Canada Government Spending Hits $1.1 Trillion High; Health and Social Protection Top Priorities

Nearly half of the monumental spending was directed towards essential services: social protection and health care.

General government spending—which combines expenditures from all three levels of government and other governmental entities in Canada—hit a new peak in 2024, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada.

On a nominal basis, total spending (excluding fixed capital consumption and acquisition of non-financial assets) reached $1.1 trillion in 2024, marking a 3.1% increase from 2023. This is the second consecutive year that total expenditure has exceeded the $1-trillion threshold, which was first crossed in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal agency noted.

Spending Priorities: Social Protection and Health

By function, social protection remained the largest spending category for the Canadian general government, consuming 24.9% of the total budget. This was closely followed by health care, at 23.7% of total spending. Combined, these two critical areas accounted for nearly half of all expenditures made by all levels of government in 2024.

Social protection encompasses programs such as Old Age Security benefits, family benefits, disability payments, and unemployment benefits.

Total government spending on social protection saw a 3.2% annual decrease to $283.1 billion in 2024. This decrease was primarily driven by lower social exclusion spending, which consisted of largely one-time expenses in 2023. These 2023 expenses included the First Nations child and family services, Jordan’s Principle and Trout class settlement agreement, compensation payments related to the Robinson-Huron Treaty, and the Canada grocery rebate.

Conversely, Canadian general government spending saw increases in several specific social programs in 2024:

• Unemployment, sickness, and disability spending grew by $6.9 billion.

• Old age spending increased by $4.8 billion.

• Family and children spending grew by $4.4 billion and $4.7 billion, respectively.

Provincial Health Spending

Spending on health care at the consolidated provincial, territorial, and local government level expanded by 7% to $258.9 billion in 2024.

Among provincial and territorial governments, hospital services represented the largest share of health expenses (67.3%), followed by outpatient services (16.3%) and medical products, appliances, and equipment (6.9%).

Per-capita spending on health in the provinces in 2024 varied significantly:

• Highest: Newfoundland and Labrador ($8,026), Nova Scotia ($7,252), and New Brunswick ($7,036).

• Lowest: Alberta ($5,669), Ontario ($5,679), and Prince Edward Island ($6,150).