Dear John,

Canadians reacted strongly to recent news that the Trudeau government will spend an estimated $13 billion on subsidies for Volkswagen’s Ontario battery plant.

The governing Liberals claim this “investment” will be worth it – which is a dubious claim, considering this government’s own record deficit spending hasn’t spurred economic growth yet!

In reality though, this $13 billion is unfortunately only a drop in the bucket.

A recent Fraser Institute study found that governments in Canada spent $352.1 billion (inflation-adjusted) subsidizing firms from 2007 to 2019.

That’s more than was spent on national defence over the same period!

This corporate welfare, which does little if anything to stimulate widespread economic growth, came with huge costs to Canadian taxpayers.

John, as you might know, our motto is “if it matters, we measure it”.

We believe that not much more matters than how this type of waste affects ordinary taxpayers like you!

I’m happy to report that this study received widespread coverage in newspapers across the country, and reached hundreds of thousands of people on social media.

To publish studies like this one and bring them to as many Canadians as possible, we rely entirely on supporters like you. We don’t accept government funding to conduct our research!

If you’re able to, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. [[link removed][campaignid]]

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Niels Veldhuis

President

The Fraser Institute

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