Global Affairs Canada
What Global Affairs Canada spent in fiscal year 2020-21: its net expenditure by standard object, from the Public Accounts of Canada, Volume II.
Reports through Global Affairs; the overview shows it in that ministry.
What Global Affairs Canada does
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is the federal department responsible for managing Canada's diplomatic relations, international trade, and development assistance. Established in 1909 as the Department of External Affairs, it oversees Canada's engagement in global affairs, negotiates international agreements, administers trade policy, and provides humanitarian aid. It also supports Canadian businesses expanding abroad, maintains ties through multilateral organizations such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and NATO, and assists Canadian citizens overseas during emergencies.
Spending, 2020-21
Net spending, 2020-21
$9.34B
spent by Global Affairs Canada, less revenues it kept
Share, 2020-21
2.1%
of the net spending of every federal organization
How did Global Affairs 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
Personnel
Professional and special services
Rentals
Other subsidies and payments
Transportation and communications
Acquisition of machinery and equipment
Utilities, materials and supplies
Repair and maintenance
Information
Acquisition of land, buildings and works
Internal revenues
External revenues
$7.02B
$1.38B
$329M
$194M
$181M
$90.2M
$73.5M
$39.2M
$31.3M
$23.4M
$18.8M
-$967K
-$43.1M
Total: $9.34B.
Spending by program, 2020-21
The same net spending by program, as GC InfoBase reports program actuals: $9.34B in all. Select a program for its history, plans and results.
$2.94B
$1.37B
$679M
$523M
$457M
$319M
$289M
$252M
$248M
$225M
$164M
$155M
$108M
$99.8M
$98.4M
$87.5M
$78.9M
$78.1M
$77M
$73.8M
$69.9M
$68.9M
$61.6M
$58.6M
$57.4M
$55.5M
$54.9M
$51.5M
$45.9M
$43.1M
$40.1M
$39.5M
$36.7M
$32.2M
$30.6M
$30.1M
$29.1M
$25.2M
$24.1M
$21.8M
$21.6M
$20.9M
$17.5M
$16M
$13.2M
$12.3M
$9.5M
$9.1M
$7.4M
$6.4M
$4.1M
$3.6M
-$780
Workforce, 2020-21
Full-time equivalents
12,176
the actual FTEs of its programs, as GC InfoBase reports them
Personnel spending
$1.38B
salaries, wages and benefits (the personnel standard object)
Personnel spending per FTE
$114K
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 Global Affairs Canada paid, program by program: $7.02B in all, against $7.02B for the transfer payments object above (the Public Accounts publish the two tables separately).
| Grants from the International Development Assistance for Multilateral ProgrammingPayments | Grant | $3,774,914,547 |
| Contributions from the International Development Assistance for Multilateral ProgrammingPayments | Contribution | $922,352,125 |
| Contributions from the International Development Assistance for Bilateral Programming to support regional or country specificPayments | Contribution | $619,660,044 |
| Payments of Assessed Contributions to International OrganizationsPayments | Contribution | $568,690,477 |
| Contributions from the International Development Assistance for Partnerships with Canadians ProgrammingPayments | Contribution | $460,158,753 |
| Payments to International Financial Institutions - Direct payments (International Development (Financial Institutions) Assistance Act)Payments | Other transfer | $260,230,820 |
| Grants in support of the Peace and Stabilization Operations ProgramPayments | Grant | $93,244,953 |
| Contributions in support of the Peace and Stabilization Operations ProgramPayments | Contribution | $54,825,018 |
| Grants from the International Development Assistance for Partnerships with Canadians ProgrammingPayments | Grant | $46,909,571 |
| Canada Fund for Local InitiativesPayments | Contribution | $37,911,472 |
| Contributions under the Weapons Threat Reduction ProgramPayments | Contribution | $37,872,458 |
| Contributions in support of the CanExport ProgramPayments | Contribution | $28,420,581 |
| Grants under the Weapons Threat Reduction ProgramPayments | Grant | $25,531,690 |
| Contributions for Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building ProgramPayments | Contribution | $16,498,418 |
| Grants in lieu of taxes on diplomatic, consular and international organizations' property in Canada in accordance with terms and conditions approved by the Governor in CouncilPayments | Grant | $14,293,044 |
| 30 programs | $7,021,170,372 | |
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 | $5,990,578 | $6,473,063 | $1,200,567 | $32,076,684 | $45,740,893 |
| 2024 | $6,854,705 | $7,945,694 | $1,453,973 | $22,447,636 | $38,702,007 |
| 2023 | $6,692,122 | $9,324,320 | $1,587,381 | $8,959,645 | $26,563,468 |
| 2022 | $6,701,869 | $10,601,870 | $1,870,797 | $8,500,154 | $27,674,691 |
| 2021 | $7,721,639 | $11,185,260 | $2,074,518 | $7,651,156 | $28,632,573 |
| 2020 | $8,847,239 | $11,977,142 | $1,925,744 | $11,838,839 | $34,588,965 |
| 2019 | $11,157,972 | $20,021,867 | $3,744,666 | $11,917,607 | $46,842,113 |
| 2018 | $12,287,067 | $20,020,943 | $3,757,775 | $11,286,233 | $47,352,018 |
| 2017 | $10,080,650 | $16,883,822 | $3,143,055 | $7,876,395 | $37,983,923 |
Global Affairs Canada’s share of federal net spending
Other organizations in Global Affairs
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.
