OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the Liberal Party of Canada, Conservative Party of Canada and New Democratic Party to repay the $1.8 million they have received in wage subsidies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The purpose of this program is to assist struggling businesses during the economic shutdown,” said CTF Federal Director Aaron Wudrick. “It was not intended to funnel millions of taxpayer dollars to political parties that already benefit from massive taxpayer subsidies.”

According to a report in La Presse, since March, the Liberal Party has received $850,000, the Conservatives $716,000 and the NDP $265,000.

Wudrick noted that federal political parties have long benefitted from generous tax credits and election reimbursement programs that have resulted in more than $200 million in taxpayer subsidies to federal parties since 2016.

“Small businesses need a break right now because they had to shut down due to the pandemic and they don’t get huge subsidies,” said Wudrick. “Federal political parties rack up tens of millions in donations annually – they should be able to weather this challenging time without gouging taxpayers in yet another way.”

The CTF has also launched a petition calling on political party leaders to repay any wage subsidies they have received.