Taxpayers bear the brunt of ballooning corporate welfare economy
By Quinn Patrick
Government spending on corporate welfare rose to $52 billion in 2022, more than double what it once was only 15 years ago, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute.
The report released on Tuesday titled, The Cost of Business Subsidies in Canada: Updated Edition, revealed a dramatic increase in corporate welfare spending at every level of government since 2007.
Between 2007 and 2019, federal, provincial and municipal governments spent a combined $352.1 billion on business subsidies.
“These subsidies for businesses — also known as corporate welfare — come with huge costs to government budgets and taxpayers, while doing little if anything to stimulate economic growth,” said co-author Tegan Hill, who also serves as associate director of Alberta policy at the Fraser Institute.
The annual amount of spending has more than doubled what it was in 2007, going from $24.5 billion a year to $52 billion in 2022 when adjusted for inflation.
Meanwhile, federal business subsidies went up exponentially in the post-pandemic era, spiking up to $88.5 billion in 2020 before decreasing to $47 billion the following year.
To put that figure into context, federal spending on corporate welfare was only $6.5 billion in 2019.