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Office of the Intelligence Commissioner’s 2025-26 Departmental Plan

From the Institutional head

As Intelligence Commissioner (IC) and Deputy Head, I am pleased to present the 2025–26 Departmental Plan for the Office of the Intelligence Commissioner (ICO). The 2025–26 Departmental Plan provides Canadians with an overview of the ICO’s objectives, planned activities and expected results during the reporting period, as well as the financial and human resources forecast to deliver those results.

The ICO is an independent quasi-judicial agency of the Government of Canada. The ICO supports the fulfillment of the IC’s oversight mandate as set out in the Intelligence Commissioner Act (IC Act). The IC approves – or does not approve – certain national security and intelligence activities planned by the Communications Security Establishment and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and authorized by their respective ministers.

In the interest of national security and intelligence collection, these agencies may sometimes engage in activities that could involve breaking the laws of Canada or interfere with the privacy interests of Canadians. Any activities of this kind must first be authorized in writing by the minister responsible for the agency involved or, in some cases, by the Director of CSIS. The ministerial authorization must include the conclusions – effectively the reasons – supporting the activities that are being authorized.

I review the conclusions given for authorizing the activities to determine whether they meet the test of “reasonableness” as recognized by Canadian courts. If so, I approve the ministerial authorization, and the agency can proceed with the planned activities. The activities cannot take place without my approval.

We live in a turbulent and complex world in which threats come in many forms, and where it can be difficult to identify the source of threats such as cyberattacks. To keep Canadians safe, it is essential that CSE and CSIS have the appropriate tools to protect us. Canadians’ confidence that these agencies will use these tools in a reasonable manner rests on independent and effective oversight. This is what I strive to provide in our collective interest.

The ICO remains committed to ensuring that my decisions and the reasons for them are delivered in accordance with the deadlines set out in legislation. As well, the ICO will continue to publish my vetted decisions, while taking into consideration accessibility requirements, including plain language and alternative formats.

The 2025–26 plan will build upon the results of the strategic resource planning exercise undertaken during the 2024–25 fiscal year. The planning exercise examined human and financial resources to ensure that a right balance is achieved in order to support the fulfilment of the IC’s mandate. In 2025–26, the ICO will continue to work with other government departments and agencies to leverage services and best practices to ensure effective, efficient, and sustainable service delivery.

The establishment of the ICO has helped strengthen the national security framework through greater transparency and enhanced accountability. I am confident that the ICO will continue to do so in 2025–26.

The Honourable Simon Noël, K.C.
Intelligence Commissioner

Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services

Core responsibilities and internal services:

Core responsibility 1: Quasi-judicial review of certain ministerial conclusions

In this section

Description

The ICO is an independent oversight body. Under the IC Act, the IC is responsible for performing quasi-judicial reviews of the conclusions on the basis of which certain authorizations are issued or amended, and certain determinations are made, under the Communications Security Establishment Act and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act. In each case, the IC, supported by the ICO, undertakes an in-depth analysis of the records. If the IC is satisfied that the conclusions reached by the decision-maker are reasonable, the IC must approve the authorization or determination in a written decision that sets out the reasons for doing so.

Consistent with the IC’s oversight role, an authorization or determination is valid only after it is approved by the IC. The activities described in the authorizations or determinations cannot be carried out by the intelligence agencies without the IC’s approval.

The IC Act requires that the IC’s decision be rendered within 30 days after the day on which the IC received notice of the authorization or determination, or within any other period that may be agreed on by the IC and the decision-maker. In the case of an authorization issued by the Director of CSIS for a query of a dataset in exigent circumstances, the IC must render his or her decision and the reasons for it as soon as feasible.

Quality of life impacts

This core responsibility contributes to the "Good Governance" domain of the Quality of Life Framework for Canada and, more specifically, "confidence in institutions," and "respect of justice and human rights" through all the activities mentioned in the core responsibility description.

Indicators, results and targets

This section presents details on the department’s indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved in 2025–26 for the quasi-judicial review of certain ministerial conclusions. Details are presented by departmental result.

Table 1: Enhancing transparency and accountability of the national security framework

Table 1 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under the quasi-judicial review of certain ministerial conclusions.

Departmental Result Indicators Actual Results Target Date to achieve target
% of decisions and the reasons for them delivered in accordance with the deadlines set out in the legislation 2021-22: 100%
2022-23: 100%
2023-24: 100%		 100% March 2026
Annual report on Commissioner’s activities delivered to the Prime Minister by March 31st 2021-22: 100%
2022-23: 100%
2023-24: 100%		 100% March 2026

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for the ICO’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

The following section describes the planned results for the quasi-judicial review of certain ministerial conclusions in 2025-26.

Enhancing transparency and accountability of the national security framework

The role of the IC and that of the ICO is to provide greater transparency, better accountability and, ultimately to bolster public confidence in Canada’s national security framework. To carry out that role, the IC and the ICO’s core responsibility is to perform quasi-judicial reviews of certain ministerial conclusions.

In support of its ability to perform quasi-judicial reviews in accordance with the deadlines established by the legislation, in 2025–26, the following activities will be undertaken:

Key risks

Human resources management

The ICO must ensure that it has sufficient resources in place to meet the review and reporting requirements set out in the legislation. Regardless of the number and complexity of the quasi-judicial reviews conducted, the requirements of the legislation must be met. The ICO’s workload is largely demand-driven by the reviews submitted to the IC for approval, and subject to fluctuations in the volume and complexity of the files submitted over which the ICO has limited control. This significantly affects the ICO’s operational context and places pressures on the ICO.

The ICO will continue to apply strategies to effectively recruit, retain and manage its human resources to meet the requirements of the IC and provide the necessary support to achieve program delivery.

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 2: Planned resources to achieve results for the Quasi-judicial review of certain ministerial conclusions

Table 2 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Resource Planned
Spending 1,984,444
Full-time equivalents 6.5

Complete financial and human resources information for the ICO’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

GBA+ will continue to be a factor in human resource management and contracting by ensuring that strong staffing and procurement strategies are implemented within ICO. United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

More information on the ICO’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

The quasi-judicial review of certain ministerial conclusions is supported by the following program:

Additional information related to the program inventory for the quasi-judicial review of certain ministerial conclusions is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Internal services

In this section

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:

Plans to achieve results

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 3: Planned resources to achieve results for internal services this year

Table 3 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Resource Planned
Spending 651,136
Full-time equivalents 2

Complete financial and human resources information for the ICO’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 ICO is committed to meet the mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses annually. The ICO will leverage tools established by Public Services and Procurement Canada, such as standing offers and supply arrangements, to assist in contracting with Indigenous businesses.

Table 4: Percentage of contracts planned and awarded to Indigenous businesses

Table 4 presents the current, actual results with forecasted and planned results for the total percentage of contracts the department 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 NA 5% 5%

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of ICO’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.

In this section

Spending

This section presents an overview of the department's planned expenditures from 2022-23 to 2027-28.

Budgetary performance summary

Table 5: Three-year spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

Table 5 presents how much money ICO spent over the past three years to carry out its core responsibilities and for internal services. Amounts for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on spending to date.

Core responsibilities and internal services 2022–2023 actual expenditures 2023–2024 actual expenditures 2024–2025 forecast spending
Quasi-judicial review of certain ministerial conclusions 1,887,757 1,555,054 1,693,263
Internal services 597,080 673,370 497,261
Total 2,484,837 2,228,424 2,190,524

Analysis of the past three years of spending

Despite some variations in spending related to salaries (to reflect collective agreements signed in the core public administration), security enhancements and translation services, spending over the past three years has been relatively constant. Nevertheless, given the modest size of the budget, increase in spending – for example with respect to salary revisions – has the potential to have a significant impact on the ICO’s financial standing. As a result, strong and sound financial stewardship is essential to ensure that all spending is appropriately assessed.

More financial information from previous years is available on the finances section of GC Infobase.

Table 6: Planned three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

Table 6 presents how much money ICO plans to spend over the next three years to carry out its core responsibilities and for internal services.

Core responsibilities and internal services 2025-26 planned spending 2026-27 planned spending 2027-28 planned spending
Quasi-judicial review of certain ministerial conclusions 1,984,444 1,986,308 1,986,308
Internal services 651,136 651,136 651,136
Total 2,635,580 2,637,444 2,637,444

Analysis of the next three years of spending

There are no significant variances in total planned spending for the next three fiscal years. From year to year, there are slight variations in personnel costs (salaries and employee benefits) as a result of collective agreements signed in 2023–24 in the core public administration.

More detailed financial information on planned spending is available on the Finances section of 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: Approved funding (statutory and voted) over a six-year period

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 $2,718,517 $2,544,555 $173,962
2023-24 $2,689,766 $2,546,535 $143,231
2024-25 $2,776,536 $2,604,731 $171,805
2025-26 $2,635,580 $2,452,608 $182,972
2026-27 $2,637,444 $2,454,225 $183,219
2027-28 $2,637,444 $2,454,225 $183,219

Analysis of statutory and voted funding over a six-year period

There are no significant trends or variations. The slight differences in total funding (salary and employee benefits) among the years are due to collective agreements signed in the core public administration and compensation revisions approved by Treasury Board for unrepresented employees.

For further information on the ICO’s departmental appropriations, consult the 2025-26 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of the ICO’s operations for 2024-25 to 2025-26.

Table 7: Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ended March 31, 2026 (dollars)

Table 7 summarizes the expenses and revenues which net to the cost of operations before government funding and transfers for 2024-25 to 2025-26. The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

Financial information 2024–25 forecast results 2025–26 planned results Difference (planned results minus forecast results)
Total expenses 2,307,478 2,787,446 479,968
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 2,307,748 2,787,446 479,968

Analysis of forecasted and planned results

The planned spending for 2025–26 is based on reaching a full FTE complement and on certain fixed costs of internal support services received from other federal government departments through service level agreements.

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 the ICO’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 8: Actual human resources for core responsibilities and internal services

Table 8 shows a summary of human resources, in full-time equivalents, for the ICO’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years. Human resources for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on year to date.

Core responsibilities and internal services 2022–23 actual FTEs 2023–24 actual FTEs 2024–25 forecasted FTEs
Quasi-judicial review of certain ministerial conclusions 5 5 5
Internal services 2 2 2
Total 7 7 7

Table 9: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services

Table 9 shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents, for each of the ICO’s core responsibilities and for its internal services planned for the next three years.

Core responsibilities and internal services 2025–26 planned fulltime equivalents 2026–27 planned fulltime equivalents 2027–28 planned fulltime equivalents
Quasi-judicial review of certain ministerial conclusions 6.5 6.5 6.5
Internal services 2 2 2
Total 8.5 8.5 8.5

Analysis of human resources for the next three years

Following a review of internal services, planned positions have been realigned to reflect operational requirements.

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: The Right Honourable Mark Carney – Prime Minister of Canada

Institutional head: The Honourable Simon Noël, K.C. – Intelligence Commissioner

Ministerial portfolio: Prime Minister

Enabling instrument: Intelligence Commissioner Act

Year of incorporation / commencement: 2019

Organizational contact information

Mailing address

Office of the Intelligence Commissioner
P.O. Box 1474, Station B
Ottawa, ON K1P 5P6

Telephone: 613-992-3044

Email: info@ico-bcr.gc.ca

Website: www.canada.ca/en/intelligence-commissioner.html

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the ICO’s website:

Information on the ICO’s departmental sustainable development strategy can be found on the ICO’s website.

Federal tax expenditures

The ICO’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 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

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 document that sets out a department’s priorities, programs, expected results and associated resource requirements, covering a three year period beginning with the year indicated in the title of the report. Departmental Plans are 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 performance in a fiscal year against its plans, priorities and expected results set out in its Departmental Plan for that year. Departmental Results Reports are usually tabled in Parliament each fall.

full time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. Full time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

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, language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

government priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2025–26 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2021 Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fighter harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation and fighting for a secure, just, and equitable world.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative in which two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

Indigenous business (entreprise 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, a department that meets the definition and requirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory.

non budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Non-budgetary authorities that comprise assets and liabilities transactions for loans, investments and advances, or specified purpose accounts, that have been established under specific statutes or under non-statutory authorities in the Estimates and elsewhere. Non-budgetary transactions are those expenditures and receipts related to the government's financial claims on, and obligations to, outside parties. These consist of transactions in loans, investments and advances; in cash and accounts receivable; in public money received or collected for specified purposes; and in all other assets and liabilities. Other assets and liabilities, not specifically defined in G to P authority codes are to be recorded to an R authority code, which is the residual authority code for all other assets and liabilities.

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 up to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the 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 a department and that focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

An inventory of a department’s programs that describes how resources are organized to carry out the department’s core responsibilities and achieve its planned results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to a 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.

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