• Election finance reforms will now see a $2.71 per vote subsidy to political parties instead of planned $2.26
• Taxpayers Federation calls on opposition parties to oppose subsidy

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is slamming Premier’s Wynne’s plan to use taxpayer money to subsidize political parties like her governing Liberal Party of Ontario.

Amid revelations that Liberal cabinet ministers have $500,000 fundraising targets, Premier Wynne committed to election finance reform, but the reforms will now see $5.06 million in taxpayer money flowing directly to the Liberal party. The Progressive Conservatives will get $4.09 million, the New Democrats $3.1 million, and the Green Party will get $630,000.

“We’re calling on all politicians – including the opposition leaders – to oppose this taxpayer subsidy for political parties. Sadly, we aren’t seeing any strong opposition because all the leaders seem more interested in reaching into taxpayer pockets to pay for their election attack ads than they are in doing actual work by fundraising for themselves,” said CTF Ontario Director, Christine Van Geyn.

“When Ontarians pay their taxes, they want that money spent on health care and education, not shrill partisan attack ads and glossy junk mail,” continued Van Geyn.

Per vote subsidies to political parties only recently ended at the federal level. In 2004, the federal government eliminated corporate and union donations, and introduced a per-vote subsidy to political parties. Over 11 years, over $266 million in taxpayer money was paid to federal political parties. The subsidy was finally phased out in April 2015. The newly elected government in Manitoba has also vowed to eliminate the per vote subsidy in that province.

“It’s obvious that Premier Wynne doesn’t like the backlash she’s faced for running a pay-to-play government. But if she wants to end her practice of selling access to cabinet ministers, she can’t turn around and expect the public to make up the difference with our own hard earned money. There are about a million things most Ontario families would rather spend $12.88 million on before political attack ads,” concluded Van Geyn.