Politics
Canadians have left some $2 billion in funds on the table by not cashing millions of paper cheques mailed out by federal government departments.
Total includes $141M for carbon tax rebate
The Canadian Press · Posted: Feb 02, 2026 1:37 PM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours ago
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The federal government has issued $2 billion in paper cheques that remain uncashed. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Canadians have left some $2 billion in funds on the table by not cashing millions of paper cheques mailed out by federal government departments.
Documents tabled recently in Parliament reveal Ottawa issued 3.9 million paper cheques to Canadians over the past four years that went uncashed.
That includes $141 million in cheques for the Canada Carbon Rebate, a program to offset the cost of carbon pricing.
Even though that rebate program was cancelled last year, government cheques never expire.
Families also did not cash roughly $42.8 million in cheques for the Canada Child Benefit, a tax-free monthly payment meant to help with the expense of raising children.
While the federal government prefers to pay Canadians by direct deposit, some benefits are still distributed through the mail.
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