Canadians are unsure of continued aid for Ukraine, says in-house Privy Council research, with federal focus groups questioning the point of billions in aid.

“It was felt Canada’s contributions had not had much of an impact and that Ukraine’s efforts to end the conflict had stalled with little hope for peace in the foreseeable future,” reads the February 21 report, Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Views, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Parliament six months prior during the infamous Yaroslav Hunka scandal, which saw a former Second World War-era Ukrainian Nazi celebrated in the House of Commons.

The federal government has allocated $12.4 billion in aid for Ukraine to date. Canadians are increasingly mixed about this continued funding and its impact, wrote researchers.

The total cost of funding is unclear, as other government estimates pin it to be $13.3 billion since the conflict began more than two years ago.

Carbon tax protester calls out Trudeau for his hypocrisy in supporting democracies around the world — like giving billions of dollars to Ukraine — but ignoring his own citizens when they oppose his policies driving up the cost of living for Canadians.https://t.co/dh39RL8IFZ pic.twitter.com/XbCED1exzQ

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 4, 2024

A large number of focus group respondents expressed “gratitude that they lived … far removed from military conflicts,” said Canadians’ Views. Many also admitted to a “declining personal interest in seeking out information” related to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Some “expressed concerns” regarding the conflict’s impacts on Canada’s economy and fuel prices. Others preferred reallocating aid to Canadians currently struggling to make ends meet.

“There are enough problems to solve here in Canada,” People’s Party of Canada (PPC) spokesperson Martin Masse said, “including helping Canadians who are struggling.”

However, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, of Ukrainian descent, pledged ongoing financial support last April. “We will be there until Ukraine wins the war,” she told reporters.

This was despite internal Department of Finance polling last year showing that fewer than a third (32%) of Canadians support more financial aid for Ukraine. 

Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland speaks on how there's a lot to learn from the Ukraine war: "Ukraine is teaching all of us, again, the true strength of democracy." pic.twitter.com/L8MxYoac2r

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 18, 2023

“We could have avoided this war if we had given Russia assurances that Ukraine would not join NATO,” Masse said. “It would have saved hundreds of thousands of lives and prevented massive destruction and population displacement.” 

“The economic sanctions on Russia have had no effect whatsoever. All they did was destabilize the global financial and monetary system,” Masse said. “We have pushed the Russians into the arms of the Chinese, and encouraged dozens of emerging countries to get together,” and depend less on Western trade and finance.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters last March that taxpayers “need to get results for their money," but stopped short of committing to reducing aid to Ukraine at the time.

Putin's message to Americans on NATO expansion to it's borders:

"Russia even agreed voluntarily and proactively to the collapse of the Soviet Union and believed that this would be understood by the so called civilized West as an invitation for cooperation and association." pic.twitter.com/MESdPbYWFE

— Rebel News USA (@RebelNews_USA) February 8, 2024

Earlier this year, Canada inked a 10-year security pact with the war-torn country for $3 billion. Meanwhile, concerns are boiling over after nearly two decades of Canada not meeting it's own NATO spending targets.

“We should spend more to upgrade our military, not necessarily to meet NATO targets, but simply because our army has obsolete equipment and we couldn't defend our territory,” Masse said.