Government Subsidies and the Oil and Gas Industry

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Published

5 months ago

8 minute read

A look at Strathcona Resources Ltd.

Does the Canadian government subsidize companies operating in our oil and gas sector? According to research by science and technology journalist Emily Chung, between $4.5 billion and $81 billion of public funds are spent each year for assistance to the industry. But Chung notes how ambiguous definitions (what exactly is a subsidy?) mean that those numbers come with serious caveats.

I thought I’d make this discussion a bit more manageable by focusing on just one industry player: Strathcona Resources Ltd.

Strathcona is big. They produce around 185,000 barrels of oil equivalent each day and the company is currently ranked 98th among publicly traded companies in Canada in terms of market cap ($5 billion) and 88th for operating margin (21.59%).

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What Is a Subsidy?

In the context of their report on the fossil fuel industry, the Department of Finance Canada asserts that “subsidies” can include:

tax expenditures,
grants and contributions,
government loans or loan guarantees at favourable rates,
resources sold by government at below-market rates
research and development funding
government intervention in markets to lower prices

The report defines tax expenditures as:

A type of tax measure, such as a preferential tax rate, exemption, deduction, deferral, or credit, with which the government aims to achieve public policy objectives through the tax system.

In the specific context of Strathcona, I could find no evidence that they’d received any direct public funding or “bailouts”. The government did recently announce a billion dollar partnership with the Canada Growth Fund (CGF) to build carbon capture and sequestration infrastructure, but that’s clearly an investment and not a subsidy. CGF is a Canadian arm’s-length crown corporation whose investments are managed by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board.

Strathcona’s 2023 Annual Report includes a reference to only one loan liability, but that had already been paid off and, in any case, wasn’t guaranteed by any level of government.

What Tax Benefits Does Strathcona Receive?

Many. The company’s annual report discusses its $6.1 billion “tax pool”. The pool is made up of deductions and credits that it can’t use this year, but that can be deferred for use in future years. Here’s how those break down:

The “Other Tax Deductions” item includes the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SRED) deduction. That represents amounts spent on SRED-eligible research that companies can deduct from their payable taxes.

What Grant Funding Does Strathcona Receive?

Open Government data reports that only two federal grants were awarded to Strathcona, both in 2023. The first, worth $3.2 million, came from Natural Resources Canada as part of their Energy Innovation Program. Its purpose was development of Lindbergh Semi-Closed Cycle Flue Gas Recirculation and Carbon Capture.

The second grant was worth $12.5 million. It involved Environment and Climate Change Canada looking for an Orion Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery and Power Generation Project.

What Benefits Do Governments Receive From Strathcona?

Government subsidies don’t exist in a vacuum. As a rule, it’s assumed that subsidies to the private sector work as an investment whose primary payback is in profitable economic activity. Governments can also enjoy direct benefits.

In 2023, for example, Strathcona paid more than $405 million in crown royalties to provincial governments. They also spent $2.4 billion as operating expenses that included labor, energy costs, transportation, processing, and facility maintenance. Most of that money was spent in Canada.

A very rough estimate would suggest that total annual personal income taxes generated by people employed by Strathcona would be somewhere around $14 million. Vendors might pay another $13 million in corporate taxes.

There are also indirect benefits. For instance, those with jobs around the oil patch are, obviously, not unemployed and receiving EI benefits.

We could also take into account the larger impact Strathcona has on the general economy. Think about the food, shelter, clothing, and entertainment spending done by the families of Strathcona (and their vendors’) employees. That money, too, performs important social and economic service.

So does Strathcona receive more from government subsidies than the money they feed back into government accounts? Well, the $405 million in crown royalties are likely annual payments, as are the $27 million paid as income taxes. That’s what governments get. On the other side of the balance sheet, there is the $6.1 billion in deferred taxes and $16 million in grants. Those will probably be amortized over multiple years.

But does the word “subsidy” really describe tax benefits in any useful way? After all, there’s no company in all Canada – my own company included – that doesn’t deduct legitimate business expenses. And each and every Canadian receives similar benefits whenever they file their T1. For illustration, a Canadian whose total income happened to match the national average ($55,600) pays around $5,600 less in taxes each year due to various deductions and credits – including the basic personal amount.

Does that mean we’re all receiving government subsidies? There’s nothing wrong with thinking about it that way, but it does kind of strip the word of any real meaning.

Now you could reasonably argue that $6 billion is an awful lot of deferred tax, especially for a company with a 22% operating margin. And you could look to the tax code’s complexity for answers as to how this could have happened. But that’s not a subsidy in any coherent sense.

Think the tax code should be reformed? The line forms right behind me. However, the problem with playing around with the tax code is that changes apply to everyone, not just Strathcona or some other preferred target. Successfully anticipating how that might play out in dark and unanticipated ways isn’t the kind of thing for which governments are famous.

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Related Topics:#DavidClinton BusinessTaxBenefits OilAndGasSectorGovernmentSubsidies OilandGasSubsidies StrathconaResources TheAudit

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Published on April 25, 2025

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From Conservative Party Communications

In the first 100 days, a new Conservative government will pass 3 laws:

1. Affordability For a Change Act—cutting spending, income tax, sales tax off homes

2. Safety For a Change Act to lock up criminals

3. Bring Home Jobs Act—that repeals C-69, sets up 6 month permit turnarounds for new projects

No summer holiday til they pass!

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced today that as Prime Minister he will cancel the summer holiday for Ottawa politicians and introduce three pieces of legislation to make life affordable, stop crime, and unleash our economy to bring back powerful paycheques. Because change can’t wait.

A new Conservative government will kickstart the plan to undo the damage of the Lost Liberal Decade and restore the promise of Canada with a comprehensive legislative agenda to reverse the worst Trudeau laws and cut the cost of living, crack down on crime, and unleash the Canadian economy with ‘100 Days of Change.’ Parliament will not rise until all three bills are law and Canadians get the change they voted for.

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The ’100 Days of Change’ will include three pieces of legislation:

The Affordability–For a Change Act

Will lower food prices, build more homes, and bring back affordability for Canadians by:

Cutting income taxes by 15%. The average worker will keep an extra $900 each year, while dual-income families will keep $1,800 more annually.
Axing the federal sales tax on new homes up to $1.3 million. Combined with a plan to incentivize cities to lower development charges, this will save homebuyers $100,000 on new homes.
Axing the federal sales tax on new Canadian cars to protect auto workers’ jobs and save Canadians money, and challenge provinces to do the same.
Axing the carbon tax in full. Repeal the entire carbon tax law, including the federal industrial carbon tax backstop, to restore our industrial base and take back control of our economy from the Americans.
Scrapping Liberal fuel regulations and electricity taxes to lower the cost of heating, gas, and fuel.
Letting working seniors earn up to $34,000 tax-free.
Axing the escalator tax on alcohol and reset the excise duty rates to those in effect before the escalator was passed.
Scrapping the plastics ban and ending the planned food packaging tax on fresh produce that will drive up grocery costs by up to 30%.

We will also:

Identify 15% of federal buildings and lands to sell for housing in Canadian cities.

The Safe Streets–For a Change Act

Will end the Liberal violent crime wave by:

Repealing all the Liberal laws that caused the violent crime wave, including catch-and-release Bill C-75, which lets rampant criminals go free within hours of their arrest.
Introducing a “three strikes, you’re out” rule. After three serious offences, offenders will face mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentences with no bail, parole, house arrest, or probation.
Imposing life sentences for fentanyl trafficking, illegal gun trafficking, and human trafficking. For too long, radical Liberals have let crime spiral out of control—Canada will no longer be a haven for criminals.
Stopping auto theft, extortion, fraud, and arson with new minimum penalties, no house arrest, and a new more serious offence for organized theft.
Give police the power to end tent cities.
Bringing in tougher penalties and a new law to crack down on Intimate Partner Violence.
Restoring consecutive sentences for multiple murderers, so the worst mass murderers are never let back on our streets.

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This Act will be rocket fuel for our economy. We will unleash Canada’s vast resource wealth, bring back investment, and create powerful paycheques for workers so we can stand on our own feet and stand up to Trump from a position of strength, by:

Repealing the Liberal ‘No Development Law’, C-69 and Bill C-48, lifting the cap on Canadian energy to get major projects built, unlock our resources, and start selling Canadian energy to the world again.
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Get Phase 2 of LNG Canada built to double the project’s natural gas production.
Accelerate at least nine other projects currently snarled in Liberal red tape to get workers working and Canada building again.

“After the Lost Liberal Decade of rising costs and crime and a falling economy under America’s thumb, we cannot afford a fourth Liberal term,” said Poilievre. “We need real change, and that is what Conservatives will bring in the first 100 days of a new government. A new Conservative government will get to work on Day 1 and we won’t stop until we have delivered the change we promised, the change Canadians deserve, the change Canadians voted for.”

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