Department of Finance Canada
What Department of Finance Canada spent in fiscal year 2020-21: its net expenditure by standard object, from the Public Accounts of Canada, Volume II.
Reports through Finance; the overview shows it in that ministry.
What Department of Finance Canada does
The Department of Finance (Finance Canada) is a central federal department responsible for overseeing the nation's economic and fiscal policies, ensuring financial stability, and managing the government's fiscal framework. Established in 1867 as one of the original departments following Confederation, it advises the Prime Minister and Cabinet on economic matters, develops tax and tariff policies, and prepares the annual federal budget.
Spending, 2020-21
Net spending, 2020-21
$118B
spent by Department of Finance Canada, less revenues it kept
Share, 2020-21
26.8%
of the net spending of every federal organization
How did Department of Finance Canada spend its budget in 2020-21?
By standard object. Revenues it kept are negative and netted against its spending. Transfer payments are broken into their largest named programs.
Spending by standard object, 2020-21
Transfer payments
Public debt charges
Other subsidies and payments
Personnel
Utilities, materials and supplies
Information
Professional and special services
Acquisition of machinery and equipment
Rentals
Transportation and communications
Repair and maintenance
$96.4B
$20.4B
$566M
$110M
$85.9M
$23.3M
$11.4M
$2M
$1.2M
$633K
$113K
Total: $118B.
Spending by program, 2020-21
The same net spending by program, as GC InfoBase reports program actuals: $118B in all. Select a program for its history, plans and results.
$54B
$41.9B
$20.9B
$570M
$67.7M
$61.7M
$32.6M
$28.2M
$23.1M
$13.3M
$10.7M
$8.7M
$8.5M
$6.1M
$4M
$3M
$2.3M
$1.6M
$715K
$570K
$155K
Workforce, 2020-21
Full-time equivalents
877
the actual FTEs of its programs, as GC InfoBase reports them
Personnel spending
$110M
salaries, wages and benefits (the personnel standard object)
Personnel spending per FTE
$125K
personnel spending divided by full-time equivalents
A full-time equivalent is a measure of employment, not a headcount: two half-time employees are one FTE. Personnel spending includes benefits and pension contributions, so per FTE it is not an average salary.
Transfer payment programs, 2020-21
The grants, contributions and other transfers Department of Finance Canada paid, program by program: $96.4B in all, against $96.4B for the transfer payments object above (the Public Accounts publish the two tables separately).
| Canada Health Transfer (Part V.1-Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $41,880,173,684 |
| Fiscal Equalization (Part I-Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $20,572,844,000 |
| Canada Social Transfer (Part V.1-Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $15,023,242,000 |
| Safe Restart AgreementPayments | Other transfer | $12,976,726,000 |
| Territorial Financing (Part I.1 - Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $4,180,225,221 |
| Essential Workers Support FundPayments | Other transfer | $2,884,208,769 |
| Safe Return to Class FundPayments | Other transfer | $2,000,000,000 |
| Payment to the Province of Alberta to clean up inactive oil and gas wellPayments | Other transfer | $1,000,000,000 |
| Payments to clean up orphan and inactive oil and gas wellsPayments | Other transfer | $520,000,000 |
| Payments to International Development Association (Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $423,240,000 |
| Payment to the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador to support offshore energy sector workersPayments | Other transfer | $320,000,000 |
| 2020 Hibernia Dividend Backed Annuity Agreement PaymentPayments | Other transfer | $102,414,655 |
| Statutory Subsidies (Constitution Acts, 1867-1982, and Other Statutory Authorities)Payments | Other transfer | $42,639,121 |
| Establishment of a Canadian Securities Regulation Regime and Canadian Regulatory AuthorityPayments | Other transfer | $40,330,925 |
| Debt payments on behalf of poor countries to International Organizations pursuant to section 18(1) of the Economic Recovery ActPayments | Other transfer | $37,894,693 |
| 20 programs | $96,434,730,258 | |
Contracts of $10,000 and under
Contracts this small are not published one by one: Treasury Board publishes each organization's totals, by calendar year, for contracts of $10,000 and under (their original value and their amendments) and for acquisition card purchases. They are the value of contracts entered into, not what was paid in a fiscal year, so they are not part of the net expenditure above, and the years are calendar years.
| Calendar year | Goods | Services | Construction | Acquisition cards | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $22,976 | $182,918 | $0 | $819,517 | $1,025,411 |
| 2024 | $81,769 | $119,621 | $0 | $1,125,980 | $1,327,370 |
| 2023 | $37,435 | $200,241 | $0 | $1,402,370 | $1,640,045 |
| 2022 | $97,970 | $174,351 | $0 | $1,158,374 | $1,430,695 |
| 2021 | $89,967 | $257,535 | $0 | $792,903 | $1,140,404 |
| 2020 | $162,287 | $361,939 | $0 | $783,477 | $1,307,703 |
| 2019 | $138,348 | $317,347 | $0 | $1,179,825 | $1,635,520 |
| 2018 | $161,931 | $432,749 | $0 | $1,407,913 | $2,002,593 |
| 2017 | $226,292 | $385,288 | $0 | $1,196,935 | $1,808,515 |
Department of Finance Canada’s share of federal net spending
Other organizations in Finance
Sources
- Public Accounts of Canada 2021, Volume II: Ministerial expenditures by standard object (Table 3)
- Public Accounts of Canada, Volume II: Transfer payments (multi-year open data)
- GC InfoBase – Federal Programs – Actual and Planned Spending (programs_spending.csv)
- GC InfoBase – Federal Programs – Actual and Planned Employees (programs_ftes.csv)
- Proactive Publication - Contracts: Aggregated Total - Contracts $10K and under
Department figures are net expenditure (Public Accounts, Volume II), which doesn’t add up to the accrual expenses of the overview’s headline. See the methodology.
