Federal Government Spending
Get data-driven insights into how the federal government’s revenue and spending affect Canadian lives and programs.
FY 2016-17 Revenue and Spending
Headline totals are on a Volume I consolidated (accrual) basis. Explore revenue and spending categories below.
Total spending in FY 2016-17
$309.83B
consolidated federal spending (Vol I)
Total revenue in FY 2016-17
$290.87B
consolidated federal revenue (Vol I)
Deficit in FY 2016-17
$18.96B
spending minus revenue (Vol I)
Spending by ministry, FY 2016-17
Ministry totals are on the Volume I consolidated (accrual) basis, allocated to portfolios by segment, and sum to the headline total (including the two non-departmental statement lines below). Select a ministry to see its Volume II appropriations detail.
Net actuarial losses
Provision for valuation and other items
$88.05B
$79.2B
$29.68B
$24.87B
$11.98B
$11.05B
$9.9B
$8.42B
$7.12B
$6.5B
$4.25B
$3.94B
$3.5B
$3.03B
$2.89B
$2.22B
$2.19B
$1.96B
$1.96B
$1.94B
$1.74B
$1.59B
$918.3M
$605.1M
$296.8M
$21.2M
Federal workforce
Federal public service headcount (as of March 31) and personnel spending — salaries and benefits — for the selected fiscal year. Headcount is from Treasury Board; personnel spending is from the Public Accounts standard objects.
Employees in FY 2016-17
262,696
federal public service headcount (as of March 31)
Personnel spending in FY 2016-17
$38.91B
salaries and benefits (standard object)
Average personnel cost
$148,116
per employee (salaries and benefits)
Headcount over time
Age
Employees by age band (as of March 31)
Type of Tenure
Employees by type of tenure (as of March 31)
Salary Distribution
Employees by salary range (as of March 31). This series covers the employment-equity population, a subset of the federal public service.
Headline and ministry totals use the Volume I consolidated (accrual) basis; department pages use the Volume II appropriations basis (where the line-level detail lives), so a department’s own total differs from its ministry row here. See the methodology for the allocation method and known differences.
