Senior executives inside Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Privy Council Office quietly pocketed bonuses averaging nearly $28,000 last year, according to government records, even as the prime minister urged Canadians to brace for economic sacrifice.Blacklock's Reporter says Treasury Board documents show that performance awards in the Privy Council Office averaged $27,925 during the 2024–2025 fiscal year, with 129 of 135 executives — about 96% — receiving a payout. The payments were categorized as bonuses and performance pay under Ottawa’s executive compensation system.“Performance pay is provided to executives based on the extent to which performance commitments outlined in their annual performance management agreements were achieved,” the Treasury Board said in its report, Results of the Performance Management Program for Executives 2024–2025, adding that commitments include so-called government-wide priorities.The Privy Council Office was not alone. Other federal agencies where executives averaged bonuses exceeding $25,000 included the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency at $31,270, the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs at $29,205, the Canada School of Public Service at $27,585, the Canadian Human Rights Commission at $26,342, Treasury Board itself at $25,323 and the Regional Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario at $25,060..Across the federal bureaucracy, executive bonus payouts totaled $146.3 million. The average payment was $24,106, with about 98% of executives receiving an award.The payouts were approved as Carney publicly warned Canadians that tough times lay ahead. In an October 22 speech at the University of Ottawa, the prime minister said his government would not “hold back” as it tackled economic challenges.“I will always be straight about the challenges we have to face and the choices we must make,” Carney said. “To be clear, we won’t transform our economy easily or in a few months. It will take some sacrifices and it will take some time.”Conservatives seized on the contrast between the rhetoric and the bonuses. Opposition House Leader Andrew Scheer told the Commons that Carney’s message rang hollow.“Elites and insiders have never had it so good,” said Scheer, the MP for Regina–Qu’Appelle. .“The Prime Minister is telling young Canadians they are going to have to sacrifice even more. Now we learn what all the sacrifice is for.”Treasury Board has insisted the bonuses are discretionary, despite their near-universal distribution. In testimony to the Senate national finance committee last December, officials said the payments are not automatic.“Each year a portion of executives’ total compensation is held back and only paid if an employee’s manager determines they have met the objectives outlined in their performance agreements,” the Board said. “This ensures accountability for results.”
