Under the Trudeau government, the number of federal government employees has grown substantially and new polling shows many Canadians would prefer to see that number decline. This would be a step in the right direction, as the growing size of government imposes costs on Canadians with little to no evidence suggesting they’re better off because of it.
Specifically, from 2015 (the year Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was first elected) to March 2024 (the latest month of available data), the number of federal employees grew from 257,034 to 367,772. In other words, in nine years the Trudeau government has increased the size of the federal bureaucracy by 43.1%, nearly three times the rate of population growth (15.2%) over that same period.
In response, many Canadians believe the government should begin cutting back. According to a recent poll, when made aware of this increase, nearly half (47%) of respondents said the federal government should start reducing the number of employees while only 7% said the government should hire more.
The growth of the federal public service is part of the Trudeau government’s approach to governance, which has been to increase Ottawa’s involvement in the economy and day-to-day lives of Canadians. Under Trudeau, the government has introduced sweeping national programs in the areas of dental care, daycare and pharmacare, increased cash transfers to some Canadians while also spending billions on corporate welfare.
In other words, the Trudeau government has vastly increased the size of government in Canada.
One way to understand the size of government is to measure government spending as a share of the overall economy (Gross Domestic Product), which shows the extent to which economic activity is directly or indirectly controlled by government activities. From 2014-15 to 2024-25, total federal spending (as a share of GDP) will increase from 14.1% to a projected 17.9% — meaning federal bureaucrats now control a larger share of economic activity than they did before the Trudeau government came to power.
Of course, Canadian taxpayers ultimately foot the bill for a larger federal government and 86% of middle-income Canadians now pay higher taxes than in 2015. Yet, for all this increased spending and taxation, it’s unclear if Canadians are better off.
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In fact, inflation-adjusted GDP per person (a broad measure of living standards) has been in a historic decline since mid-2019, and as of the second quarter of 2024, it sat below the level it was at the end of 2014. Recent polling shows 74% of respondents feel the average Canadian family is overtaxed, while 44% feel they receive “poor” or “very poor” value from government services.
Clearly, the federal government should break from the status quo and take a different approach focused on smaller and smarter government. A good first step would be to listen to Canadians and trim the number of bureaucrats.
Jake Fuss and Grady Munro are fiscal policy analysts at the Fraser Institute