Toronto, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Ontario Premier Doug Ford and other party leaders to end the province’s political welfare system. All four of Ontario’s political parties are on track to take a record $14 million from the taxpayer cookie jar by the end of 2021.

“Despite promising to end sleazy handouts to political parties when he ran for office, Ford has failed to scrap the system,” said Jay Goldberg, the CTF’s Ontario Director. “He isn’t alone: all four of Ontario’s major political parties have helped themselves to millions of dollars from taxpayers’ wallets.”

The per-vote subsidy amounts to political welfare, with taxpayers’ money paying for lawn signs, attack ads and junk mail.

Ford promised to scrap the per-vote subsidy as part of his 2018 election platform, but he reversed course earlier this year. In February, the Ford government announced it is maintaining and increasing political welfare payments.

The Ford government now plans to keep payments in place for another three years.

“The Ford government used the pandemic as an excuse to keep the party with taxpayers’ money going, but the government extended the per-vote subsidy all the way until the end of 2024,” said Goldberg. “The premier needs to keep his promise and scrap political welfare.”