Canada sends $392 million in taxpayer funds to global climate projects

The Carney government is shipping nearly $400 million in Canadian taxpayer dollars overseas for “climate” and agricultural projects.

Source: Facebook

The Carney government is shipping nearly $400 million in Canadian taxpayer dollars overseas for “climate” and agricultural projects, a move opposition MPs argue is a blatant neglect of Canada’s own struggling citizens and domestic priorities.

At the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin announced a $392 million international climate finance package, calling it Canada’s contribution to global efforts to combat climate change and support sustainable development.

The largest sum, $263 million, will go to the International Fund for Agricultural Development to support smallholder farmers in vulnerable rural communities abroad.

Additional funding includes $106 million for Latin American and Caribbean businesses via Deetken Asset Management, $15 million for sustainable land management with Mirova, and $8 million to CGIAR for agricultural innovation and research.

The new commitments follow a $4.3 million top-up to a previous $13 million contribution to a United Nations trust fund for sustainable development in the Brazilian Amazon.

“This is about inclusive, locally led climate action and building resilience,” Dabrusin said during a Thursday evening announcement.

However, critics say the Liberal government’s international spending priorities are misplaced.

Conservative MP David Bexte, who represents the rural Alberta riding of Bow River, criticized the government for what he called “virtue signaling abroad” while Canadian farmers face mounting economic pressures at home.

“The Liberals just directed $392 million towards environmental agricultural initiatives for farmers abroad while Canadian producers at home are being crushed by China’s canola tariffs, unjustly blocked beef and pork market access to the U.K., and not given access to essential tools like strychnine,” Bexte said in a post on X. “On top of that the industrial carbon tax is driving up the cost of fertilizer, fuel, and farm equipment for farmers here at home. Our farmers are being punished while the government virtue signals abroad. Completely unacceptable.”

Earlier this week, both Dabrusin and former Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault declined to answer questions from True North about the broader costs of Canada’s international climate investments at COP30.