Business
Fed executive pay rises $571 million since 2015

From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Author: Ryan Thorpe
Executive compensation in the federal government spiked by more than half-a-billion dollars since 2015, according to access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
From 2015 to 2022, executive compensation across federal departments and agencies rose from $1.38 billion to $1.95 billion – an increase of 41 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of federal executives grew from 7,138 to 9,371 – an increase of 31 per cent.
Inflation increased by 19.4 per cent between 2015 and 2022, according to Statistics Canada data.
The average annual compensation among federal executives also rose from $193,600 to $208,480 during that period.
“Taxpayers need help with the rising cost of living, not higher taxes to pay for more highly paid paper-pushers,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “It’s a safe bet that most Canadians struggling with grocery bills, heating bills and mortgage payments aren’t losing sleep worrying that government executives aren’t paid enough, so why is the government ballooning its c-suite?”
Table: Federal executive compensation, 2015 to 2022
Year (as of March) |
Number of executives |
Executive compensation |
2015 |
7,138 |
$1,381,987,936 |
2016 |
7,181 |
$1,406,613,900 |
2017 |
7,209 |
$1,410,973,156 |
2018 |
7,438 |
$1,460,468,760 |
2019 |
7,863 |
$1,555,972,489 |
2020 |
8,202 |
$1,692,682,269 |
2021 |
8,837 |
$1,836,893,134 |
2022 |
9,371 |
$1,953,667,640 |
The spike in federal c-suite pay follows years of underwhelming performance results across departments and agencies.
In 2022-23, federal departments hit just 50 per cent of their performance targets, according to data from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Each year from 2018 through 2021, federal departments met less than half of their performance targets.
“Less than 50 per cent of performance targets are consistently met within the same year,” according to a 2023 report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the government’s independent budget watchdog.
About 90 per cent of federal executives get a bonus each year, according to records obtained by the CTF. The feds handed out $202 million in bonuses in 2022, with the average bonus among executives being $18,252.
The feds handed out $1.3 billion in bonuses since 2015. The annual cost to taxpayers for federal bonuses has risen by 46 per cent during that time.
The number of employees receiving a six-figure annual salary has more than doubled under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
A total of 102,761 federal bureaucrats received a six-figure salary in 2022, according to access-to-information records obtained by the CTF. When Trudeau came to power in 2015, 43,424 federal bureaucrats were collecting a six-figure salary.
The feds also handed out more than 800,000 raises between 2020 and 2022. With the feds employing about 400,000 bureaucrats, that means multiple employees received more than one raise in recent years.
Under the Trudeau government, the size of the federal bureaucracy has spiked by about 40 per cent, with more than 98,000 new hires.
“In the last couple years, taxpayers have paid for tens of thousands of new bureaucrats, hundreds of thousands of pay raises and hundreds of millions in bonuses, and we’re still getting poor performance from the bureaucracy,” Terrazzano said. “Trudeau needs to take air out of the ballooning bureaucracy, and he should start by reining in the c-suite.”
Alberta
Big win for Alberta and Canada: Statement from Premier Smith

Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement on the April 2, 2025 U.S. tariff announcement:
“Today was an important win for Canada and Alberta, as it appears the United States has decided to uphold the majority of the free trade agreement (CUSMA) between our two nations. It also appears this will continue to be the case until after the Canadian federal election has concluded and the newly elected Canadian government is able to renegotiate CUSMA with the U.S. administration.
“This is precisely what I have been advocating for from the U.S. administration for months.
“It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including zero per cent tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and host of other Canadian goods.
“There is still work to be done, of course. Unfortunately, tariffs previously announced by the United States on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum have not been removed. The efforts of premiers and the federal government should therefore shift towards removing or significantly reducing these remaining tariffs as we go forward and ensuring affected workers across Canada are generously supported until the situation is resolved.
“I again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion while avoiding unnecessary escalation. Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective to this point.
“As it appears the worst of this tariff dispute is behind us (though there is still work to be done), it is my sincere hope that we, as Canadians, can abandon the disastrous policies that have made Canada vulnerable to and overly dependent on the United States, fast-track national resource corridors, get out of the way of provincial resource development and turn our country into an independent economic juggernaut and energy superpower.”
Business
Canada may escape the worst as Trump declares America’s economic independence with Liberation Day tariffs

MxM News
Quick Hit:
On Wednesday, President Trump declared a national emergency to implement a sweeping 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods, calling it a “Declaration of Economic Independence.” Trump said the tariffs would revitalize the domestic economy, declaring that, “April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn.”
Key Details:
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The baseline 10% tariff will take effect Saturday, while targeted “reciprocal” tariffs—20% on the EU, 24% on Japan, and 17% on Israel—begin April 9th. Trump also imposed 25% tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican goods, as well as on all foreign-made cars and auto parts, effective early Thursday.
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Trump justified the policy by citing foreign trade restrictions and long-standing deficits. He pointed to policies in Australia, the EU, Japan, and South Korea as examples of protectionist barriers that unfairly harm American workers and industries.
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The White House estimates the 10% tariff could generate $200 billion in revenue over the next decade. Officials say the added funds would help reduce the federal deficit while giving the U.S. stronger leverage in negotiations with countries running large trade surpluses.
Diving Deeper:
President Trump on Wednesday unveiled a broad new tariff policy affecting every imported product into the United States, marking what he described as the beginning of a new economic era. Declaring a national emergency from the White House Rose Garden, the president announced a new 10% baseline tariff on all imports, alongside steeper country-specific tariffs targeting longstanding trade imbalances.
“This is our Declaration of Economic Independence,” Trump said. “Factories will come roaring back into our country — and you see it happening already.”
The tariffs, which take effect Saturday, represent a substantial increase from the pre-Trump average U.S. tariff rate and are part of what the administration is calling “Liberation Day” for American industry. Reciprocal tariffs kick in April 9th, with the administration detailing specific rates—20% for the European Union, 24% for Japan, and 17% for Israel—based on calculations tied to bilateral trade deficits.
“From 1789 to 1913, we were a tariff-backed nation,” Trump said. “The United States was proportionately the wealthiest it has ever been.” He criticized the establishment of the income tax in 1913 and blamed the 1929 economic collapse on a departure from tariff-based policies.
To underscore the move’s long-anticipated nature, Trump noted he had been warning about unfair trade for decades. “If you look at my old speeches, where I was young and very handsome… I’d be talking about how we were being ripped off by these countries,” he quipped.
The president also used the moment to renew his push for broader economic reforms, urging Congress to eliminate federal taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits. He also proposed allowing Americans to write off interest on domestic auto loans.
Critics of the plan warned it could raise prices for consumers, noting inflation has already risen 22% under the Biden administration. However, Trump pointed to low inflation during his first term—when he imposed more targeted tariffs—as proof his strategy can work without sparking runaway costs.
White House officials reportedly described the new baseline rate as a guardrail against countries attempting to game the system. One official explained the methodology behind the reciprocal tariffs: “The trade deficit that we have with any given country is the sum of all trade practices, the sum of all cheating,” adding that the tariffs are “half of what they could be” because “the president is lenient and he wants to be kind to the world.”
In addition to Wednesday’s sweeping changes, Trump’s administration recently imposed a 25% tariff on Chinese goods tied to fentanyl smuggling and another 25% on steel and aluminum imports—revoking previous carve-outs for countries like Brazil and South Korea. Future tariffs on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and raw materials such as copper and lumber are reportedly under consideration.
Trump closed his remarks with a message to foreign leaders: “To all of the foreign presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, ambassadors… I say, ‘Terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers.’” He declared April 2nd “the day America’s destiny was reclaimed” and promised, “This will indeed be the golden age of America.”
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