The costs associated with staffing Canada’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) have increased significantly under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership, with base salary expenses growing by 16% since he took office. According to data obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), the PMO’s salary costs reached $10.5 million in 2022-23 for its 103 staff members — $3.2 million higher than in 2014-15, the last full year of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s tenure.This increase in staffing costs is part of a broader expansion in the federal government’s workforce. The CTF reports that under Trudeau’s leadership, the federal bureaucracy has grown by 42%, adding over 108,000 employees to the payroll. Spending on federal employees hit a record high of $67.4 billion in 2022-23, reflecting a 68% rise since 2016. The ranks of federal executives, or “c-suite” roles, have also expanded by 42%, with over $1 billion allocated in bonuses since 2015 and over a million pay raises issued in the past four years.Franco Terrazzano, CTF’s Federal Director, expressed concerns over the rising PMO costs and broader government spending on staffing, calling on the Trudeau administration to implement cuts. “The cost of running the PMO has increased under Trudeau, but it’s a good bet most Canadians don’t think they’re getting any better performance from the prime minister,” Terrazzano said. “If Trudeau can’t find savings right under his nose, how can taxpayers trust him to cut the fat across government?”Consultant costs have also soared under the Trudeau government, with planned spending for 2023-24 hitting a record $21.6 billion. Terrazzano emphasized the need to control spending across all government sectors, noting, “Everywhere you look — the PMO, the federal c-suite, the bureaucracy — the cost and size of government is out of control.”
