Cost of federal bureaucracy up 80 per cent in 10 years: PBO

OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to immediately shrink the federal bureaucracy following today’s Parliamentary Budget Officer report showing costs continue to increase.

“Today’s PBO report is more proof that the cost of the federal bureaucracy ballooned, and taxpayers can’t afford to keep paying for all these bureaucrats in Ottawa,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Carney needs to take urgent action to significantly cut the size and cost of government bureaucracy now.”

The PBO released its Personnel Expenditure Analysis today.

The federal bureaucracy cost taxpayers $71.4 billion in 2024-25, according to the PBO. The bureaucracy cost taxpayers $39.6 billion in 2015-16. That means the cost of the federal bureaucracy increased 80 per cent in 10 years.

“In 2024-25, the federal public service expanded to 448,000 full-time equivalents, an increase of 7,000 FTEs (1.6 per cent) compared to the previous year,” according to the PBO.

Total compensation per full-time federal employee reached $143,271 last year, “marking a second consecutive year with historically high growth in spending per FTE,” according to the PBO.

Half of Canadians say federal services have gotten worse since 2016, despite the massive increase in the bureaucracy, according to a Leger pollcommissioned by the CTF. Most Canadians support cutting the size and cost of the bureaucracy, according to the poll.

“More government bureaucrats taking more money from taxpayers hasn’t resulted in better services for Canadians,” Terrazzano said. “Canadians can’t afford to pay higher taxes to fund Ottawa’s bloated and underperforming bureaucracy.

For more information or to schedule interviews, please contact:

Franco Terrazzano
CTF Federal Director
Phone: 403.918.3532
Email: fterrazzano@taxpayer.com

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