Corporate welfare billions over budget – Parliamentary Budget Officer

Toronto, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on politicians to reject recent corporate welfare for multinational battery manufacturers following today’s Parliamentary Budget Officer report showing multi-billion dollar cost overruns.

“Politicians said the Northvolt, Volkswagen and Stellantis deals would cost taxpayers almost $38 billion, but the PBO report shows the bills will be billions higher,” said CTF Ontario Director Jay Goldberg. “Governments have a terrible track record on corporate welfare and there’s a real risk these overruns will soar even higher.”

Today’s PBO report shows the combined handouts to Northvolt, Volkswagen and Stellantis will cost taxpayers $5.8 billion more over the next decade than originally promised. These cost increases are projected for corporate welfare handouts governments announced this year.

The PBO report also shows that it will take far longer for these corporate welfare projects to break even. Politicians told Canadians that taxpayers would recoup the cash given out to Volkswagen within five years. The PBO is now projecting break-even points of 11 years for Northvolt, 15 years for Volkswagen and 23 years for Stellantis.

“The PBO report is proof taxpayers shouldn’t trust politicians when they promise the moon and the stars on corporate welfare deals,” Goldberg said. “Given the awful track record governments have on corporate welfare deals, taxpayers are most likely to break even somewhere between 23 years from now and never.”