The size of the federal bureaucracy jumped 9% last year, documents say

The new public accounts disclosures tabled recently in the House of Commons show that Ottawa added 99,000 additional public servants between 2015-16 and 2024-25

OTTAWA — The cost of the federal bureaucracy increased last year by $6 billion — or nine per cent — over the previous year, new government figures show, and has now jumped 80 per cent over the last decade.

At a time when many businesses are investing in digital technologies to boost efficiencies, the new public accounts disclosures tabled recently in the House of Commons show that Ottawa added 99,000 public servants between 2015-16 and 2024-25.

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That brought the total cost of the federal bureaucracy to $71.4 billion during the fiscal year 2024-25, according to the public accounts’ record of government expens