OTTAWA - The federal government has reported spending over $19 billion on external professional and special services for the fiscal year 2024-25. This marks an increase of nearly $2 billion from the previous year and an increase of about $8.5 billion since 2020.

According to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the rise in spending is primarily attributed to increased expenditures on engineering and architectural services, particularly for shipbuilding projects. Additional factors include health services aimed at supporting refugee claimants and specialized training for air force pilots and aircrew personnel.

In total, the government allocated $23.1 billion for professional and special services in the last fiscal year, with approximately $19.5 billion directed to external organizations. The Department of National Defence accounted for $6.9 billion of this spending on both internal and external services, while Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spent $1.7 billion.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, during his election campaign, pledged to reduce government spending. He emphasized the need to "significantly reduce reliance on external consultants, while improving the capacity of the public service to hire expertise in-house."

The Liberal government has faced ongoing criticism regarding its consulting expenditures. Auditor General Karen Hogan highlighted issues last year, noting that inadequate record-keeping and a heavy reliance on outside contractors led to the cost of the ArriveCAN COVID-19 pandemic app soaring to nearly $60 million. The app was launched in 2020, and government records indicate that $11 billion was spent on external professional and special services in the fiscal year 2019-20.