justin-trudeau-fossil-fuel-subsidies-canada.jpg

Canadian Taxpayers Fork Out $3.3 Billion Every Year to Super Profitable Oil Companies

Some of the largest, most profitable companies in Canada are collectively receiving an estimated $3.3 billion in subsidies every year from Canadian taxpayers, according to a new analysis.

The report, released today by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, a Canadian-based think tank, outlines how billions in federal and provincial tax breaks and corporate incentives benefit companies in the oil and gas sector like Imperial Oil, whose earnings in 2015 were CDN$1.1 billion.

The new analysis comes as Trudeau is in China for the G20 Summit. In 2009 G20 leaders committed to a complete phase out of all fossil fuel subsidies over the medium term and Justin Trudeau, while on the campaign trail, made an election promise to fulfill that commitment.

“Fossil fuel subsidies work against Canada’s commendable progress in putting a price on carbon — they give money and tax breaks to the sources of carbon pollution that we’re trying to scale back,” Amin Asadollahi, North American Lead on Climate Change Mitigation at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, said.

Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Canada

Between 2013 and 2015 the federal government handed out an average of CAD $1 billion every year through the Canadian Development Expense program. During that same period an average of CAD $148 million was provided to oil and gas companies through the Canadian Exploration Expense program.

B.C. and Alberta also provide the lion’s share of oil and gas subsidies through royalty reductions and drilling credits.

Oil and gas subsidies across Canada. Image: IISD

Some of the largest oil and gas subsidies in Canada. Image: IISD

Fossil Fuel Subsidies Better Spent Elsewhere

The new analysis details how those taxpayer funds could be better spent in Canada.

For instance, the institute calculates that $3.3 billion could pay for the education of 260,000 students, or job training for 330,000 Canadians, each year. Or each Canadian could just pay $94 less per year in taxes.

Image: IISD

Despite the global downturn in oil prices, some of the largest oil and gas companies in Canada have turned an impressive profit. In 2014 oilsands giant Suncor Energy posted a record profit, with operating earnings of CDN$1.37 billion.

Last year Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil ranked 11th and 12th respectively for most profitable companies in Canada.

Subsidies for Fossil Fuels Undermine Carbon Tax

While oil and gas companies are getting windfall tax breaks, the Canadian government is proposing to put a tax on the greenhouse gas emissions that result from the production of oil and gas.

As IISD analyst Amin Asadollahi describes it, “[i]magine the Canadian government taxed cigarettes with one hand, while handing out tax breaks to tobacco companies with the other.”

Fossil fuel subsidies also undercut tax breaks and financial incentives for renewable energies like wind, solar and geothermal.

In a 2015 report the International Institute for Sustainable Development along with Oil Change International found global subsidies for the fossil fuel industry are four times greater than subsidies for clean energy alternatives.

Clean energy analysts say the overwhelming emphasis on support for fossil fuel development has prevented the renewable energy industry from reaching its full potential. The renewable energy industry, despite the lack of help, is still booming and outpacing even the most optimistic predictions for its growth.

In its election platform the Liberal party promised to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies in order to support the growth of alternatives.

“The saving will be redirected to investments in new and clean technologies,” the party platform says.

Like a kid in a candy store
When those boxes of heavily redacted documents start to pile in, reporters at The Narwhal waste no time in looking for kernels of news that matter the most. Just ask our Prairies reporter Drew Anderson, who gleefully scanned through freedom of information files like a kid in a candy store, leading to pretty damning revelations in Alberta. Long story short: the government wasn’t being forthright when it claimed its pause on new renewable energy projects wasn’t political. Just like that, our small team was again leading the charge on a pretty big story

In an oil-rich province like Alberta, that kind of reporting is crucial. But look at our investigative work on TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline to the west, or our Greenbelt reporting out in Ontario. They all highlight one thing: those with power over our shared natural world don’t want you to know how — or why — they call the shots. And we try to disrupt that.

Our journalism is powered by people just like you. We never take corporate ad dollars, or put this public-interest information behind a paywall. Will you join the pod of Narwhals that make a difference by helping us uncover some of the most important stories of our time?
Like a kid in a candy store
When those boxes of heavily redacted documents start to pile in, reporters at The Narwhal waste no time in looking for kernels of news that matter the most. Just ask our Prairies reporter Drew Anderson, who gleefully scanned through freedom of information files like a kid in a candy store, leading to pretty damning revelations in Alberta. Long story short: the government wasn’t being forthright when it claimed its pause on new renewable energy projects wasn’t political. Just like that, our small team was again leading the charge on a pretty big story

In an oil-rich province like Alberta, that kind of reporting is crucial. But look at our investigative work on TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline to the west, or our Greenbelt reporting out in Ontario. They all highlight one thing: those with power over our shared natural world don’t want you to know how — or why — they call the shots. And we try to disrupt that.

Our journalism is powered by people just like you. We never take corporate ad dollars, or put this public-interest information behind a paywall. Will you join the pod of Narwhals that make a difference by helping us uncover some of the most important stories of our time?

The past, present and future of a changing Lake Ontario

This story is an excerpt from Daniel Macfarlane’s book The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History Since the deep past, the climate of the...

Continue reading

Recent Posts

Our newsletter subscribers are the first to find out when we break a big story. Sign up for free →
An illustration, in yellow, of a computer, with an open envelope inside it with letter reading 'Breaking news.'
That’s right — all donations are being doubled until Dec. 31. The Narwhal’s independent journalism is made possible by readers just like you who give what they can. Will you help us break big investigations in 2025?
An illustration of two narwhals, facing each other. the one on the left has tied on a second tusk, with a caption reading: "What? I thought doubling up was *in* right now." Illustration by Gabrielle Drolet
Every new member between now and midnight Friday will have their contributions doubled by two generous donors.
Let’s match
Every new member between now and midnight Friday will have their contributions doubled by two generous donors.
Let’s match
That’s right — all donations are being doubled until Dec. 31. The Narwhal’s independent journalism is made possible by readers just like you who give what they can. Will you help us break big investigations in 2025?
An illustration of two narwhals, facing each other. the one on the left has tied on a second tusk, with a caption reading: "What? I thought doubling up was *in* right now." Illustration by Gabrielle Drolet