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VANCOUVER — Federal and provincial spending on business subsidies reached $87.7 billion in 2024 after increasing sharply over the previous decade, according to a new study from the Fraser Institute.
The public policy think-tank says spending on what it describes as corporate welfare increased 142 per cent between 2019 and 2024, based on comparable Statistics Canada data.
The study found federal and provincial governments spent an inflation-adjusted $22.2 billion on corporate subsidies in 2007, rising 12.8 per cent to $25.1 billion by 2015.
Spending then increased 44.2 per cent between 2015 and 2019 before rising substantially following the COVID-19 pandemic.
By 2024, inflation-adjusted spending had reached $87.7 billion, more than three times its 2015 level.
“Despite their current prevalence in Canada, research has consistently shown that corporate welfare is largely wasteful and generally fails to achieve its stated goals,” said Alex Whalen, director of the Fraser Institute’s Atlantic Canada Prosperity Initiative and a co-author of the study.
The institute says corporate subsidy spending increased in every province and at the federal level between 2015 and 2024, even after adjusting for inflation and population growth.
Whalen said governments should instead pursue other policies aimed at encouraging economic growth.
“The massive recent increase in government spending on corporate welfare should concern all Canadians,” Whalen said.
“It’s wasteful spending at the expense of Canadian taxpayers and places government in the position of picking favoured businesses. Better policies exist to drive economic growth.”
The Fraser Institute describes itself as an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
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