Trudeau’s $160 Million Ideological Slush Fund Exposed

How much of your hard-earned money is Justin Trudeau willing to burn to advance his radical agenda? As it turns out, at least $160 million more than I thought yesterday.

Welcome to the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), a foreign aid program under Global Affairs Canada. This fund, established over 50 years ago, was originally intended to support “high-impact” projects worldwide. However, under the Trudeau Liberals, it has been transformed into a taxpayer-funded megaphone for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), LGBTQ advocacy, and climate change activism. Worse still, much of this money is being funnelled into countries like China, Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Venezuela—nations that do not share Canada’s values on gender equality, inclusive governance, or climate action.

CFLI: A History of Mismanagement

Let’s rewind for a moment. Under the Harper government, the CFLI operated for only a single year, funding 106 projects at a total cost of $21.2 million. Its stated objectives included promoting human rights, democratic development, and poverty reduction. However, even then, it lacked clear goals or measurable results, making it a questionable use of taxpayer dollars. At least Harper had the sense to limit the program’s scope and spending.

Fast forward to 2015, when Trudeau’s government got its hands on the fund. It was promptly weaponized into an ideological cash dump. The Primary Policy Marker? “Gender Equality.” Under Trudeau’s direction, the CFLI explicitly prioritized LGBTQ initiatives, gender empowerment programs, and climate change interventions—in countries with little to no interest or alignment with these goals.

From 2015 onward, the program burned through millions with almost zero oversight and no “Achieved Results.” The funds were handed out without clear accountability, spent on whatever foreign governments wanted—or worse, disappeared entirely. No checks, no balances, just a blank cheque courtesy of Canadian taxpayers.

A $160 Million Spending Spree

Since Trudeau revived the CFLI, it has funded 487 projects at a reported cost of $144.5 million as of March 31, 2024 (Canada’s most recent fiscal year-end). Given ongoing programs, the total is now likely closer to $160 million, spanning approximately 540 projects. Here’s a glimpse at where your tax dollars have gone under this “gender equality, LGBTQ, and climate change” program:

• Africa: $20 million spread across regions:

  • West Africa: $5.35 million

  • East Africa: $8 million

  • Southeast Africa: $2.8 million

  • Central & North Africa: $3.9 million

• China: $4 million

• Lebanon: $1.9 million

• Palestine: $1.2 million

• Iran: $500,000

• Iraq: $750,000

• Afghanistan: $1.75 million

• Syria: $950,000

• Yemen: $470,000

• Belarus: $700,000

• Haiti: $1 million

• Congo: $2.2 million

• Venezuela: $1.2 million

• Kazakhstan: $900,000

  • See full database here using “Canada Fund for Local Initiatives” as search query

These nations were not cherry-picked to exclude Western allies; the reality is that much of the CFLI’s funding goes to countries that actively reject the very ideologies it seeks to promote.

Ideological Insanity

Why are Canadian taxpayers funding climate change projects in China, a country that opens new coal plants every week? Why are we paying for gender equality initiatives in Afghanistan, where the Taliban refuses to allow women basic freedoms? And LGBTQ advocacy? In many of these countries, such agendas are shunned, criminalized, or outright banned.

This is not “high-impact funding.” This is not sound foreign policy. This is ideological madness.

A Nation in Crisis

All of this is happening while Canada faces a financial crisis at home. Our national debt has ballooned to $1.25 trillion—over half of which was accumulated under Trudeau’s leadership. Homeownership is a pipe dream for many Canadians, and the cost of living has outpaced the average family’s income. Yet, the people running the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives see no problem lighting our money on fire to chase utopian fantasies in a faraway land.

The CFLI claims to “support Canada’s foreign policy priorities,” but let’s be honest: this is nothing more than a taxpayer-funded PR stunt for the Liberal government.

Trudeau and his Liberals have made their priorities abundantly clear—and they don’t include the average Canadian. Instead, they’ve chosen to fund ideological experiments in countries that don’t share our values, all while leaving Canadians to bear the cost.