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

“Taxpayers already pay too much for the bloated federal bureaucracy and this report shows those costs will continue to balloon unless the government finally cuts spending,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Canadians need meaningful tax relief and the only way for Carney to make that happen without hiking the debt is to cut the size and cost of the bureaucracy.”

The federal bureaucracy cost taxpayers $71.1 billion in 2024-25, according to estimates from today’s PBO report. The bureaucracy cost taxpayers $40.2 billion in 2016-17. That means the cost of the federal bureaucracy increased 77 per cent since 2016.

The PBO projects bureaucracy costs will increase over the next five years.

“In the absence of expenditure restraint exercises, PBO projects that personnel spending will rise to $76.2 billion by 2029-30,” according to the report. “Higher federal spending on personnel will cumulatively increase the deficit by $8.5 billion over the next five years.”

The PBO report also estimates that “overall compensation per FTE (including pensions and other benefits) is projected to reach over $172,000 by 2029-30.”

The federal government added 99,000 bureaucrats since 2016.

“This PBO report should be a huge wake-up call: it’s time to rein in the out-of-control bureaucracy costs,” Terrazzano said. “Carney should listen to Canadians because taxpayers can’t afford to keep paying for all these paper pushers in Ottawa.”

Half of Canadians say federal services have gotten worse since 2016, according to a recent Leger poll commissioned by the CTF. That’s despite the cost of the federal bureaucracy growing 77 per cent. The poll also found that 54 per cent of Canadians want the government to cut the size and cost of the federal bureaucracy.