The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to cut spending on the bureaucracy following today’s Parliamentary Budget Officer report showing that federal bureaucrat insurance costs are increasing faster compared to other jurisdictions.

“The PBO’s report shows Canadians are paying too much for a bureaucracy that’s too big and costs too much,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Carney needs to immediately cut the cost and size of the bureaucracy.”

Employees of the core bureaucracy have access to group benefit insurance plans. They include the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) and Public Service Dental Care Plan (PSDCP), among others.

The average annual growth rate of government costs for these bureaucrat insurance plans and programs was 11.3 per cent from 2020-21 to 2024-25, according to the PBO.

Other selected Canadian jurisdictions saw average cost increases between three and 7.7 per cent over the same period.

Federal bureaucrat insurance plans and programs cost taxpayers $3.5 billion in 2024-25, according to the PBO. That represents about five per cent of the total cost of the federal bureaucracy.

And costs are projected to keep increasing.

The cost of federal bureaucrat insurance plans and programs will increase to $4.4 billion in 2030-31, according to PBO projections. That’s a projected 26 percent increase in six years.

The cost of bureaucrat insurance plans is expected to increase despite reductions in the number of bureaucrats.

“While membership growth is reduced, price and utilization growth will outstrip the anticipated decline in the membership base between 2025‑26 through 2029-30,” according to the PBO.

The total cost of the bureaucracy increased by 80 per cent in 10 years.

“This report shows how important it is for Ottawa to focus on reducing both the cost and headcount of the federal bureaucracy,” Haubrich said. “Canadians can’t afford to pay higher taxes to fund the bureaucracy’s increasingly costly benefits.”