According to access to information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), about 98 per cent of government executives took a bonus last year even though departments missed nearly half of their performance targets.

Government executives took about $201 million in bonuses in 2024-25, the government’s last full budget year, while federal departments met just 54 per cent of their performance targets. Some of the bonuses included a bilingual bonus, a performance award, at risk pay and performance pay.

CTF estimates that government bonuses have cost taxpayers about $2 billion since 2015. They added that while bonuses are increasing, the federal government is borrowing about $78 billion this year.

According to a Leger Poll, while the federal government added 99,000 employees, half of Canadians say that federal services have gotten worse since 2016. The poll also found that 54 per cent of Canadians want the government to cut the size and cost of its bureaucracy.