The Canadian government has spent more than $11 billion on gender-related initiatives overseas over the past 10 years, with funds directed toward projects focused on gender equality and women’s empowerment under the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP).
According to the Western Standard, this figure represents a conservative estimate, as it accounts only for gender-targeted aid and does not reflect the full scope of gender-related projects, which could total billions more.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced FIAP in 2017, emphasizing Canada’s commitment to gender equality.
“We are here today to launch Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy — a policy that puts women and girls at the center of everything we do in international assistance. Because we know that when women and girls thrive, everyone benefits,” Trudeau stated at the time.
The shocking amount of money has been met with backlash, considering Trudeau had previously pledged to balance the budget.
Since making this promise years prior, the Trudeau government has operated with persistent deficits, with the largest, outside the COVID-19 pandemic, occurring in 2023-24 at $61.9 billion.
Between 2020 and 2025, annual deficits have averaged between $39 billion and $48 billion.
According to the Fraser Institute, Canada’s federal debt has doubled from $693.8 billion in 2015 to approximately $1.4 trillion as of March 2025.
The revelation also comes as the United States has been evaluating similar forms of spending, with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk finding instances of government spending at home and abroad on projects many have said are wasteful.
The White House provided numerous examples of such spending, which included $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia, $2 million for sex change and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala, $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru, and much more.
