Harper’s $27 million fiction: Conservatives receive largest taxpayer-funded rebate in history

August 5, 2015

OTTAWA – While middle class Canadians are struggling to get ahead and our economy is back in recession, Stephen Harper is funneling as much as 27 million taxpayer dollars into Conservative Party coffers, said Liberals today.

“…it is important that these campaigns be funded by the parties themselves rather than taxpayers.”
(Stephen Harper, CBC News Network, August 2, 2015)

“Harper claims the longest election in a century is needed to save taxpayers money. In fact, he has gamed the system so that his Conservatives receive the largest taxpayer-funded rebate in Canadian history,” said Liberal candidate for Wascana, Ralph Goodale. “By using his parliamentary majority to change the rules for his party’s benefit, it is clear that Harper is so self-absorbed and out of touch that he doesn’t think twice about misusing Canadians’ tax dollars.”

Under Harper’s election law, the Conservative Party will receive over $27 million from taxpayers – or 50 cents for every dollar the Conservatives spend in an extended campaign. In total, Stephen Harper is costing taxpayers half a billion dollars by causing the most expensive election in Canadian history.

“Stephen Harper would rather waste public money on helping his government get re-elected, than helping our struggling middle class,” said Liberal candidate for Hull—Aylmer, Greg Fergus. “Canadians deserve new leadership and a new plan. Only Justin Trudeau and his team have a plan for real change that will ensure fairness, fiscal responsibility, job creation, and economic growth.”