Federal spending is set to climb again in 2026-27, prompting the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to call on Prime Minister Mark Carney to cut back on government outlays.The 2026-27 Main Estimates released Thursday show total federal spending rising to $505.8 billion, an increase of $17.7 billion over last year. Debt interest charges are also projected to climb to $54 billion, highlighting the growing cost of Ottawa’s borrowing.“Carney repeatedly told Canadians he’s going to spend less, but he keeps spending billions of dollars more,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Carney needs to cut spending because taxpayers can’t afford to waste more than $1 billion every week paying interest charges on the government debt.”The Main Estimates show the cost of the federal bureaucracy increasing to $65.8 billion, up 5% from last year. Over the past decade, the cost of government operations has surged 80%. Spending on consultants, contractors, and outsourcing is also rising, with $26.6 billion earmarked for “professional and special services” in 2026-27 — more than double the amount spent in 2015..Carney’s government projects adding $324 billion to the national debt by 2030, compared with the $154 billion previously projected by former prime minister Justin Trudeau over the same period.“The government is wasting more money on debt interest charges, it’s wasting more money paying bureaucrats and it’s wasting more money paying consultants, contractors and on outsourcing,” Terrazzano said. “Here’s a question for the prime minister: When are Canadian taxpayers going to see real savings? After a decade of out-of-control spending, finding savings in every area of the budget should be like finding water in the ocean.”
