Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party, recently claimed that Cenovus (NYSE: CVE) made $37 billion in profits last year and $64 billion in 2022, using these figures to criticize “Big Oil” for making record profits while seeking public subsidies.

However, these numbers appear to be significantly inflated. According to Cenovus Energy’s 2023 Financial Year report, the company’s actual profit was $4.11 billion CAD, representing a 36% decrease from 2022. X’s reader context suggests Singh may have confused revenue figures with profit, as revenue does not account for expenses, taxes, or government fees.

Heather Exner-Pirot, Director of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, also noted that if Cenovus had indeed made such profits, it would have significantly benefited Alberta’s royalties and Canadian business taxes.

Singh has not clarified his apparent error as of this writing.

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