The Kochs described themselves as libertarians who wanted government out of the way but their campaigns were also transparently self-interested. The organizations they financed promoted deep tax cuts, a loosening of environmental regulations, attacks on labour unions and support to climate-change deniers. As Mayer writes in Dark Money, “The Kochs vehemently opposed the government taking any action on climate change that would hurt their fossil fuel profits.” They also opposed gun laws, an obscenity in the age of El Paso, Parkland, Sandy Hook, and any other number of mass shootings.

Canadian connection

The Kochs also have a significant Canadian connection. Until just recently, a subsidiary of Koch Industries was the largest foreign holder of exploration leases in Alberta’s oil sands, with at least 1.1 million acres, an area approximately the size of Prince Edward Island. However, Koch has recently sold most of its oil sands licences to a Calgary-based company.

But the Canadian connection does not end there. The website North 99 says that the Kochs were involved in providing millions of dollars in support to an array of conservative Canadian think-tanks and other organizations which promote a right-wing agenda in this country. Many of these organizations will be familiar to anyone who follows the news. They include: the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, Frontier Centre for Public Policy, Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, MacDonald-Laurier Institute for Public Policy, Manning Centre, and the Montreal Economic Institute. Those groups claim to be independent but they devotedly support conservative causes, and ultimately the Conservative Party led by Andrew #Scheer.