The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to slash the size of the federal bureaucracy after a new Parliamentary Budget Officer report projected government labour costs will continue to surge.“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.”According to the PBO, the federal bureaucracy cost taxpayers $71.1 billion in 2024-25, up from $40.2 billion in 2016-17 — a 77% increase. The report projects that personnel spending will rise to $76.2 billion by 2029-30, pushing the deficit up by $8.5 billion over the next five years..Compensation per federal employee, including pensions and benefits, is projected to top $172,000 by 2029-30. Since 2016, Ottawa has added 99,000 bureaucrats.“This PBO report should be a huge wake-up call: it’s time to rein in the out-of-control bureaucracy costs,” said Terrazzano. “Carney should listen to Canadians because taxpayers can’t afford to keep paying for all these paper pushers in Ottawa.”A recent Leger poll commissioned by the CTF found half of Canadians believe federal services have declined since 2016 despite the massive growth in spending. The poll also showed 54% of Canadians want the government to cut the size and cost of the federal bureaucracy.
