A new Conservative government will cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate welfare handouts to wealthy executives, shareholders, and foreign companies and instead put that money in Canadians’ pockets so they can get ahead, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer announced on Wednesday.

Scheer said a new Conservative government will conduct a review of all business subsidy programs in order to eliminate $1.5 billion in corporate handouts that don’t create jobs and support economic growth in Canada.

Those savings would instead go towards new measures to help hard-working Canadians.

“Under Justin Trudeau, Canada’s wealthiest and most politically connected have received billions of dollars from Canadian taxpayers, who are working harder than ever and just not getting ahead,” Scheer said. “I will put an end to handouts to wealthy executives, shareholders, and foreign companies and instead put that money in Canadians’ pockets so they can get ahead.”

A new Conservative government will also review innovation programs to ensure that they are supporting Canadian companies with patents, technologies, and economic benefits that remain in Canada. Conservatives believe that government support should help Canadians by creating jobs and opportunities.

Conservatives will make sure that funds spent on research and development will benefit Canadian companies, so that the intellectual property, technology, and resulting profits will benefit Canadians.

Conservatives will also strengthen regional development agencies and mandate them to focus on economic development, small- and medium-enterprises, and community-based projects.

“Hard-working Canadians are rightly offended when they see their tax dollars going to further the interests of the wealthy and well-connected friends while Justin Trudeau makes them pay more for gasoline, groceries, and home heating,” Scheer said. “That’s why I’ll get rid of these unfair handouts and use those savings to help Canadians get ahead.”

As Prime Minister, Andrew Scheer will:

• Cancel Trudeau’s Carbon Tax
• Remove GST from home heating, saving households $107
• Make maternity benefits tax-free, providing up to $4,000 in tax savings
• Bring in a Green Public Transit Tax Credit, saving families hundreds – potentially thousands – of dollars
• Bring in the Universal Tax Cut, saving a working couple $850
• Bring in the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, saving parents up to $150
• Bring in the Children’s Arts and Learning Tax Credit, saving parents up to $75
• Boost the RESP, giving parents hundreds more for their children’s education

Quick Facts

• Corporate welfare costs Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars every year.
• The Trudeau Liberals’ long list of corporate welfare handouts includes:
  • $18 million to a private jet airport, which was only cancelled because of media attention
  • $12 million taxpayer dollars to purchase fridges for Loblaws (net 2018 earnings: $719 million)
  • Two multi-million loan write-offs for the Irving family, one of Canada’s wealthiest
  • $40 million for Blackberry (The company’s CEO even said they didn’t need it)
  • $49 million for Canada-Kuwait Petrochemical
  • $20 million of a $743 million project by Maple Leaf Foods
  • $35 million for Nova Chemicals, announced at Davos with no results
  • $4.5 billion dollar Kinder Morgan pipeline nationalization
  • $72 million to Canadian National and Titanium Corp for clean technology upgrades (which companies would have to pay for themselves under our Conservative environment plan)
  • And many more…