Department of Finance Canada
What Department of Finance Canada spent in fiscal year 2023-24: 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, 2023-24
Net spending, 2023-24
$136B
spent by Department of Finance Canada, less revenues it kept
Share, 2023-24
28.5%
of the net spending of every federal organization
How did Department of Finance Canada spend its budget in 2023-24?
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, 2023-24
Transfer payments
Public debt charges
Other subsidies and payments
Personnel
Utilities, materials and supplies
Professional and special services
Transportation and communications
Information
Rentals
Acquisition of machinery and equipment
Repair and maintenance
$91.2B
$42.5B
$1.63B
$136M
$82.7M
$14.6M
$2.6M
$2.3M
$2.1M
$1.5M
$283K
Total: $136B.
Spending by program, 2023-24
The same net spending by program, as GC InfoBase reports program actuals: $136B in all. Select a program for its history, plans and results.
$51.4B
$42.7B
$38.9B
$1.77B
$614M
$29.1M
$23.1M
$13.9M
$11.9M
$11.9M
$11.5M
$10.6M
$10.2M
$7.9M
$4.9M
$3.5M
$2.9M
$2.3M
$680K
$603K
$259K
Workforce, 2023-24
Full-time equivalents
955
the actual FTEs of its programs, as GC InfoBase reports them
Personnel spending
$136M
salaries, wages and benefits (the personnel standard object)
Personnel spending per FTE
$142K
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, 2023-24
The grants, contributions and other transfers Department of Finance Canada paid, program by program: $91.2B in all, against $91.2B 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 | $49,431,243,596 |
| Fiscal Equalization (Part I-Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $23,963,000,000 |
| Canada Social Transfer (Part V.1-Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $16,416,302,000 |
| Territorial Financing (Part I.1 - Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $4,834,417,818 |
| Payments related to Canada health transfer (Section 24.74 - Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $2,000,000,000 |
| Fiscal Stabilization (Part II - Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $576,511,311 |
| Payments to International Development Association (Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $486,916,000 |
| Nonrecurring conditional transfer of Hibernia Net Profits Interest and Incidental Net Profits Interest to Newfoundland and LabradorPayments | Other transfer | $280,166,028 |
| Hibernia Dividend Backed Annuity Agreement PaymentPayments | Other transfer | $137,973,145 |
| Payment to the International Monetary Fund for the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act)Payments | Other transfer | $57,000,000 |
| Debt payments on behalf of poor countries to International Organizations pursuant to section 18(1) of the Economic Recovery ActPayments | Other transfer | $51,823,068 |
| Statutory Subsidies (Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982, and other statutory authorities)Payments | Other transfer | $44,585,961 |
| Payments of any amount that is required for the purpose of providing financial assistance, pursuant to section 8.3 of the Bretton Woods and Related Agreements ActPayments | Other transfer | $208,367 |
| Research and Policy Initiatives AssistancePayments | Contribution | $200,000 |
| Indigenous Participant Funding ProgramPayments | Contribution | $150,000 |
| 18 programs | $91,164,253,768 | |
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 2024, 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.
