Canada’s federal bureaucracy expanding rapidly at your expense

The increased bureaucratization and socialization of Canada’s economy since 2015 is well illustrated by the Treasury Board of Canada secretariat’s new statistics on the federal public service. All across the economy there’s massive bureaucratic expansion to fulfill political demands while the private sector, which fulfills consumer demands for goods and services, is crowded out and its relative importance reduced.

There are now 39,089 federal employees at Employment and Social Development Canada, up 80 per cent from 2015. Meanwhile, total employment in Canada across all industries is up only 15 per cent. Why do we need 80 per cent more bureaucrats to regulate and centrally plan employment in Canada when total employment is only up 15 per cent?

Next, consider the agriculture sector. From 2015 to 2024, the headcount at the federal department of Agriculture and Agri-Food increased 11 per cent while total employment in agriculture fell 18 per cent. That’s 11 per cent more agricultural bureaucrats and central planners while the number of people actually producing agricultural goods is down 18 per cent.

Considering dairy in particular, there are now 75 people employed at the Canadian Dairy Commission, up 34 per cent versus 2015. Meanwhile the number of dairy cows in Canada as of 2023 (the latest year of available data) is only up two per cent versus 2015, and the number of farms that ship milk is actually down 20 per cent. So, 34 per cent more dairy bureaucrats versus two per cent more dairy cows and 20 per cent fewer dairy farms.

Similarly, the Canadian Transportation Agency’s headcount rocketed to 377 in 2024, up 20 per cent from the prior year and up 56 per cent since 2015. Yet since 2015, total employment in transportation and warehousing in Canada increased by a much more modest 17 per cent.

In 2024, a year with no federal election scheduled, there are 1,250 employees at Elections Canada, nearly double the headcount of 630 in 2015, which had a federal election. But while the number of Elections Canada employees has nearly doubled, the number of voters in Canada has not. From 2015 to 2024, Canada’s population increase is about 14 per cent.

Another example: Fisheries and Oceans Canada now employs 14,716 people, up 49 per cent since 2015, and Natural Resources Canada now employs 5,751 people, up 39 per cent since 2015. Meanwhile the number of Canadians employed in natural resources (more specifically, forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas) is actually down one per cent since 2015.

As of 2024, the federal department for Women and Gender Equality employs 443 people, up 382 per cent versus 2015. But if the number of women in Canada has gone up 382 per cent in the same time period, this is nowhere reflected in any of the population statistics published by Statistics Canada—a government agency whose own headcount as of 2024 is up 48 per cent since 2015.

And total employment in our federal public administration (and separate agencies) is up 43 per cent (from 257,000 to 368,000) from 2015 to 2024. So we’re not just cherry-picking.

But perhaps the most depressing statistic from the Treasury Board of Canada secretariat’s report is the headcount growth at the Canada Revenue Agency.

There are now 59,155 people employed at the CRA as of 2024, up 48 per cent since 2015—a stark reminder of this federal government’s enthusiasm for raising taxes and expanding government control.