OTTAWA — The cost of Canada's federal bureaucracy has surged by over 80% in the last decade, according to new government data. In the fiscal year 2024-25, the government spent $71.4 billion on personnel across all departments and agencies, a significant increase from $39.6 billion in 2015-16. This increase includes $23.1 billion spent on outsourcing government work, which has more than doubled over the same period.

Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, criticized the rising costs, stating, "Taxpayers should not be paying way more for in-house government bureaucrats and way more for outside help. Mere promises to find minor savings in the federal bureaucracy won’t fix Canada’s finances."

The data also reveals that personnel expenditures in the previous fiscal year amounted to $65.3 billion, which is 11% less than the current year's spending. The federal public service has expanded by 40% since 2015, growing from 257,034 employees to nearly 358,000. In contrast, Canada's population increased by only 16%, from 35.6 million in 2015 to 41.6 million in 2025.

During former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's administration, the federal workforce grew by 99,000 positions. The average salary for federal employees is approximately $125,300, which is 113% higher than the national average income of $58,900 as of 2024.

A recent Leger poll indicated that many Canadians support reducing the size of the public service. The recently released Budget 2025 proposes cutting 40,000 positions, or 10% of the workforce, by the end of the 2028-29 fiscal year. These reductions will primarily occur through attrition, voluntary departures, and job cuts. Cabinet ministers have been instructed to review spending to identify programs that are effective and those that may need to be eliminated.

Despite these proposed cuts, some experts believe they do not go far enough. Terrazzano emphasized the need for immediate and significant reductions, stating, "Taxpayers need Carney to take urgent action and significantly cut the number of bureaucrats now."

The recent budget also highlighted a $6 billion increase in bureaucracy costs last year, marking a 9% rise from the previous year. The government’s spending on professional and special services has also seen an 11% increase, totaling $23.1 billion last year. This spending has more than doubled since 2015-16.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for bold action, suggesting that savings from these cuts should be redirected toward transportation and energy projects to stimulate economic growth. However, public service unions have raised concerns that these cuts could negatively impact services.

Don Drummond, a former senior executive at the Department of Finance, noted that there should not be a direct correlation between spending and the size of the bureaucracy. He questioned the rationale behind the simultaneous increase in spending on both employees and consultants, suggesting that one should replace the other.

The government's budget projects an average deficit of $64.3 billion from this fiscal year through 2029-30, more than double previous estimates. The current deficit forecast for this year stands at $78.3 billion, marking the third-highest in Canadian history and the largest in a non-pandemic year. Liberal governments have accumulated $1.27 trillion in debt, with nearly half of that total added in the last five years. The updated budget forecasts indicate that Ottawa is on track to accumulate $593.1 billion in debt over the next five years, representing 46.7% of the total debt in Canadian history.