text: In March 2005, Irving Oil received a controversial municipal tax concessions for the Canaport site which were initially passed by the Saint John City Council and subsequently the Progressive Conservative government led by Bernard Lord. The concessions, which reduced Irving Oil's municipal property taxes from $8 million down to being capped at $500,000 until 2030, were initiated in order to develop the Canaport LNG (liquid natural gas) terminal; it was apparently negotiated one-on-one with the city's then-mayor Norm McFarlane. The concessions have cost the City of Saint John approximately $75 million over ten years, with a potential total loss of over $180 million. The tax break was cancelled in December, 2016 at the request of Saint John city council, with unanimous support in the Legislative Assembly. In 2015, the Telegraph-Journal, a daily newspaper then-owned by Irving, published an editorial arguing against reconsideration of the tax concessions granted to Irving Oil, without acknowledging the conflict of interest. In 2016, coverage of Saint John Common Council advocacy for higher taxation of Irving Oil's refinery was notably absent from the newspaper, despite extensive coverage in CBC and other news outlets.
  In 2022, it was revealed through leaked financial documents that during 2005, the same year that they had persuaded municipal and provincial governments in what ultimately granted them the tax concessions, Irving Oil made $250.7 million in profits. The corporation even profited $111.2 million during the 2007–2008 financial crisis, which severely dropped oil prices.