The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) paid out $31.7 million in taxpayer-funded bonuses last year even as home affordability continued to deteriorate across the country, according to government records highlighted by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).The federal housing agency, which says its mission is to achieve "housing affordability for all," awarded $3.5 million in bonuses to executives during the 2025-26 fiscal year and another $28.2 million to non-executive employees, despite acknowledging that housing affordability remains one of Canada's biggest challenges."If your organization's goal is making homes affordable, your C-suite shouldn't be taking millions in taxpayer-funded bonuses while Canadians can't afford homes," said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano.Government records show CMHC executives received an average bonus of about $44,800 each.The agency declined to disclose how many executives received bonuses in 2025-26, saying the information constitutes personal information. However, CMHC previously reported that about 99% of its executives collected bonuses during the 2024-25 fiscal year.The latest payouts bring the total value of taxpayer-funded bonuses awarded by CMHC since the beginning of 2023 to about $90 million.The bonuses have drawn renewed criticism after former housing minister Sean Fraser pledged in 2023 to review the Crown corporation's bonus system following questions from Members of Parliament.Despite that commitment, annual bonus payouts have increased each year."If bureaucrats taking bonuses made homes more affordable, every Canadian would own a home with an in-ground pool plus a cottage at the lake," Terrazzano said. "Canadians need more homes, not more highly paid pencil pushers rubberstamping bonuses for each other.".CMHC recently strengthened its affordability target, stating on its website that by 2030 everyone in Canada should have a home they can afford that meets their needs.However, several recent reports suggest affordability continues to worsen.According to CMHC's own data, the average Canadian now spends more than half of their income on housing, compared with 39% in 2019.An Abacus Data poll released this year found nearly nine in 10 Canadians are concerned about housing, with most respondents saying they worry at least occasionally about keeping up with rent or mortgage payments.The Royal Bank of Canada has also reported that home ownership remains less affordable in every region of the country than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.Terrazzano said Prime Minister Mark Carney should put an end to what he described as Ottawa's "government entitlement culture.""Bonuses are for when you go above and beyond, they shouldn't be handed out like participation ribbons," he said.The CTF also pointed to broader federal compensation practices, noting that about 98% of federal executives received bonuses in 2024-25 even though government departments met only 54% of their stated performance targets.
