Veterans Affairs Canada
What Veterans Affairs Canada spent in fiscal year 2025-26: its net expenditure by standard object, from the Public Accounts of Canada, Volume II.
Reports through Veterans Affairs; the overview shows it in that ministry.
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, 2025-26
Net spending, 2025-26
$7.91B
spent by Veterans Affairs Canada, less revenues it kept
Share, 2025-26
1.7%
of the net spending of every federal organization
How did Veterans Affairs Canada spend its budget in 2025-26?
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, 2025-26
Transfer payments
Professional and special services
Utilities, materials and supplies
Personnel
Other subsidies and payments
Transportation and communications
Rentals
Information
Repair and maintenance
Acquisition of land, buildings and works
Acquisition of machinery and equipment
$6.04B
$761M
$499M
$397M
$120M
$48.5M
$26.3M
$4.8M
$4.2M
$3.5M
$914K
Total: $7.91B.
Workforce, 2025-26
Personnel spending
$397M
salaries, wages and benefits (the personnel standard object)
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, 2025-26
The grants, contributions and other transfers Veterans Affairs Canada paid, program by program: $6.04B in all, against $6.04B for the transfer payments object above (the Public Accounts publish the two tables separately).
| Pain and Suffering CompensationPayments | Grant | $2,543,550,209 |
| Income Replacement BenefitPayments | Grant | $1,581,784,428 |
| 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 awardsPayments | Grant | $972,185,396 |
| Additional Pain and Suffering CompensationPayments | Grant | $383,223,776 |
| Housekeeping and Grounds MaintenancePayments | Grant | $340,411,956 |
| Contributions to Veterans, under the Veterans Independence Program, to assist in defraying costs of extended health care not covered by provincial health programsPayments | Contribution | $77,107,763 |
| Caregiver Recognition BenefitPayments | Grant | $30,684,294 |
| Education and Training BenefitPayments | Grant | $30,452,392 |
| Grant for Veterans and Family Well-Being FundPayments | Grant | $20,423,759 |
| Commonwealth War Graves CommissionPayments | Grant | $13,795,034 |
| Centre of Excellence on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other related mental health conditionsPayments | Contribution | $8,987,945 |
| Contribution for Research Funding ProgramPayments | Contribution | $7,161,679 |
| Last Post FundPayments | Grant | $5,846,472 |
| Grant for Research Funding ProgramPayments | Grant | $5,369,774 |
| Canadian Forces Income Support AllowancePayments | Grant | $4,114,549 |
| 32 programs | $6,042,209,599 | |
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 | $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
Sources
- Public Accounts of Canada 2026, Volume II: Ministerial expenditures by standard object (Table 3)
- Public Accounts of Canada, Volume II: Transfer payments (multi-year open data)
- 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.
