Canadian Grain Commission’s 2025-26 Departmental Plan
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His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Rural Economic Development, 2025, ISSN: 2371-6886
From the Minister
I am pleased to present the Canadian Grain Commission’s Departmental Plan for the fiscal year 2025-26. Canada’s grain producers play a vital role in driving economic growth and supporting food security here in Canada and abroad.
I know that Canadian grain farmers are facing a lot of uncertainty at this crucial time, and that’s why our government is taking action. Our goal is to strengthen Canada’s grain sector to ensure that it continues to bring economic prosperity to Canada. While we cannot directly control external events, we will focus on what we can achieve here in Canada to protect jobs and ensure food security. We will consider all that we do through an economic lens.
We are moving quickly, making investments in science, research, and innovation—developing new technologies, improving production efficiency, and addressing climate change. We continue to allocate funds through the AgriMarketing program to help Canada’s grain sector increase market access, improve customer support, and expand exports. We are also moving to address the impacts of trade uncertainty, and portfolio organization Farm Credit Canada recently announced up to $1 billion of new lending to alleviate financial pressures.
We are also strengthening partnerships to enhance Canada’s reputation as a trusted supplier of top-quality agricultural products. Through a new collaboration between the Canadian Grain Commission and Soy Canada, we are reinforcing the consistency and quality of Canadian food-grade soybeans, ensuring they meet the needs of our international customers.
It is important that our entire federal agriculture portfolio contribute to competitiveness and innovation within the sector. This requires thoughtful policy and meaningful investments.
I will continue to advocate for Canadian farmers, ensuring they have the tools and support needed to remain competitive in global markets. I also want to thank Canadian Grain Commission staff including the inspectors, the scientists, and everyone else for the important work that they do. I invite you to read the Canadian Grain Commission’s 2025-26 Departmental Plan to learn more about our efforts to strengthen the agricultural sector and create new opportunities for growth and innovation.
The Honourable
Heath MacDonald, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
From the Chief Commissioner
As Chief Commissioner, I am proud of the work we do at the Canadian Grain Commission to deliver clear and tangible results for Canada’s grain sector. Our 2025-26 Departmental Plan highlights key priorities that will support the resilience and growth of the Canadian grain industry.
The Canadian Grain Commission is dedicated to establishing and maintaining standards of quality for Canadian grain that is trusted the world over. Our focus on ensuring the safety and reliability of Canada’s grain not only strengthens global food security but also supports Canada’s economic growth.
In the coming year, we will continue to investigate new technologies for grain quality assurance, including artificial intelligence, to improve the efficiency and accuracy of grain assessment. Enhancing grain quality and safety monitoring will support market access further bolstering Canada’s reputation as a global leader in grain exports. In addition to these efforts, we remain committed to supporting fairer grain transactions and strengthening our services like the Safeguards for Grain Farmers Program.
We are also taking steps to ensure the sustainability of the CGC’s funding and service delivery. A recent review of our fees, revenues, and grain volume forecasts confirmed a gap between our fees and the cost of delivering services. To manage this, we will use accumulated surplus funds over the next two years to cover anticipated revenue shortfalls. The Canadian Grain Commission will consult with grain sector stakeholders before implementing any changes to fees in the future. We are committed to ensuring our programs and services continue to deliver results for the grain sector while spending responsibly and in alignment with the Government of Canada’s commitments.
Investing in infrastructure and technology is another key initiative for the Canadian Grain Commission. We are upgrading our laboratory spaces and equipment to ensure that our facilities remain at the cutting edge of grain science. We are also implementing enhancements through the MyCGC portal to extend our online services for clients across our licensing and export documentation activities.
As we move into 2025-26, I am confident that our science-based programs, stakeholder partnerships, and strategic innovations will continue to support a strong, competitive, and sustainable Canadian grain sector for years to come.
David Hunt
Chief Grain Commissioner
Canadian Grain Commission
Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services
Core responsibilities and internal services
Core responsibility: Grain Regulation
In this section
Description
The Canadian Grain Commission regulates grain handling in Canada and establishes and maintains science-based standards of quality for Canadian grain.
Quality of life impacts
This core responsibility contributes to the “Prosperity” domain of the Quality of Life Framework for Canada, specifically the indicators “Investment in in-house research and development”, through the establishment and maintenance of science-based standards of quality for Canadian Grain; and “Protection from income shocks”, through the Safeguards for Grain Farmers program and regulation of grain handling in Canada. It also contributes to the “Good Governance” domain, particularly the “Confidence in institutions” and “Canada’s place in the world”, through the regulation of grain handling and the establishment of science-based standards for Canadian grain.
Indicators, results and targets
This section presents details on the department’s indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, and the targets and target dates approved in 2025-26 for Grain Regulation. Details are presented by departmental result.
Table 1: Domestic and International Markets Regard Canadian Grain as Dependable and Safe
|
Departmental Result Indicators
|
Actual results
|
Target
|
Date to achieve target
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Number of certified cargo complaints by end-users due to dependability or safety concerns, verified by the Canadian Grain Commission
|
|
0
|
April 2026
|
|
Value of Canadian grain exports
|
|
$30.6 billion
|
April 2025
|
|
Departmental Result Indicators
|
Actual results
|
Target
|
Date to achieve target
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Percentage of sales where farmers are compensated for their grain
|
|
100%
|
April 2021
|
|
Percentage of outstanding liabilities paid to farmers in the event of a default by a Canadian Grain Commission licensed grain company
|
|
100%
|
April 2021
|
Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for the Canadian Grain Commission’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
Plans to achieve results
The following section describes the planned results for Grain Regulation in 2025-26.
“Domestic and international markets regard Canadian grain as dependable and safe”
Results we plan to achieve:
- Continue to develop and implement digital services through the MyCGC Portal including licensing applications and export documentation to enhance timely access to important information and Canadian Grain Commission programs for clients.
- Develop a comprehensive strategy to engage with technology companies and manage technology advancement. The Canadian Grain Commission will deploy this strategy to evaluate and implement improved technologies and methodologies, including artificial intelligence, to further advance objective grain quality assurance. For example, third-party technology developers are currently making rapid advancements by combining digital photography with machine-learning that are showing potential to be used in assessing grain quality.
- Expand grain quality and safety monitoring to include other conveyances, such as container shipments, in addition to bulk cargo shipments for better representation of grain exports to gain additional data and knowledge that would enhance the Canadian Grain Commission’s ability to serve its stakeholders.
- Operationalize the Food Grade Soy Quality Program to support and improve market access and positive customer perceptions of Canadian soy. The Canadian Grain Commission will also continue to work with government partners and sector stakeholders to provide science-based responses when market access issues arise to ensure the grain sector remains competitive.
“Farmers are fairly compensated for their grain”
Results we plan to achieve:
- Complete the evaluation of the Safeguards for Grain Farmers Program and implement the management action plan to enhance program effectiveness for producers.
- Review and propose amendments to the regulatory framework where possible to strengthen the Safeguards for Grain Farmers Program to expand protections for producers.
- Review and propose enhancements to Final Quality Determination to ensure that producers are fairly compensated for their grain.
Key risks
The key corporate risks that could affect achieving planned results under the core responsibility are:
- The capacity to deliver on the core mandate and to respond to grain sector needs due to resource constraints.
- Maintaining efficient and relevant program and service delivery to stay current with evolving grain sector needs for grain quality assurance.
- Impact to organization and public trust if a major cybersecurity incident or information breach occurs.
To mitigate risk and ensure long-term success in delivering the departmental results, the Canadian Grain Commission will work to deliver on its three key priorities to ensure domestic and international markets regard Canadian grain as dependable and safe, and that Canadian farmers are fairly compensated for their grain.
Planned resources to achieve results
Table 3: Planned resources to achieve results for Grain Regulation
|
Resource
|
Planned
|
|---|---|
|
Spending
|
$10,244,454
|
|
Full-time equivalents
|
367
|
Complete financial and human resources information for the Canadian Grain Commission’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
Related government priorities
Gender-based analysis plus
To build on the progress made over the last several fiscal years, the Canadian Grain Commission is developing strategies to better integrate data into its planning activities to ensure that any future initiatives contribute to inclusive outcomes. The Canadian Grain Commission is currently seeking third-party support to undertake an Employment Systems Review (ESR). The ESR will include analysis of quantitative and qualitative data related to formal and informal human resource policies and practices. Following this review, a report will be published outlining any identifiable biases and barriers that may disadvantage employees from certain equity-seeking groups, along with strategies to address these barriers.
This report will serve as a foundational document for the development of the next Employment Equity Plan, which will highlight concrete actions and focus on measurable outcomes to improve inclusion. In addition to this work, guidance is being provided to decision-makers to ensure they have access to disaggregated data relevant to their workforce. This guidance includes up-to-date details on workforce analysis and is designed to encourage better integration of employment equity, diversity, and inclusion considerations into strategic people planning and decision-making.
United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
More information on the Canadian Grain Commission’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.
Program inventory
Grain Regulation is supported by the following programs:
- Grain Quality
- Safeguards for Grain Farmers
- Grain research
Additional information related to the program inventory for Grain Regulation is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.
Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year
“Number of certified cargo complaints by end-users due to dependability or safety concerns, verified by the Canadian Grain Commission” is a new results indicator for 2025-26 and replaces “Percentage of stakeholders who regard Canadian grain as dependable and safe”.
Internal services
Description
Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:
- management and oversight services
- communications services
- legal services
- human resources management services
- financial management services
- information management services
- information technology services
- real property management services
- materiel management services
- acquisition management services
Plans to achieve results
This section presents details on how the department plans to achieve results and meet targets for internal services.
Internal Services support the Canadian Grain Commission’s core responsibility by enabling organizational program delivery. During 2025-26, the Canadian Grain Commission remains committed to investing in staff to foster an inclusive, sustainable, adaptable, skilled and engaged workforce. The Canadian Grain Commission will also continue efforts to raise awareness about the important role we play in the grain sector. We will engage with producers and industry stakeholders to strengthen mutual understanding of grain sector issues which contributes to well-informed program delivery.
Through the 2025-26 strategic planning process, the Canadian Grain Commission identified the following key priorities to guide Internal Services’ activities:
- Sustainable funding and operations
- Technology and scientific innovation to advance program delivery
- Fair grain transactions and a competitive sector
“Sustainable funding and operations”
Instead of increasing fees, the CGC will use accumulated surplus will be used to cover expected grain volume shortfalls, as well as support commitments to organizational sustainability, and strategic intentions investments in 2025-26 and 2026-27. The Canadian Grain Commission will target proposing fee and grain volume forecast updates for 2027-28. Stakeholders were informed of these intentions in October, 2024. Consultation with stakeholders will take place before fee updates are made.
To support sustainable operations and provide programs and services as efficiently and effectively as possible, the Canadian Grain Commission will continue to develop plans and invest in infrastructure and equipment over the planning period.
Cybersecurity remains an important priority and focus for the Canadian Grain Commission. While tools and practices have improved over the past few years, the sophistication of cybersecurity attacks has highlighted the need to continuously adapt and invest in additional tools and practices to maintain progress. The Canadian Grain Commission continues to assess, prioritize, and invest in modern secure systems areas that bring value to the grain industry in response to the dynamics of the global cybersecurity environment.
“Technology and scientific innovation to advance program delivery”
The Canadian Grain Commission will continue to implement digital solutions to advance program delivery, improve client satisfaction, enhance efficiency and productivity, reduce risk to the organization, and facilitate trade in Canadian grain. Initiatives include harnessing corporate information and data through an effective and efficient “Records and Data Information Management System” to provide stakeholders with better information and improve market transparency. The Canadian Grain Commission also plans to improve laboratory information management systems through upgrade, enhancement, or replacement of custom laboratory database applications. The intent is to increase efficiency, enhance data quality and reduce risk to the Canadian Grain Commission. Improving laboratory information management systems will provide consistent processes for sample identification, analytical test assignment, and reporting thereby improving quality control connected to sample management and the equipment used.
“Fair grain transactions and a competitive sector”
The Canadian Grain Commission will continue its efforts to enhance grain quality and safety monitoring to support and improve market access and positive customer perceptions of Canadian grain. This initiative contributes to supporting growth in Canadian grain exports as well as mitigating international market access risk and technical trade issues. As noted under planned results for Grain Regulation core responsibility, the Canadian Grain Commission will complete an internal evaluation of the Safeguards for Grain Farmers Program and implement a management action plan to enhance program effectiveness for producers.
Planned resources to achieve results
Table 4: Planned resources to achieve results for internal services this year
|
Resource
|
Planned
|
|---|---|
|
Spending
|
$18,045,310
|
|
Full-time equivalents
|
143
|
Complete financial and human resources information for the Canadian Grain Commission’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses
Government of Canada departments are to meet a target of awarding at least 5% of the total value of contracts to Indigenous businesses each year. This commitment is to be fully implemented by the end of 2024-25.
The Canadian Grain Commission is a Phase 3 department and was aiming to achieve the minimum 5% target using a combination of voluntary and conditional set asides for tender processes by the end of 2024-25. The Canadian Grain Commission’s strategy of using a combination of voluntary and conditional set asides has proven an effective method of hitting the 5% target as the Canadian Grain Commission demonstrated in 2023-24.
The Canadian Grain Commission continues to monitor its procurement activities to facilitate tracking and reporting on any Indigenous business involvement.
Table 5: Percentage of contracts planned and awarded to Indigenous businesses
|
5% Reporting Field
|
2023-24 Actual Result
|
2024-25 Forecasted Result
|
2025-26 Planned Result
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Total percentage of contracts with Indigenous businesses
|
13.43%
|
6.9%
|
6.4%
|
Planned spending and human resources
This section provides an overview of Canadian Grain Commission’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2025-26 with actual spending from previous years.
Spending
This section presents an overview of the department's planned expenditures from 2022-23 to 2027-28.
Budgetary performance summary
Table 6 Three-year spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)
|
Core responsibilities and internal services
|
2022-2023 Actual expenditures
|
2023-2024 Actual expenditures
|
2024-2025 Forecast Spending
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Grain Regulation
|
750,275
|
451,040
|
(5,975,114)
|
|
Subtotal
|
750,275
|
451,040
|
(5,975,114)
|
|
Internal services
|
22,337,461
|
24,869,016
|
27,781,266
|
|
Total(s)
|
23,087,736
|
25,320,057
|
21,806,152
|
Analysis of past three years of spending
Refer to the explanatory note under the “Departmental Spending Graph 2022-23 to 2027-28” for further details of financial trends.
More financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.
Table 7 Planned three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)
|
Core responsibilities and internal services
|
2025-26 Planned Spending
|
2026-27 Planned Spending
|
2027-28 Planned Spending
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Grain Regulation
|
10,244,454
|
8,829,150
|
6,762,448
|
|
Subtotal
|
10,244,454
|
8,829,150
|
6,762,448
|
|
Internal services
|
18,045,310
|
20,010,310
|
11,679,328
|
|
Total
|
28,289,764
|
28,839,460
|
18,441,776
|
Analysis of the next three years of spending
Refer to the explanatory note under “Departmental Spending Graph 2022-23 to 2027-28” for further details of financial trends.
More detailed financial information on planned spending is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.
Table 8: Budgetary gross and net planned spending summary (dollars)
|
Core responsibilities and Internal Services
|
2025-26 Gross planned spending (dollars)
|
2025-26 Planned revenues netted against spending (dollars)
|
2025-26 Planned net spending (authorities used)
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Grain Regulation
|
52,273,643
|
(42,029,189)
|
10,244,454
|
|
Subtotal
|
52,273,643
|
(42,029,189)
|
10,244,454
|
|
Internal services
|
34,385,120
|
(16,339,810)
|
18,045,310
|
|
Total
|
86,658,763
|
(58,368,999)
|
28,289,764
|
Analysis of budgetary gross and net planned spending summary
Gross planned spending includes respendable revenues generated by service fees, plans to fund expected revenue shortfalls, commitments to organizational sustainability and strategic priorities aimed at modernizing and generating efficiencieplus additional spending on strategic investment initiatives. Planned revenues netted against spending are based on the fees as set out in Schedule I to the Canada Grain Regulations, and adjusted annual grain volume projections of 41.6 million metric tonnes.
In accordance with the Service Fees Act, the Canadian Grain Commission adjusts fees annually for inflation each year on April 1 by the percentage change over 12 months in the April All-Items Consumer Index for Canada. Current fee amounts are located on the Canadian Grain Commission’s website.
Planned net spending includes funding anticipated through the Main Estimates for voted appropriations and draws on the Canadian Grain Commission accumulated surplus. Information on the alignment of the Canadian Grain Commission’s spending with Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available on GC InfoBase.
Funding
This section provides an overview of the department's voted and statutory funding for its core responsibilities and for internal services. For further information on funding authorities, consult the Government of Canada budgets and expenditures.
Graph 1 summarizes the department's approved voted and statutory funding from 2022-23 to 2027-28.
Text description of graph 1
|
Fiscal year
|
Total
|
Voted
|
Statutory
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
2022-23
|
23,088
|
6,252
|
16,836
|
|
2023-24
|
25,320
|
6,164
|
19,156
|
|
2024-25
|
21,806
|
6,215
|
15,591
|
|
2025-26
|
28,290
|
6,196
|
22,094
|
|
2026-27
|
28,839
|
6,226
|
22,613
|
|
2027-28
|
18,442
|
6,225
|
12,217
|
Analysis of statutory and voted funding over a six-year period
The Canadian Grain Commission’s revenue is mainly based on grain volumes handled, which can fluctuate from year-to-year. Variances can arise between projected and actual revenues since grain handling volumes are estimated based on historical data. The Canadian Grain Commission accumulates surplus funds (shown as unused authority carried forward in Public Accounts of Canada) in years with higher-than-average grain volumes and draws down on accumulated surplus funds in years with lower-than-average grain volumes.
From fiscal years 2013-14 through 2020-21, unprecedented increases in Canadian grain production and relatively stable operating costs led to an accumulated revolving fund surplus of $155.98 million as of March 31, 2021. On August 1, 2021, to limit further accumulation of surplus, the Canadian Grain Commission adjusted its grain volume forecast upwards from 34.4 to 48.1 MMT and reduced major fees by 29 percent. In recent years, the Canadian Grain Commission faced challenging financial conditions primarily related to drought conditions, lower-than-forecasted grain volumes and growing costs for labour, technology and materials. This, in addition to planned strategic investment spending, resulted in a drawdown of accumulated surplus for fiscal years 2021-22 through 2023-24, which decreased the surplus balance to $111.88 million as at March 31, 2024.
In 2024, the Canadian Grain Commission completed a review of its revenues, costs, grain volume forecasting model and service standards, and determined that its’ fees do not reflect the costs of providing the organization’s services and licences. This is due to a combination of lower-than-expected grain volume exports, changed assumptions regarding licensing costs, outdated fee alignment, and growing costs for labour and digital service delivery. In fall 2024, the Canadian Grain Commission informed the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and stakeholders that it intends to access its accumulated surplus to fund expected revenue shortfalls, commitments to organization sustainability and strategic priorities in fiscal years 2024-25 through 2026-27.
The Canadian Grain Commission will reassess itstarget proposing plans to reassess feess and the grain volume forecasts updates in 2027-28 in fiscal year 2026-27 to ensure a sustainably funded organization into the future. The Canadian Grain Commission will consult with stakeholders before implementing any fee amendments. The Canadian Grain Commission will aim to recover, on average, approximately 90 percent of its operating budget through service and licence fees, with the balance funded by parliamentary appropriations.
For further information on Canadian Grain Commission’s departmental appropriations, consult the 2025-26 Main Estimate.
Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of Canadian Grain Commission’s operations for 2024-25 to 2025-26.
Table 9 Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ended March 31, 2026 (dollars)
|
Financial information
|
2024-25 Forecast results
|
2025-26 Planned results
|
Difference (planned results minus forecasted)
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Total expenses
|
78,368,834
|
85,945,293
|
7,576,459
|
|
Total revenues
|
58,007,690
|
58,368,999
|
361,309
|
|
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers
|
20,361,144
|
27,576,294
|
7,215,150
|
Analysis of forecasted and planned results
Fiscal year 2025-26 net cost of operations before government funding is projected to be $27.58 million, a net difference of $7.22 million over the 2024-25 forecast.
Fiscal year 2025-26 total expenses are planned to be $85.95 million, $7.58 million higher than 2024-25 forecasted expenditures. This increase is primarily due to changed assumptions regarding licensing costs and growing costs for labour, technology and materials.
Fiscal year 2025-26 total revenues are forecast to be $58.37 million based on 41.6 million metric tonnes and are consistent with 2024-25 forecasted revenues.
A more detailed Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and associated Notes for 2025-26, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, is available on Canadian Grain Commission’s website.
Human resources
This section presents an overview of the department’s actual and planned human resources from 2022-23 to 2027-28.
Table 10: Actual human resources for core responsibilities and internal services
|
Core responsibilities and Internal Services
|
2022-23 Actual full-time equivalents
|
2023-24 Actual full-time equivalents
|
2024-25 Actual full-time equivalents
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Grain Regulation
|
325
|
331
|
335
|
|
Subtotal
|
325
|
331
|
335
|
|
Internal services
|
148
|
144
|
140
|
|
Total
|
473
|
475
|
475
|
Analysis of human resources over the last three years
Full-time equivalents from 2022-23 to 2024-25 have remained relatively stable as support continues on strategic initiatives such as digital transformation and the laboratory project.
Table 11: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services
|
Core responsibilities and Internal Services
|
2025-26 Planned full-time equivalents
|
2026-27 Planned full-time equivalents
|
2027-28 Planned full-time equivalents
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Grain Regulation
|
367
|
367
|
340
|
|
Subtotal
|
367
|
367
|
340
|
|
Internal services
|
143
|
143
|
143
|
|
Total
|
510
|
510
|
483
|
Analysis of human resources for the next three years
The increase in full-time equivalents from 2024-25 to 2026-27 is due to additional resources required to ensure sustainable grain inspection capacity and support technological modernization, the majority of which consist of temporary term resources. Total full-time equivalents return to previous levels in 2027-28.
Corporate information
Departmental profile
Appropriate minister:
The Honourable Heath MacDonald
Institutional head:
David Hunt, Chief Commissioner
Ministerial portfolio:
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Enabling instrument(s):
Year of incorporation / commencement:
1912
Other:
The Canadian Grain Commission’s head office is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Canadian Grain Commission operates two regional offices, eight service centres and provides service at more than 30 licensed terminal elevators across Canada. A combination of revolving fund (fees) and appropriation sources fund Canadian Grain Commission programs and services. The Canadian Grain Commission plans to recover approximately 90 percent of its costs through fees and the remaining through appropriation.
Departmental contact information
Mailing address:
Canadian Grain Commission, 303 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3G8
Telephone:
204-984-0506
TTY:
1-866-317-4289
Fax:
204-983-2751
Email:
Website:
Supplementary information tables
The following supplementary information tables are available on the Canadian Grain Commission’s website:
Information on the Canadian Grain Commission’s departmental sustainable development strategy can be found on the Canadian Grain Commission’s website.
Federal tax expenditures
The Canadian Grain Commission’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.
The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.
This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.
Definitions
List of terms
- appropriation (crédit)
- Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
- budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
- Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.
- core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
- An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.
- Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
- A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3 year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.
- departmental result (résultat ministériel)
- A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.
- departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
- A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.
- departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
- A framework that consists of the department’s core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.
- Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
- A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.
- fulltime equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
- A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the fulltime equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.
- gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])
-
Is an analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs, and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
Using GBA Plus involves taking a gender- and diversity-sensitive approach to our work. Considering all intersecting identity factors as part of GBA Plus, not only sex and gender, is a Government of Canada commitment.
- government priorities (priorités gouvernementales)
- For the purpose of the 2025-26 Departmental Plan, government priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the most recent Speech from the Throne.
- horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
- An initiative where two or more federal departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.
- Indigenous business (enterprise autochtones)
- For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses and the Government of Canada’s commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses, an organization that meets the definition and Arequirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory.
- non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
- Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.
- performance (rendement)
- What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.
- performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
- A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.
- plan (plan)
- The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.
- planned spending (dépenses prévues)
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For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.
A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.
- program (programme)
- Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.
- program inventory (répertoire des programmes)
- Identifies all the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.
- result (résultat)
- A consequence attributed, in part, to an department, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single department, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the department’s influence.
- statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
- Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.
- target (cible)
- A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.
- voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
- Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.