Mr. Speaker, I have heard a great deal of protest from the Liberal Party regarding the Conservatives' advertising expenditures. Although I agree with them that the $750 million the government has spent in recent years to promote its accomplishments and programs is too much, particularly in times of budget cuts, I would like to remind them of the facts.
I analyzed the amounts the Conservatives spent on advertising per year in recent years. They spent the most in 2006, when they spent $86 million. They spent the least in 2009, when they spent $36 million. On average, the Conservatives spend $73 million a year on advertising.
However, we see that the Liberals also like spending money on advertising. When they were in office, they spent $111 million on advertising in 2002, $70 million in 2003, $50 million in 2004 and $41 million in 2005.
Their spending is therefore rather similar to that of the Conservatives. What does my colleague think about that?