1 week Ago 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..
