A think-tank has estimated subsidies to Canadian businesses in 2004, and found that they more than doubled since 1995.

The Fraser Institute calculates that some C$19 billion in subsidies was paid to businesses in 2004 (which was the last year for which data is available), up from C$ 10.3 billion in 1995. Between 1995 and 2004 an estimated C$ 144 billion flowed from taxpayers to private business.

The report provides repayment records by year with respect to specific government programs and agencies, and shows the cash-in-hand position of companies or parent companies that have received corporate welfare.

The Fraser Institute, a fiscally conservative think-tank that advocates lower taxes, said: "If the federal government ended corporate welfare in 2004, the government could have reduced the federal income tax rate to 14.6% from 21%. In other words, eliminating federal corporate subsidies could have resulted in a 30.5% reduction in the federal corporate tax rate."

The report, Corporate Welfare: A $144 Billion Addiction, is available for download at: http://www.fraserinstitute.org/COMMERCE.WEB/product_files/corporatewelfare.pdf