The (Public) Cost of Pollution: Ontario's fossil fuel subsidies

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) inventories fossil fuel subsidies in Ontario, detailing nearly CAD 700 million in annual public spending and providing recommendations for provincial subsidy reform to support a clean economy transition.

• Ontario provides nearly CAD 700 million in annual public subsidies for fossil fuel consumption, which the report suggests represents foregone revenue that could otherwise be invested in healthcare, education, and jobs.
• The largest fossil fuel subsidies in Ontario for 2018/19 consist of CAD 320 million in tax exemptions for aviation and rail fuels, CAD 225 million in tax exemptions for coloured fuel used in agriculture, and at least CAD 100 million in direct spending on natural gas expansion from Budget 2018.
• The report recommends that Ontario undertake a transparent self-review of subsidies, develop a phase-out action plan, establish guidelines to prevent new subsidies without thorough analysis, and engage with the Government of Canada regarding the G20 peer review of fossil fuel subsidies.

APA

Gass,, V. C. (2019). The (Public) Cost of Pollution: Ontario's fossil fuel subsidies. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/public-cost-pollution

Chicago

Gass,, Vanessa Corkal,Philip. The (Public) Cost of Pollution: Ontario's fossil fuel subsidies. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/publications/public-cost-pollution.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gass, |first1=Vanessa Corkal,Philip |title=The (Public) Cost of Pollution: Ontario's fossil fuel subsidies |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=30 July 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/public-cost-pollution |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gass2019public, author = {Gass,, Vanessa Corkal,Philip}, title = {{The (Public) Cost of Pollution: Ontario's fossil fuel subsidies}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/public-cost-pollution}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }