More than 27,000 public servants were paid $150,000 or more last year

The Canadian flag flies on the Peace Tower of Parliament Hill as pedestrians make their way along Sparks Street in Ottawa on Nov. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — More than 27,000 federal public servants were paid at least $150,000 in the last fiscal year, a document tabled in Parliament shows.

It says more than 20,000 employees received compensation — salaries, bonuses, benefits and overtime pay — of between $150,000 and $199,999 in 2024-25.

The document, prepared by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat in response to an order paper question posed by the Conservatives, shows nearly 5,000 employees earned between $200,000 and $249,999 and almost 1,400 employees made between $250,000 and $299,999.

The document says 654 employees were paid between $300,000 and $399,999 last year, while 42 earned between $400,000 and $499,999 and six employees made $500,000 or more.

Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, says Prime Minister Mark Carney “must take air out of Ottawa’s ballooning bureaucracy to fix the federal finances.”

“Carney needs to make the government more affordable for taxpayers and he should start by reining in the pay and perks for these top bureaucrats,” Terrazzano said. “Taxpayers can’t afford to keep bankrolling a bloated government full of overpaid paper pushers.”

The latest federal budget outlined a plan to lower program spending and administration costs by about $60 billion over the next five years.

It said the government intends to have 10 per cent fewer federal employees by 2029 — a loss of about 40,000 jobs from the public service peak of 368,000 two years ago — and 1,000 fewer executive positions over the next two years.

The document tabled in Parliament says the data covers employees in all categories, including permanent, term, casual and student workers.

It says members of the RCMP and the Canadian Forces are excluded, as they are not considered part of the federal public service.

A handful of government organizations are also excluded, the document says, due to the availability of data. They include the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the National Capital Commission.

Treasury Board data shows the population of the federal public service was 357,965 as of March 31, 2025.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2025.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press