n. — Politics, Administration
a payment made by a higher level of government to a lower to compensate for reccurring expenses, e.g. in tertiary education, universal health care.
Type: 3. Semantic Change — Transfer payment as defined in W-3 and AHD-5 is a payment by the government to an individual but not for goods or services rendered, e.g. welfare payments, etc. This meaning is preserved in Canada in certain instances (see, e.g. the 1985 quotation), but the more common meaning is a transfer of funds from a higher level of government, most often the federal government, to a lower one, usually the provinces and territories. In the 1962 quotation, the phrase "the money Ontario is getting is a kind of transfer payment" suggests that the term was then not normally applied to government; however, in recent years, this sense is the most frequent in Canada. COD-2 gives lists both definitions, but only the latter is marked as "in Canada".
See also Gage-5, s.v. "transfer payment", which is marked "Cdn", and ITP Nelson, s.v. "transfer payment", which is marked "Canadian", COD-2, s.v. "transfer payment, 2.), which is marked "Cdn".