The Incredible Cost of the Per-Vote Subsidy to Federal Parties

Last year, Canadians paid Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc Quebecois Party $2.7 million to prepare for this federal election campaign.  In 2010, Canadian taxpayers doled out $27 million to fill the coffers of the federal Parties. Here’s how the per-vote subsidy was divided amongst political Parties:

  • Conservatives – $10.4 million
  • Liberals – $7.2 million
  • NDP – $5 million
  • Bloc Quebecois – $2.7 million
  • Greens – $1.9 million

Over the last five years this subsidy adds up to over $135 million.  

  • Conservatives – $ 50.8 million
  • Liberals – $40.3 million
  • NDP – $ 24.6 million
  • Bloc Quebecois – $14.4 million
  • Greens – $7.5 million

It’s incredible to think that the $2 per-vote subsidy provides far more money than any of these Parties would ever raise on their own (perhaps with the exception of the Conservative “fundraising machine”). Think of these millions of dollars as life support for Parties like the Bloc Quebecois who need never have to raise a dime in Quebec again. It is “candy money” for Conservatives and Liberals allowing them to pay for even more TV ads and attack-ad mailings. There is something troubling with the realization that our tax dollars are going directly to fund the Parties’ backrooms.

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