Political change doesn't come cheap in Canada. Aside from the millions raised by political parties to fuel their campaigns, there's the cost of the electoral process and millions in reimbursements to parties and candidates - borne by the taxpayer.
The cost of the 2006 election was slightly less than the 2004 election, $270 million, compared to $277 million.
But the number is up significantly from $200.6 million in 2000. That's because changes to the election financing laws in 2004 significantly altered the way those reimbursements are done and increased the cost of holding an election. Here's a comparison of what Elections Canada spent on the 2000 and 2006 elections: CBC.ca
