Employment and Social Development
How Employment and Social Development spent its budget in fiscal year 2024-25, shown as net expenditures by standard object from Public Accounts Volume II.
Employment and Social Development Canada develops and delivers federal policy and programs relating to employment, skills training, labour standards, and social development. It administers income security programs for seniors, students, and families, and oversees portfolio bodies that address accessibility standards and workplace health and safety.
Employment and Social Development spent $98.94B in the 2024–25 fiscal year, representing 18.1% of total federal spending.
Nearly all of this spending is administered by the Department of Employment and Social Development itself, with much smaller amounts attributed to the Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Its largest transfer payments are Old Age Security payments and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments, followed by payments to provinces and territories for Early Learning and Child Care, Canada Student Grants, and Canada Education Savings grant payments.
Department Spending
In FY 2024-25,
$98.94B
was spent by Employment and Social Development
In FY 2024-25,
18.1%
of federal spending was by Employment and Social Development
On the consolidated accrual basis (Volume I), this portfolio’s expenses were $130.26B in FY 2024-25 — see the overview and methodology.
How did Employment and Social Development spend its budget in 2024-25?
Spending by entity, FY 2024-25
Department of Employment and Social Development
Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
$98.91B
$21.4M
$14.9M
Employment and Social Development’s share of federal spending
Percentage of federal spending, 1995–2025
Line items
Every transfer-payment (grant and contribution) program, in dollars. These are the named programs behind the transfer-payments object in the chart above. Search, sort, and download the full table.
| Category | Description | Amount ▼ |
|---|---|---|
| Grants | Old Age Security Payments (R.S.C., 1985, c. O-9) | $60,648,088,711 |
| Grants | Guaranteed Income Supplement Payments (R.S.C., 1985, c. O-9) | $18,910,375,539 |
| Other transfer payments | Payments to provinces and territories for the purpose of Early Learning and Child Care | $7,208,049,648 |
| Grants | Canada Student Grants to qualifying full and part-time students pursuant to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act | $2,584,053,454 |
| Grants | Canada Education Savings grant payments to Registered Educations Savings Plan trustees on behalf of Registered Educations Savings Plan beneficiaries to encourage Canadians to save for post-secondary education for their children (Canada Education Savings Act) | $1,198,830,535 |
| Contributions | Payments related to the direct financing arrangement under the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act | $1,177,594,721 |
| Contributions | Payments to provinces, territories, municipalities, other public bodies, organizations, groups, communities, employers and individuals for the provision of training and/or work experience, the mobilization of community resources, and human resource planning and adjustment measures necessary for the efficient functioning of the Canadian labour market | $907,840,181 |
| Other transfer payments | Workforce Development Agreement | $722,733,435 |
| Grants | Canada Disability Savings Grant payments to Registered Disability Savings Plan issuers on behalf of Registered Disability Savings Plan beneficiaries to encourage long-term financial security of eligible individuals with disabilities (Canada Disability Savings Act) | $646,256,360 |
| Grants | Allowance payments (R.S.C., 1985, c. O-9) | $631,884,378 |
| Contributions | Contributions to provincial/territorial governments, band councils, tribal councils, Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program agreement holders, municipal governments, not-for-profit organizations, professional associations, business and private sector organizations, consortia, industry groups, unions, regulatory bodies, ad-hoc associations, public health institutions, school boards, universities, colleges, CEGEPs, sector councils, and cross-sectoral councils to support enhanced productivity and competitiveness of Canadian workplaces by supporting investment in and recognition and utilizations of skills | $404,853,317 |
| Contributions | Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Transformation Initiative | $360,281,778 |
| Grants | Canada Disability Savings Bond payments to Registered Disability Savings Plan issuers on behalf of Registered Disability Savings Plan beneficiaries to encourage long-term financial security of eligible individuals with disabilities (Canada Disability Savings Act) | $216,344,120 |
| Grants | Canada Learning Bond payments to Registered Education Savings Plan trustees on behalf of Registered Education Savings Plan beneficiaries to support access to post-secondary education for children from low-income families (Canada Education Savings Act) | $195,700,080 |
| Grants | Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy | $82,960,431 |
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Employment and Social Development figures are net expenditures by standard object from Public Accounts Volume II, and will not match the Volume I consolidated headline totals. See the methodology for details.
