Annex 3: 
Comprehensive expenditure review: Planned reductions by organisation

This annex provides details on the Comprehensive Expenditure Review (CER) savings announced in Budget 2025 and described in Chapter 5, by organisation. These savings, summarized in Table A3.1, represent measured actions to spend less, to enable more investments in Canadians and the economy. Total planned reductions account for 4.9 per cent of projected direct program expenses in 2028-29.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) will reorient its programming, scientific research, and operational expenditures to better align with the government's priorities, while continuing to collaborate with provinces, territories, and industry to ensure program delivery meets evolving sector needs. AAFC will wind down some programs outside its core mandate, such as the Agricultural Climate Solution Living Labs. The government is focusing on supports for producers and agri-businesses to innovate, adopt clean technologies and stay competitive in a shifting global market, ensuring Canada remains a leader in sustainable food production.

AAFC will also reduce certain science activities where a more streamlined approach can be taken, or where capacity exists elsewhere, for example in academia and industry. AAFC will focus on core priority areas, and streamline its science operations to make them more cost-effective for the long-term. AAFC will continue its scientific work in crops and horticulture, animal production, food, biodiversity and environmental sustainability, often in partnership with industry, for projects that are priorities for the sector. AAFC will also continue to fund science and innovation through grants and contributions.

AAFC will also improve operational efficiency by optimising internal services to align resources with departmental priorities, rationalising administrative support and reducing management layers, advancing technology and automation to cut down on time-consuming manual work, and reducing reliance on external contractors. Through process improvement and leveraging technology, AAFC will be able to operate at reduced resource levels while minimizing impacts on its external service delivery.

Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) administers tax, benefits and related programs on behalf of federal, provincial, and territorial governments across Canada, contributing to the ongoing economic and social well-being of Canadians. The Agency's core responsibility for tax and benefits includes taking compliance and enforcement actions when necessary to uphold the integrity of the system.

The CRA will modernize its administrative approach to enable greater productivity, and wind down its business units that are no longer connected to government priorities. This includes the Digital Services Tax, the Federal Fuel Charge, and the Canada Carbon Rebate for individuals and for businesses. Budget 2025 also proposes to eliminate the inefficient Underused Housing Tax and luxury tax on aircraft and vessels, which will result in administrative savings.

A portion of these savings will be reinvested to improve services, strengthen compliance, and reduce tax debt. AI and process automation will be leveraged to transform technologies, data and analytics systems for compliance and collection activities. This will free up resources to tackle complex cases requiring human intervention and to address the backlog of tax debt. For example, by automating certain tasks in the risk scoring process, CRA estimates that repetitive tasks will be reduced by 50 per cent once fully implemented. This reinvestment will help protect the tax base, with an estimated positive fiscal impact of $1.1 billion annually from 2028-29 onwards.

Canadian Heritage

Department of Canadian Heritage

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, the Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) will refocus its cultural programming to meet the evolving needs of recipients and ensure program effectiveness. The funding envelope of the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund will be reduced and reoriented to focus solely on funding specialized equipment in the cultural sector, offering a cost-effective way to upgrade cultural facilities. The Canada Periodical Fund will be refocused to incentivize the creation of original Canadian editorial content only, no longer funding paid subscriptions and single-copy sales. This approach prioritizes production of quality Canadian editorial and journalistic content, regardless of the platform. The government remains committed to arts and culture, with proposed funding in Budget 2025 for the cultural economy and CBC/Radio-Canada.

To ensure efficiency, effectiveness and alignment with its core mandate, PCH will reorganize its internal services and program administration to consolidate efforts, reduce overlap, and modernize workflows. PCH will transform its transfer payment delivery model, standardizing processes, consolidating functions, and replacing fragmented systems with a modern digital platform. Savings will also be achieved by refocusing on core priorities, including the closing of the Gift Bank for Ministers and senior officials and transitioning to a focus on digital interpretation products, which will support a wide variety of languages, including Indigenous languages.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will also be employing AI in the operations of the Spam Reporting Centre to continue to protect Canadians from unsolicited commercial communications in a more efficient, cost-effective manner.

Parks Canada Agency

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, the Parks Canada Agency (PC) will maximize efficiencies while continuing to deliver services to Canadians by refocusing its organisational structure and business unit functions to avoid duplication of work, as well as ceasing or reducing lower priority activities, such as library services.

PC will also focus on providing visitor services that are aligned with its core business, like limiting PC's participation and presence in off-site community events and festivals.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) has an essential mandate to renew nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown and, government-to-government relationships between Canada and First Nations, Inuit and Métis and to respond to the unique needs of Northerners.

To protect Crown-Indigenous relations, CIRNAC will be identifying savings of 2 per cent of its review base while continuing to modernize Government of Canada structures to support the self-determined priorities of Indigenous Peoples.

Employment and Workforce Development

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will implement operational efficiencies and a targeted recalibration of its programs and its approach to delivering them, with a focus on ensuring that government funding generates real results for Canadians in core areas of federal responsibility. These efficiencies will be advanced while continuing to empower workers in Budget 2025 by expanding the Union Training and Innovation Program to boost union-based apprenticeship training in the Red Seal trades and investing in a Foreign Credential Recognition Action Fund to help qualified foreign-trained professionals contribute more quickly to Canada's workforce.

To improve its efficiency, ESDC will increase its use of artificial intelligence to streamline and automate internal processes, reduce its real property portfolio by decreasing general office space, consolidate management and administrative support functions, reduce reliance on external consultants, and limit travel and conference attendance. ESDC will also streamline program delivery by consolidating the Canada Service Corps program and the Supports for Student Learning Program to bring down administration costs.

ESDC will also increase its focus on core federal responsibilities and reduce or eliminate spending where it is duplicated by other federal departments or provinces and territories.

ESDC will shift funding away from programs where there is reduced or limited need. To ensure funding goes to programs with the greatest impact, ESDC will decrease funding to underperforming programs and those with limited effectiveness and overlap with other federal initiatives.

Energy and Natural Resources

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) will optimize internal processes to reduce administrative burden, reducing management layers, and adopting new approaches to leverage AI. The department will also prioritize its science mandate and consolidate operations of the Office of the Surveyor General in the North.

NRCan will streamline its suite of programming, winding down several programs like the Canada Greener Homes Grant. In addition, the department will recalibrate its support under certain programs to prioritize projects that deliver the most benefits for Canadians.

NRCan will also end the 2 Billion Trees program. Existing contribution agreements and commitments will be honoured, and uncommitted funds will be returned. The government remains committed to sustainable forest management practices – to date, the program has committed to planting nearly 1 billion trees.

These efforts will better orient the work of the department to advance the government's new climate competitiveness strategy, including supporting critical minerals projects, and free up resources to drive investment in clean growth projects. In Budget 2025, the government will provide $2 billion, on a cash basis, starting in 2026-27, to NRCan to create the Critical Minerals Sovereign Fund to make strategic investments in critical minerals projects and companies.

Environment and Climate Change

The Climate Competitiveness Strategy outlines how the government is committed to continuing to spur the investments needed to achieve a net-zero economy, including through Investment Tax Credits. 

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years and streamline program delivery, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) will prioritize activities within its core mandate. This includes reducing or winding down activities and programming that are not core to the Department's mandate or which can be delivered more effectively through another department. ECCC will continue its important work on Indigenous engagement, but will consolidate this function, which is currently distributed across teams in the Department. ECCC will also streamline its nature programming to simplify engagement with stakeholders and reduce administrative burden.

ECCC will improve day-to-day operating efficiency by eliminating redundancies and standardizing administrative support. It will reduce its physical footprint by ending some small lease agreements and eliminating external training contracts in favour of in-house activities. Standardizing support models and consolidating functions will streamline operations and enable better integration of automation tools.

Finance

Finance Canada will consolidate various functions, optimise organisational structures, realign resources towards high-impact, priority work and achieve efficiencies in the day-to-day management of Canada's official international reserves.

Following a thorough review of operating costs, the Department will rationalise back-office expenditures, such as travel, printing, and hospitality. The Department will also shift toward greater automation and AI research capabilities. To optimise the organisational structures, the Department will integrate policy and oversight teams to improve coordination and reduce duplication. Some structural realignments and consolidation related to corporate and administrative services will be made to enhance efficiency within the organisation, while ensuring ongoing accountability.

Recognising changing government priorities, the Department will use existing capacity to support ongoing work on programs.

Fisheries and Oceans

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) will wind down research and monitoring activities that have either achieved their objectives or for which alternative data sources exist, scale back certain policy and program capabilities, reduce management layers, and right-size internal services.

In addition, DFO will leverage artificial intelligence and other digital tools to modernize Canada's fisheries management system. Reducing the use of burdensome paper-based tools will free up time for fisheries officers to spend in communities and on the water enforcing fisheries regulations.

DFO will also reduce reviews and formal authorizations required for small, routine, low-risk projects—such as culverts and drains—by providing standardized guidance that will enable project proponents to self-assess compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Simplifying these reviews, which require disproportionate administrative effort, will allow DFO to focus on projects that pose a higher risk to fish and their habitat. As outlined in Budget 2025, the government will ensure harbours are fully operated, in good working condition, and managed and maintained by self-sufficient harbour authorities who represent the interests of users and communities.

Global Affairs

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is refocusing Canada's international presence in the areas of advocacy, security, and development, as well as implementing targeted reforms across its trade and investment portfolio to better align with current strategic priorities and the geo-political context.

As part of these adjustments, there will be reductions in development funding to global health programming, where Canada's contribution has grown disproportionately relative to other similar economies, and to some international financial institutions, which receive significant support through other sources, and where Canada's contributions can be leveraged further. Some bilateral development programs will also be refined and adjusted. These changes are expected to re-baseline the International Assistance Envelope to pre-COVID levels.

GAC will implement reforms across its trade and investment portfolio, including modernising the Trade Commissioner Service, and refocusing certain trade support programs. Collectively, these measures aim to reduce duplication, lower administrative overhead and focus efforts on high-impact services for Canadian businesses.

GAC will also implement a range of measures to find efficiencies across Canada's mission network, including revamping emergency preparedness and Modernising consular services. It will reduce its mission expenditures through a number of strategies, including consolidating embassies with multiple properties into fewer buildings, acquiring Crown-owned properties in certain cases, and co-locating some offices with allies where appropriate.

Health

Health Canada

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Health Canada (HC) will enable modern, risk-based regulatory processes while ensuring that health and safety are not compromised.  Activities selected for reduction have consistently shown low demand, overlap with other jurisdictions or sectors, or provide minimal health benefits. 

HC will also recalibrate internal science and research activities to better align them with the department's regulatory and policy mandates.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency  

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will reduce overlap and duplication within the organisation, such as by ensuring accountability for each business line, reducing non-core research activities to focus on high-priority diagnostic methods, and consolidating lab services to focus on essential testing and avoid the need for costly capital upgrades. At the same time, investments in secure digital platforms and export certificate digitalisation will be made to increase efficiencies and better support our exporters.

CFIA will also implement changes to certain areas of program delivery to realize additional efficiencies and modernize its programs, while maintaining its focus on core activities and high-risk priorities. This includes moving from paper-based pet export certificates to modernised digital platforms that improve convenience, reduce delays, and enhance service quality, as well as reducing overlap in some animal disease testing. Activities that will be phased out include decommissioning some vehicle washing stations, discontinuing duplicative dispute resolution services over food grade, and winding down functions that are no longer required to address health risk linked to the trade of pets.

Public Health Agency of Canada

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) will implement operational efficiencies and a targeted recalibration of its programs, while preserving critical functions that keep Canadians safe.

PHAC will streamline its program delivery by consolidating grants and contributions programs into larger funds. While these new funds will operate with a lower overall funding envelope once temporary funding ends, their impact will be increased by targeting investments to core federal public health priorities that are central to PHAC's mandate, supporting delivery partners that demonstrate clear and measurable public health outcomes aligned with the new funds' objectives, and leveraging increased program flexibility and responsiveness. 

As PHAC transitions from peak-pandemic operations to a more sustainable federal posture, it will allow some temporary funding to end and will optimize contracting based on demand forecasts and procurement strategies. This approach will minimize waste and costs without compromising public health.

PHAC will also reduce its back-office costs by standardizing administrative processes, streamlining roles and responsibilities, leveraging enhanced IT solutions, and eliminating redundancies.

In addition, the Patented Medical Prices Review Board will modernise its hearings by leveraging existing technology, enabling faster and more cost-effective procedural processes.

Housing, Infrastructure and Communities 

Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada

Budget 2025 will reorient how the government delivers infrastructure funding to support needs across the country. This will help Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) to deliver on significant generational investments, including launching the Build Communities Strong Fund to invest in a growing Canadian economy.

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, there will be a realignment to current HICC programming. This includes implementing three horizontal efficiency initiatives to review the executive cadre, with the goal of streamlining management and operations.

HICC will prioritize two services as part of the Climate Toolkit for Housing and Infrastructure, specifically the online Climate Insight Platform and the Roster of Experts. This approach will provide local communities with easy access to current information, tools and resources, while offering those with limited capacity timely technical advice and guidance through the Roster of Experts.

A portion of uncommitted funding from the Canada Public Transit Fund will be reallocated to the Build Communities Strong Fund where transit projects will continue to be eligible. Further, the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure will identify opportunities to streamline burdensome requirements in the existing Canada Public Transit Fund to accelerate delivery of projects and help our cities, provinces and territories build new projects faster and better.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Canada's housing challenges have evolved, and so must the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), as a key partner in finding solutions. The government has announced Build Canada Homes which will partner with industry, other levels of government, and Indigenous communities to build affordable housing at scale and at speed.

With an initial investment of $13 billion over five years on a cash basis, starting in 2025-26, Build Canada Homes provides an opportunity to re-evaluate CMHC's resources and programming to ensure they are aligned with this important priority.

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, CMHC will wind down certain programs that do not directly increase housing supply or target Canadians in housing need. The Canada Secondary Suite Loan program, which is not yet operational, will not be implemented as it has a large potential to overlap with the government's homeowner insured mortgage rule changes announced in January 2025. For other programs it is proposing to wind down, the objectives will be achieved by Build Canada Homes.

CMHC will maintain its funding for initiatives that address the housing crisis, including the Apartment Construction Loan Program and supports to increase access to housing for Indigenous people residing in urban, rural and northern regions.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is rationalizing programming, while upholding the government's long-standing commitment to resettle the world's most vulnerable. This includes targeted adjustments to programs, including adjusting the Interim Housing Assistance Program commensurate with the decline in asylum claimants.

To reduce duplication and streamline delivery, IRCC will transfer responsibility for employer-focused compliance inspections under the International Mobility Program (IMP) to Employment and Social Development Canada. Both organizations conduct parallel inspections under separate programs (the IMP and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program), using similar tools and authorities, resulting in duplication of effort, oversight, and internal service demands. This change would simplify the compliance landscape for employers, while supporting more coherent federal oversight.

IRCC will also readjust the Settlement Program to implement limits to program eligibility for economic immigrants. The program will continue to support most recent arrivals to overcome barriers in integrating into Canadian society. IRCC will also introduce a modest co-payment model to its Interim Federal Health Program for supplemental health products or services (such as prescription medication and dental care).

Finally, IRCC will streamline its internal services – using technology to improve productivity, reducing the number of external consultants and investing in internal capacity, and reevaluating human resources requirements, including management layers.

Indigenous Services

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) has a mandate to improve access to high quality services for First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The Department works collaboratively with partners to support and empower Indigenous Peoples to independently deliver services and address the socio-economic conditions in their communities.

To protect services to Indigenous peoples, ISC will be identifying savings of 2 per cent of its review base while recognizing the essential role of effective and efficient program and service delivery in addressing the persistent socio-economic gaps experienced by Indigenous communities throughout the country.

Innovation, Science and Industry

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) will reorient its skills programming to avoid duplication, while seeking to limit impacts on stakeholders and clients. Focusing on initiatives that have achieved their goals or are no longer fit-for-purpose, ISED will reduce or wind down certain programming. These actions to be more efficient are complemented by the government's recent investment of $5 billion over six years, starting in 2025-26, for the Strategic Response Fund which will provide flexible terms to help firms in all sectors and regions impacted by tariffs to adapt, diversify, and grow.

ISED will reprioritize its science and industry programming to improve alignment with its core mandate and reduce overlap with other federal, provincial, and territorial investments. This will include, among other things, not renewing certain funding envelopes in the Global Innovation Clusters and the Strategic Innovation Fund, namely the Net Zero Accelerator due to declining demand, where initiatives have accomplished their goals or may be superseded by other programming.

To better align its programs with current priorities and reduce redundancies, ISED will transfer the Canadian Small Business Financing Program to the Business Development Bank of Canada. ISED will also streamline its business support services, such as Digital Services to Business, to improve efficiency. Targeted reductions will be made in certain entrepreneurial and innovation programs as well as at the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

Finally, ISED will realize additional savings by reducing its operational and capital footprint to become more agile and improve service delivery. This will include streamlining administrative functions, flattening management structures, reducing specialized personnel, and lowering reliance on external consultants.

National Research Council of Canada

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) will reorganize its operations and research activities to focus on the most relevant and impactful areas. This includes divesting from some research capabilities, including exploring options to best position the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre to attract private capital, scale its operations, and serve as a platform for Canadian innovation and new photonic applications, including in the face of the rise of AI and related compute infrastructure.

NRC will focus its Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) by adjusting contributions to some program streams, while not impacting strategic sectors. This approach will ensure equitable support across industries or regions, while preserving IRAP's capacity to identify and invest in new, emerging technologies, and keep pace with the speed of industry.

NRC will also redistribute capabilities to enable more effective service delivery while allowing the most strategic activities to be maintained, including delivering an ambitious defence industrialization agenda, and optimizing research centre operations.

Statistics Canada

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Statistics Canada (StatsCan) will increase the efficiency of its statistical programs by adopting new tools and methods to reduce costs while continuing to deliver relevant and high-quality data for Canadians. For example, the frequency of data collection will be reduced where the requirements can be met through statistical modelling or other modern methods. In addition, adjustments will be made to the frequency and level of detail collected for data sets which demonstrate less relevance to Canadians.

StatsCan will also modernize processes, flatten management structures, and modernize its internal services. These changes will build on the agency's prior strategic investments in technology, particularly in artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation, which have already been shown to improve operational efficiency and responsiveness.

Collectively, these measures will ensure that the agency remains sustainable and focused on delivering the most critical and relevant data for Canadians. Statistics Canada's commitment to quality, integrity, and evidence-based support for government and Canadians will remain unchanged.

Justice

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, the Department of Justice will introduce process efficiencies and standardization, which will include amalgamating business units, reducing redundancies, imposing leaner management and leveraging AI. These investments in AI, specifically advanced analytics and automation tools, will help address the growing demand for legal services more efficiently.

To more effectively deliver legal services, the Department of Justice will explore opportunities to review limits to access the informal procedure in income tax and GST appeals at the Tax Court of Canada. Increasing these limits, which have not been updated since 2013, will promote cost-effective dispute resolution, and lower litigation cost for Canadians and Canadian businesses and the federal government. These changes will require legislative amendments.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission is introducing an organizational realignment and implementing a more streamlined structure, which includes consolidating the roles of the Chief Commissioner and Deputy Chief Commissioner.

National Defence

Our Government is making a generational investment in defence that will create good, high-paying careers for Canadians, and strengthen our economy and collective resilience. Recognizing its essential mandate to protect our sovereignty and secure our borders, the Department of National Defence (DND) was provided with a reduction target of 2 per cent of its review base. Streamlining and recalibrating current spending that is not cost effective will free up resources that could be reinvested in defence and help Canada achieve the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Defence Investment Pledge.

To achieve savings, DND will retire selected fleets that are nearing the end of their service lives, face rising sustainment costs, and that either no longer align with future Canadian Armed Forces operational requirements or for which replacement capabilities have already been identified. Retiring these increasingly costly platforms, which have diminishing strategic value, will ensure that resources are focused on acquiring and fielding modern capabilities for the Canadian Armed Forces.

In parallel, DND will readjust its real property portfolio through divestment of underutilized, obsolete or surplus assets. Where appropriate, divested assets may be repurposed by other levels of government or the private sector, creating additional public value.

DND will also expand the use of the proven Energy Performance Contract model to retrofit defence facilities with energy-efficient systems financed by third-party Energy Service Companies who are repaid directly from guaranteed utility cost savings. This is a scalable and low-risk solution that reduces recurring costs, modernizes defence infrastructure, and advances Canada's climate commitments while ensuring fiscal discipline.

Finally, DND will modernize governance practices and internal services to address systemic inefficiencies that create bottlenecks and contribute to project delivery delays that result in increased costs. Reducing these administrative burdens will allow DND and its partners to focus on execution rather than process and accelerate the delivery of new capabilities.

The Canadian Coast Guard joined DND on September 2, 2025. As it integrates with the defence team, opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness and reduce duplication will be identified.

Privy Council

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, the Privy Council Office (PCO) will recalibrate to programming that is no longer a priority or has objectives that overlap and could be better delivered by other departments, such as the Clean Growth Office and PCO programming for Public Lands and Housing.

PCO will also modernize its organization to deliver efficiencies, including automating external correspondence, modernising the administration of Governor in Council appointees, and improving its processes to support Cabinet Committees. PCO will also consolidate its internal services, including human resources, finance and information technology.

PCO will revisit its programs where functions may be overlapping and duplicative with what is delivered by other organizations. For example, this could include working with security partners to rationalize resources dedicated to analysing intelligence information within government.

Public Safety

Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

To strengthen its mandate to keep Canadians safe from a range of risks, including natural disasters, crime and terrorism, while meeting up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (PSEP) will work to become a leaner, more efficient department to better serve Canadians. This will be done by rightsizing leadership by reducing executive and administrative roles to flatten organizational structures and enhance productivity, consolidating internal functions to eliminate duplication and improve service delivery and discontinuing services with minimal operational impact, such as the Centre for Resilience and Continuity Management and the Public Safety Library. PSEP will also leverage technology and AI to automate tasks, and reduce software licensing requirements to achieve savings.

PSEP will also refocus on core aspects of federal emergency management responsibilities. Emergency management functions and programs at PSEP have evolved in response to growing risks and demands. However, this evolution has often been fragmented—units have adapted independently while others have remained unchanged despite shifting priorities. At the same time, emerging priorities—such as national readiness and response capacity—require sustained attention and dedicated resources. Modernising the organisational structure will address inefficiencies and create space to strategically advance critical and emergencies priorities.

Canada Border Services Agency

Recognizing its essential mandate to protect our sovereignty and secure our border and keep communities safe, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) was provided with a reduction target of 2 per cent of its review base. Proposed savings will not impact border security, revenue collection or commercial facilitation operations.

To achieve operating efficiencies, CBSA will reduce the cost of using and maintaining its equipment and IT assets by decommissioning legacy software applications. Recognizing the lifecycle of vehicles in Canada, CBSA will reduce the pace of replacing fleet vehicles—extending its fleet lifecycle from 7 to 10 years and will review the structure of its national headquarters to standardize organizational structures. It will reduce discretionary spending on travel and training, and review overtime spending, while assigning resources with a focus on service delivery needs (e.g., border wait times or other performance metrics) when making decisions on overtime spending.

These efficiencies will complement measures announced by the Prime Minister on October 17, 2025 to provide $617.7 million over five years, starting in 2025-26, with $51.3 million in remaining amortisation and $198.3 million ongoing through Budget 2025 to support CBSA core operations and increase the CBSA's recruit stipend. This funding is complementary to the $1.3 billion Border Plan announced in December 2024, which together will allow the CBSA to hire up to 1,000 new officers.

Correctional Service Canada

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Correctional Service Canada (CSC) will transform the way it works through greater integration of its programming and case management, better use of digital tools, and by realigning and Modernising its internal services, to improve efficiency and outcomes.

In addition, operational efficiencies will be realized through efforts such as the restructuring of the Parole Officer orientation training, which will modernize delivery, tailor content, and better support new officers in their roles.

CSC's internal services teams will refocus on critical priorities, flatten organizational structures, align with modern practices, and reduce administrative burden. This will include optimization of its office footprint and a reorganization of its regional arrangements to improve efficiency, consistency, and accountability in its work. This renewed structure and way of working will strengthen CSC's ability to build partnerships (e.g., with provinces, territories, Indigenous governments, and community organizations) and make the organization more agile.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Recognizing its essential mandate to keep Canadians safe and secure and protect our sovereignty, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was provided with a reduction target of 2 per cent of its review base. Proposed savings will not impact policing operations. Budget 2025 makes significant investments in the RCMP to expand its capacity by hiring 1,000 personnel to increase federal policing capacity across Canada to combat crime.

The RCMP will reduce expenditures at its national headquarters by centralizing, restructuring and right-sizing key national and administrative functions by Modernising processes and more effectively using existing tools, technology and systems.

The RCMP will also adjust how it delivers the Cannabis for Medical Purposes benefit. Currently, the program reimburses medical cannabis at a rate of $8.50 per gram, which is significantly above the market price. RCMP will transition to reimburse at $6.00 per gram – which still remains above, but closer to the market price. This adjustment maintains existing entitlements to meet the needs of RCMP members, while ensuring the government is paying a fair price to provide this support. For those members who already purchase medical cannabis for $6.00 per gram or less, they will see no change.

Government of Canada benefits are generally escalated annually using the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with limited exceptions. CPI is widely considered to be the most accurate and transparent measure to ensure that benefits keep up with the cost of living. As part of the Comprehensive Expenditure Review, the government announces its intention to propose amendments to index Disability Pension benefits to the CPI for RCMP serving and retired members. These changes will ensure benefits are indexed in a transparent manner consistent with approaches used for other benefits such as the Canada Child Benefit, Old Age Security, federal government pension plans, and well as the Canada Pension Plan.

For the adjustment to the disability pension indexation and the Cannabis for Medical Purposes benefit, savings represent actuarial accounting adjustments of employee future benefits. Savings on a cash basis will be gradual, being realized over time as benefit payments are issued at a lower rate compared to the current status quo.

Public Services and Procurement

Public Services and Procurement Canada

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) will undertake strategic realignments to reduce ongoing costs to operate programs and efficiently deliver services as a common service provider for the government. PSPC will reduce ongoing costs for its Real Property Revolving Fund, by focusing on core mandates, Modernising operations, and reducing duplicative functions. PSPC will wind down activities of the Canada General Standards Board, as this optional service will be better served via alternative organizations given that there are 15 other accredited Standards Development Organizations operating in Canada.

To further achieve efficiencies, PSPC will reduce funding to pilot and innovation projects for Laboratories Canada.

PSPC will also review its internal processes to reduce administrative requirements, and delayer management. It will advance digital delivery of procurement-related documents and better manage project delivery, and reduce spending on professional services and travel. The Department will also implement the use of AI chat bots and self-service tools to improve service delivery.

These measures to enhance efficiency will support PSPC's delivery of the Buy Canadian Policy, as announced by the Prime Minister on September 5, 2025.

Shared Services Canada

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Shared Services Canada (SSC) will be implementing efficiencies government-wide by standardizing platforms, including realigning enterprise software offerings to match current needs, eliminating low-use or redundant licences, and eliminating non-essential fixed lines.

SSC will also retire outdated technologies, systems and infrastructure that are costly to operate, difficult to secure, and limit innovation. This includes migrating workloads and hardware from remaining legacy data centres into modern facilities to reduce outage risks to support critical services, and shrink the government's costly legacy IT footprint. SSC will review, consolidate and renegotiate contracts to eliminate duplication, secure better pricing, and align spending with enterprise needs. By transitioning to modernized, cost-effective solutions, significant savings will be achieved through ending or reducing support for legacy systems, which are often expensive to maintain and operate due to outdated technologies and higher risks of system failure.

To modernize workflows, reduce manual effort and optimize service delivery, SSC will leverage emerging technologies to automate repetitive tasks, use AI-driven tools to optimize operations and service delivery, automating common IT support requests to reduce call volumes and costs while improving user experience.

SSC will also build up its in-house capacity and expertise to reduce spending on external consultants and contractors for ongoing operations. By developing internal skills, re-skilling staff, and optimizing resource allocation, SSC will lower contracted service costs while strengthening institutional knowledge.

Transport

Transport Canada

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Transport Canada (TC) will implement a more modern and flexible regulatory and oversight regime that will allow the department to respond to rapid technological change, modernize services, facilitate regulatory compliance, and allocate resources more efficiently. These actions will help Transport Canada deliver for Canadians, including through the new Trade Diversification Corridors Fund – a fund of $5 billion over seven years, starting in 2025-26, to strengthen supply chains, unlock new export opportunities and build a more resilient, diversified economy.

Capitalizing on the work under the Government's Reducing Regulatory Red Tape initiative, TC will deploy advanced technology and automation, where possible, to reduce duplication, modernize processes, and more closely align activities with the department's mandate to support a safe and secure, efficient and environmentally responsible transportation system. This integration of innovative practices and technologies with TC's expert workforce will also maximize the impact of its oversight and inspection efforts while seeking to reduce regulatory burden on industries.

TC will also further refine its program portfolio to better align with its core mandate and with evolving industry needs. As part of this strategic realignment, TC will phase out, or reduce, selected programs that overlap with initiatives that are better delivered by other departments, or which have successfully fulfilled their objectives. This includes the Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles program, which will conclude at the end of 2025-26.

TC will also implement a series of initiatives to reorient its operations and administrative structures. This includes consolidating management layers, centralizing internal services, and restructuring regional offices to ensure they reflect Canada's evolving transportation landscape. TC's aviation services, which provide a range of aviation services to government departments and agencies, will be restructured, transferring most core aviation services functions and assets to the Department of National Defence, while seeking to leverage commercial offerings where appropriate. The high standard of training and certification of pilots will be maintained, with no impact on commercial and non-commercial pilots in Canada. 

Canadian Air Transport Security Authority

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) will deliver efficiencies without impacting the public, air travelers and stakeholders. CATSA will reduce its day-to-day expenses by minimizing spending on professional services, leveraging technology to automate certain processes and functions, and modernising its organizational structure.

CATSA will also work with Transport Canada to implement regulatory modernization opportunities to improve efficiencies, with no impact on the security of travelers. This includes alignment with recent changes implemented by the United States, and the introduction of other labour-saving best practices to modernize service delivery.

Embracing innovation will also drive efficiencies and strengthen national security. This will include deploying automated systems to detect prohibited items at pre-board screening checkpoints and enhance screening efficiency. CATSA will further examine opportunities to integrate this technology into screening processes with Transport Canada. Savings will materialize once these technologies have been integrated within existing security infrastructure in alignment with global best practices following extensive validation and testing.

Treasury Board

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) continues to play a vital leadership role in managing government resources—including finance, human resources, and information technology—while evolving to meet the needs of a modern public service. To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, TBS will refocus on its core business functions and modernize its organizational structure and processes to enhance agility and efficiency.

To support this shift, TBS will reorient initiatives that have achieved their intended goals or where opportunities exist to integrate efforts more effectively. For example, having developed policy, guidance, centralized tools and oversight mechanisms to support the Government of Canada's Enterprise Cyber Security Strategy, TBS will allow the related temporary funding to wind down and reorient its role toward strategic coordination and support. TBS will recalibrate its involvement in the Low Carbon Fuel Production Program, shifting toward direct collaboration with organizations that are best positioned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adopt low-carbon solutions.

TBS will also transform its internal operations by consolidating work units, rightsizing management and administrative support, and Modernising key processes. This includes enhancing leadership development and talent management programs, and leveraging automation to drive consistency, scalability, and service excellence across the organization.

Veterans Affairs

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) is implementing program changes while protecting client-facing services. The government is committed to ensuring Veterans receive the timely, compassionate support they need, as demonstrated through the financial commitment in Budget 2025 for stabilising the processing capacity for disability benefits applications and modernising IT infrastructure.

Similar to the RCMP, VAC will adjust how it delivers the Cannabis for Medical Purposes benefit. Currently, the program reimburses medical cannabis at a rate of $8.50 per gram, which is significantly above the market price. VAC will transition to reimburse at $6.00 per gram – which still remains above, but closer to the market price. This adjustment maintains existing entitlements to meet the needs of Veterans, while ensuring the government is paying a fair price to provide this support. For those Veterans who already purchase medical cannabis for $6.00 per gram or less, they will see no change. Savings represent an actuarial accounting adjustment of employee future benefits. Savings on a cash basis will be gradual, being realized over time as benefit payments are issued at a lower rate compared to the current status quo.

Women and Gender Equality

The Department for Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) empowers women and 2SLGBTQI+ people through programs that enhance meaningful participation in our economy. The Department's work extends across government, and affects the lives of Canadians, ensuring that women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people can achieve their full potential.

Budget 2025 proposes to provide WAGE with funding of $528.4 million over four years, starting in 2026-27, with $132.1 million ongoing, to continue conducting its critical work towards eliminating discrimination and advancing the rights of women and 2SLGBTQI+ communities.

To protect the essential mandate of WAGE, the department will be identifying savings of 2 per cent of its review base.

Modernising Operations at the Federal Research Granting Councils

The federal research granting councils, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), play an important role in advancing the government's growth agenda by advancing research and attracting top international research talent.

To protect the essential role of the federal research granting councils, these organizations will achieve savings of 2 per cent of their respective review bases.

Modernising Operations at the Regional Development Agencies

To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) will recalibrate their programming suite to focus on their mandate to promote long-term economic development. The agencies will reprioritize their respective Regional Economic Growth through Innovation programs towards support that strengthens their regions' economic development, focusing on investments that drive economic growth. The RDAs will also wind down the Tourism Growth Program after 2025-26, with the industry continuing to be supported by regular programming.

The RDAs will also modernise their operations and internal services to reflect their program funding going forward and will implement targeted process improvements by optimizing their workflows and reducing duplication by integrating new technologies. Through digital transformation and integrating AI, as well as simplifying processes, the RDAs will increase their efficiency and minimize the impact of the reductions on client services. 

These recalibrations are complemented by the recent provision of $1 billion to the RDAs to support a Regional Tariff Response Initiative.