Tories to Cut Vote Subsidy in Upcoming Budget

The Liberals and New Democrats will have to redouble their fundraising efforts to keep their coffers full if the $2 subsidy is killed.

The vote subsidy that gives political parties $2 annually for every ballot cast for them will be nixed in the Conservatives' upcoming budget, due to be tabled June 6. The subsidy costs taxpayers $27 million a year, and cutting it was a central part of the Tories' campaign platform. The Liberals and New Democrats are much more dependent on the subsidy than the Tories, whose extensive grassroots network has kept them comparatively flush for the past decade. According to the Toronto Star, the Tories plan on phasing the subsidy out over the next four years, reducing it to $1.50 next year, then $1 after that, then 50 cents, and then finally removing it altogether.