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Veterans Affairs Canada

What Veterans Affairs Canada spent in fiscal year 2020-21: its net expenditure by standard object, from the Public Accounts of Canada, Volume II.

What Veterans Affairs Canada does

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) is the federal department responsible for supporting Canadian veterans, still-serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and their families. It delivers financial benefits, health care and rehabilitation services, and recognition programs, and it leads the national remembrance initiatives that preserve Canada's military history.

Spending, 2020-21

Net spending, 2020-21

$4.84B

spent by Veterans Affairs Canada, less revenues it kept

Share, 2020-21

1.1%

of the net spending of every federal organization

How did Veterans 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

Professional and special services

Personnel

Utilities, materials and supplies

Other subsidies and payments

Transportation and communications

Repair and maintenance

Rentals

Information

Acquisition of machinery and equipment

Acquisition of land, buildings and works

$3.69B

$479M

$344M

$254M

$29.4M

$18.5M

$8.7M

$7M

$4.4M

$3.7M

$17K

Total: $4.84B.

Workforce, 2020-21

Full-time equivalents

3,455

the actual FTEs of its programs, as GC InfoBase reports them

Personnel spending

$344M

salaries, wages and benefits (the personnel standard object)

Personnel spending per FTE

$100K

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 Veterans Affairs Canada paid, program by program: $3.69B in all, against $3.69B for the transfer payments object above (the Public Accounts publish the two tables separately).

Pensions for disability and death, including pensions granted under the authority of the Civilian Government Employees (War) Compensation Order, P.C. 45/8848 of November 22, 1944, which shall be subject to the Pension Act; for former prisoners of war under the Pension Act, and Newfoundland special awardsPaymentsGrant$1,125,004,404
Pain and Suffering CompensationPaymentsGrant$1,085,547,081
Income Replacement BenefitPaymentsGrant$868,374,197
Housekeeping and Grounds MaintenancePaymentsGrant$267,137,081
Additional Pain and Suffering CompensationPaymentsGrant$154,052,414
Contributions to Veterans, under the Veterans Independence Program, to assist in defraying costs of extended health care not covered by provincial health programsPaymentsContribution$71,945,770
Education and Training BenefitPaymentsGrant$23,413,408
Payments to support veterans' organizations pursuant to the Public Health Events of National Concern Payments ActPaymentsGrant$19,999,420
Commonwealth War Graves CommissionPaymentsGrant$11,476,215
Caregiver Recognition BenefitPaymentsGrant$10,617,875
Earnings Loss and Supplementary Retirement BenefitPaymentsGrant$7,050,551
Centre of Excellence on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other related mental health conditionsPaymentsContribution$6,265,285
Contribution for Research Funding ProgramPaymentsContribution$6,106,099
Last Post FundPaymentsGrant$5,934,000
Contribution for Veterans and Family Well-Being FundPaymentsContribution$5,636,057
33 programs$3,687,765,270
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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 yearGoodsServicesConstructionAcquisition cardsTotal
2025$408,458$372,501$25,062$873,598$1,679,619
2024$477,982$702,259$0$1,051,841$2,232,082
2023$660,210$644,073$8,080$982,713$2,295,076
2022$599,083$695,297$0$765,002$2,059,381
2021$724,579$773,986$0$1,310,718$2,809,283
2020$649,254$508,252$0$925,649$2,083,155
2019$878,517$900,420$0$1,192,737$2,971,674
2018$756,797$593,648$0$1,059,781$2,410,226
2017$627,243$550,931$0$850,980$2,029,155

Veterans Affairs Canada’s share of federal net spending

Other organizations in Veterans Affairs