they pay in, and it forces heavy polluting industries to pay their fair share. Oil and pipelines are contributing to unheard of damage to the planet and they should pay a price so that we can rebuild and mitigate that damage. Companies shouldn’t be able to pollute without paying.

      Every study on these types of taxes shows that they do work, and Cons have yet to provide a plan that is backed by even a fraction as much evidence. It’s always based on this libertarian idea of “don’t tax us”, which is an attitude that leads to societal breakdown. WE ALL are party of a society and we all need to contribute. Nations with the highest taxes have the highest standard of living because you get what you pay for.

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  9. Posted by What about food subsidies? on

    Food prices more than doubled since NDP MP Lori Idlout because MP and housing prices up more than 100%. Property is literally more expensive than New York and Northmart pockets as much as 30% of NNC subsidies according to CBC and what has NDP MP Lori Idlout and her Liberal predecessor Hunter Tootoo done about it? We need a Conservative MP who will fight for the north.

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    • Posted by anon on

      Like the last one we had who liked to read the paper in the House of Commons?

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      • Posted by John WP Murphy on

        Another anonymous mouthpiece. Get over it..
        Then again you probably can’t read yourself,
        Want a reaction to your stupidity? You got it

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    • Posted by What would PP Do on

      While I agree that housing and food costs are an issue, I can’t imagine what the Cons will do to address these issues. The reason for these massive increases in costs is corporate greed and cons are famous for feeding into and incentivizing this kind of greed. The NDP were the only party actually focusing on the root causes of this issue, the problem being that the Liberals and Cons are both too scared to go after big businesses.

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  10. Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

    The use of catch phrases and cozying up to riff-raff who try to overthrow their elected governments, are just 2 things Poilievre has in common with Trump.

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  11. Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

    Bipartisan work with the government that gets real results such as dental care and pharmacare for poor Canadians is hardly “selling out” nor “making a deal with the devil”. But you ahead and vote for the guy who brought donuts to the convoy that blocked our border with our biggest trade partner and demanded the overthrow of the duly-elected government of Canada.

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  12. Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

    Remember when there was a mob of folks who had nothing better do for 3-plus weeks than pee on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier then blast AC/DC and blare truck horns all night while Canadians with jobs to go to the next day, tried to get their babies to sleep? The same folks that proudly waved Swastikas on Parliament Hill and blocked our border with our biggest trade partner and showed up with a truck full of guns, wanting to “kill some cops”? The folks who said they weren’t going home until the Senate agreed to hand over power from the duly-elected government of Canada to their anonymous and sel-appointed “committee”? Well, Pierre Polievre didn’t think those folks were so bad. Hell, he even brought them donuts.

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  13. Posted by Are you delusional? on

    Huh? You must be confused….. taxes on things line government coffers and have never limited use. Just ask the smokers and alcoholics if they’d quit at a 40 cent increase. Ask the kids who go to school hungry cause parents bought a bootlegger bottle for $300-$400. Get real.

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    • Posted by Not delusional, just well read on

      Except for they do, and evidence from researchers shows that it does. If a bottle of beer costs more, then the money you have to buy said beer buys less beer. The same goes for cigarettes and other tobacco products. Increases on taxes on these products leads to less consumption of them. While there may be isolated cases of people buying the product anyways, the overall consumption goes down in the population as a whole.

      Governments can then use this tax to address the negative effects of these products, like cancer treatment, liver transplants, or in the case of gas, the harmful effects of climate change.

      The issue with climate change is that the carbon tax is a drop in the bucket of how much harm is actually happening to Canada, whether it is once in a generation storms, fire seasons that last longer and start earlier or flash flooding on drought stricken lands.

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  14. Posted by legaleagle on

    FINALLY Trudeau is done. The narcissist is on his way out. The 10 year crime spree is over

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    • Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

      EVERY party leader, hell every POLITICIAN is a narcissist. Humble people do not crave power.

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  15. Posted by legaleagle on

    When Harper handed over power to Trudeau, Canada had the richest middle class on earth. The wealthiest of the G7 countries and for the first time wealthier than the American middle class. Get your facts right or stay out of the conversation.

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  16. Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

    Ummm yeah…gonna need some sources for that claim…

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    • Posted by legaleagle on

      The source? No need. The facts are in. The debate is over. The court is adjourned. The events already occurred. You’re doing yourself a great disservice by denying what has already happened. Your inability to grasp the fact that these events have already occurred is astonishing and yet speaks volumes that you aren’t even aware of what’s already taken place in your own country 16 years ago when the world went into recession. EXCEPT CANADA and now you know why. Conservatives.

      Trudeau’s reign of terror is over. History won’t be kind whether you like it or not.

      Politicians are all crooked to varying degrees but your hero Trudeau will go down as not only the worst Prime Minister in Canadian history but also as the most corrupt. It got so bad his wife even left him. But at least he has you!

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  17. Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

    Murphy picking up for Leona again. In other news, water is wet.

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  18. Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

    Makes up juvenile names for opponents?
    Trump – Yes. Poilievre – Yes
    Cozy with anarchist mobs?
    Trump – Yes. Poilievre – Yes
    Ridiculous attempts to appear macho?
    Trump – Yes. Poilievre – Yes
    “Tough on immigrants” while married to immigrants?
    Trump – Yes. Poilievre – Yes
    Never worked a real job?
    Trump – Yes. Poilievre – Yes
    Adored by White Supremacists?
    Trump – Yes. Poilievre – Yes

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    • Posted by legaleagle on

      Now here’s someone who really misses the masks and lockdowns. But the most disturbing part is that we have an individual who’s asking and answering his own questions. Exciting! Keep pushing the envelope

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      • Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

        MARS demanded to know the similarities between Trump and Poilievre, so I provided a few of the many examples. Sorry if the facts sting. Not that Trump/Poilievre dudebros care about facts.

        • Posted by legaleagle on

          Sting? LOL

          Let’s go line by line to help you. I’ll substitute Trump for Trudeau because your “facts” come from a CBC echo chamber

          1. Juvenile names – Nobody like names and pronouns more than Trudeau
          2. Cozy with mobs – Like BLM and Hamas sympathizers that Trudeau fully supports
          3. Attempts to appear macho – Like photo ops in a boxing ring of Trudeau
          4. Married to immigrants – Trump/Pollievre are married to LEGAL immigrants – Trudeau’s wife said bye
          5. Never worked a real job – Part time Trudeau drama teacher with a blind trust hardly qualifies
          6. Adored by white racists – Trudeau brings a Nazi war criminal into the House of Commons

          I bet you wish you didn’t mention line 6

          • Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

            1. Chosen pronouns are meant to restore dignity, childish nicknames to erode it.
            2. Trudeau is hardly pro-Hamas, or did you not notice he allowed Canadian weapons to be re-sold to Israel through the US and regularly refuses to take a stance against Israel at the UN?
            3. Trudeau actually boxed in the ring and beat Patrick Brazeau. For charity, not a photo-op as you claim.
            4. Trudeau did not marry an immigrant while complaining about immigrants. PP can’t say as much.
            5. Your position that teaching isn’t a real job must come as a surprise to those who attempted to teach you.
            6. Yaroslav Hunka was invited to Parliament by the Speaker of the House, not the Prime Minister as you claim.

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  19. Posted by Forked tongue on

    Hot air and smoke, this thing has a forked tongue, no Cons party has ever increase spending for Nunavut, what they like to do is cut taxes for the ultra rich and big corps for their trickle down economics policies, that cuts the government’s revenue, less money for the government so the Cons have to cut funding, cut programs and services, close down departments and hospitals,
    All the while they pretend to be doing more.
    We have seen this many time, each time the Cons are in power. Why the last three elections in Nunavut the Cons have been in last place, we see through their smoke and mirrors, through their dishonesty, most of us will not make the mistake of voting Cons ever again but there are a few who will.

  20. Posted by Ian on

    Union trolls and keyboard warriors living the great life in Nunavut, don’t worry the cons will leave you alone , just gassed up my old pickup 200.00,carbon tax.but most drive GN vehicles,

  21. Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

    So…no source for your dubious claim then?

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