Program directory · Health Canada
Pesticides
- Department
- Health Canada
- Program code
- BVH16 (H)
- Core responsibility
- Health Protection and Promotion
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The availability and use of pesticides have the potential to pose risks, both directly and indirectly, to the health, safety and well-being of people in Canada, and to the environment. As such, pesticides are highly regulated products. The objective of the Pesticides Program is to protect the health and safety of Canadians, and the environment, relating to the use of pesticides. The Pest Control Products Act provides Health Canada with the authority to regulate pesticides under the Pesticides Program. In the delivery of this Program, Health Canada conducts activities that span the lifecycle of a pesticide, including product assessment for health and environmental risks and value; risk management; post market surveillance, compliance and enforcement; changes in use, cancellation, or phase out of products that do not meet current standards; and, consultations and public awareness building. Health Canada is also an active partner in international efforts to align regulatory approaches. These engagements provide access to the best science available to support regulatory decisions and promote consistency in the assessment of pesticides.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pesticides | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $397M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | Indicators added: Percentage of pre-market pesticide submission reviews that are completed within service standards | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of actions taken in a timely manner to protect the health of Canadians from pesticides found to be a risk to human health and the environment (Policy on Cancellations and Amendments Following Re-evaluation) | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Employees (FTEs) 583, against 477 in 2021-22 (+22%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Spending $62.5M, against $47.4M in 2021-22 (+32%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators added: Percentage of pesticide re-evaluations that are completed within specified timelines | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of pre-market pesticide submission reviews that are completed within service standards | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Planned spending $47.3M, against $65.6M in 2025-26 (−28%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | ≥ 90% | 2022 | 96% | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 90% | 2023 | 95% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 90% | 2024 | 94% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 90% | 2025 | 88% Performance fell slightly short of the target due to a temporary increase in pre-market submissions that placed added demand on regulatory resources. Temporary resource reallocations are in place to manage the workload until submission volumes stabilize. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 80% | 2019 | — Actual Results will only be available after March 31, 2020, when actions that must be taken by registrants within published policy timelines will be due (24 months for amendments and up to 3 years for phase outs based on a full cancellation decision, where risk concerns are not considered serious or imminent). Target date should have read by March 31, 2020. | No result reported |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 80% | 2020 | — A result for this indicator is not available. The 2018 Policy on Cancellations and Amendments includes multiple milestones and timelines for measuring the timeliness of PMRA actions and stakeholder compliance. Reconciling these multiple data points to produce a meaningful result is not possible at this time. This indicator will be amended as part of the 2021-22 Departmental Results Framework/Prog… | No result reported |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 80% | 2021 | 93% This indicator has been replaced in the 2021-22 Departmental Plan with Percentage of pesticide pre-market submission reviews that are completed within service standards, as there were challenges with compiling the data from multiple data points. | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 80% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $39.8M | $44.7M |
| 2019-20 | $41.2M | $48.8M |
| 2020-21 | $41.3M | $47.3M |
| 2021-22 | $39.6M | $47.4M |
| 2022-23 | $54.8M | $62.5M |
| 2023-24 | $56.6M | $76.9M |
| 2024-25 | $45.7M | $70M |
| 2025-26 | $65.6M | — |
| 2026-27 | $47.3M | — |
| 2027-28 | $47.7M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $43.5M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 490 | 451 |
| 2019-20 | 490 | 479 |
| 2020-21 | 499 | 470 |
| 2021-22 | 465 | 477 |
| 2022-23 | 547 | 583 |
| 2023-24 | 527 | 636 |
| 2024-25 | 439 | 613 |
| 2025-26 | 518 | — |
| 2026-27 | 433 | — |
| 2027-28 | 433* | — |
| 2028-29 | 423* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $39,753,059 | $39,760,307 | $39,767,620 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $41,166,992 | $41,174,354 | $36,398,887 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $41,291,699 | $36,533,695 | $36,533,695 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $39,579,461 | $39,851,694 | $36,639,620 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $54,770,565 | $56,318,295 | $36,409,066 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $56,621,836 | $36,692,478 | $36,692,478 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $45,717,566 | $46,547,141 | $46,655,929 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $65,637,141 | $47,246,256 | $47,246,794 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $47,320,372 | $47,669,191 | $43,451,763 | ||||||||
| Actual | $44,676,978 | $48,805,467 | $47,255,014 | $47,388,556 | $62,466,772 | $76,863,355 | $70,018,151 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
