Inuit university funding among reasons why Idlout abstained on federal budget

Published 11:15 am Friday, November 21, 2025 Nunavut MP Lori Idlout was one of four abstentions during the federal budget vote on Nov. 17, and those abstentions were pivotal to allowing the budget to pass by a vote of 170-168, thus avoiding a federal election. Idlout said Nunavummiut told her that promises made in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget were worth securing, despite some of her objections. Commitments to build 700 residences in Nunavut through Build Canada Homes, $50 million for Inuit Nunangat University from the Build Communities Strong Fund, developments from the Arctic Infrastructure Fund, and the Urban Rural Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy convinced Idlout to abstain rather than oppose the budget. However, the Nunavut MP still condemned parts of the Liberal minority government’s spending plan. “There are major concerns, like cuts to programs that Indigenous peoples are forced to rely on,” Idlout said. No money has been allocated for the Inuit Child First Initiative, nor for Jordan’s Principle even though those funding streams are set to expire in March 2026. Indigenous Services Canada Minister Mandy Gull-Masty told Nunavut News that the Inuit Child First Initiative will continue, but declined to explain how the program will operate with no federal government dollars. The other MPs to abstain from voting on the federal budget were NDP MP Gord Johns and Conservative MPs Shannon Stubbs and Matt Jeneroux. Green Party MP Elizabeth May voted in favour of the Liberal budget, the only opposition MP to do so. The five other NDP MPs in the House of Commons voted against the federal spending plan. A press release from interim federal NDP leader Don Davies called it a “conservative” budget. Davies and Idlout said they wanted to show their opposition to the Liberal government’s plan while still avoiding an election. “While critics say abstaining has negative connotations, the NDP heard from Canadians that while they are disappointed with the budget, they wanted us to work to push for better federal programs rather than launch the country into an election,” Idlout said.