The Aporia · Carney government spent over $19B on external consultants in its first year

The Carney government spent over $19 billion on external consultants in its first year, nearly matching the previous year's expenditure under the Trudeau administration. Despite promises to cut back on external contractors and improve public service capacity, the government has reduced the number of public servants by 23,000 over two years while maintaining high spending on contracted services. Critics argue this approach is inefficient and wasteful.

Written by AI on 2026-11-10, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

Story summary

The Carney government spent over $19 billion on external consultants in its first year, nearly matching the final year's expenditure under the previous Trudeau government. The federal government's audited financial statements for 2025-26 show spending almost $19.2 billion, which is just slightly lower than the $19.5 billion spent in the last year of Trudeau’s administration. Notable contractors include Bell Canada, KPMG, Microsoft Canada Inc., and the City of Toronto. Despite promising to cut back on external consultants during his election campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney has faced criticism for maintaining high levels of consultant spending, raising questions about the government's ability to rely more on in-house expertise.

Written for “Carney Government Spending On Consultants” on 2026-11-10, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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Sean O'Reilly, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), criticized the government for cutting public servants while not significantly reducing consultant fees.

left criticizes reliance on external consultants and cuts to public service

Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence high 1 quote(s) discarded as not found in the article

Leaning: leans left for article 140125 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-11-10

Carney Government Spending On Consultants

Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

This article reads leans left and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Carney’s 2026 budget shows massive government spending on par with Trudeau years Different event

The Hub

Hedges 6 of 73 claims

“The articles describe different aspects of government spending under Carney's administration but do not refer to the same specific incident or time frame.”

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Catherine Morrison

31 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

"Actual spending in 2025-26 was barely lower than the year before, and projected spending for 2026-27 is the highest on record," he said.

2026-11-09 · assertive framing · Carney government spent over $19B on external consultants in its first year

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Carney government spent over $19B on external consultants in its first year Consultant spending nearly matches final year of Trudeau government The federal government spent more than $19 billion on external consultants last year, despite a promise to cut back on its use of outside contractors.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-10

"Actual spending in 2025-26 was barely lower than the year before, and projected spending for 2026-27 is the highest on record," he said.

2026-11-10 · CBC News

Carney government spent over $19B on external consultants in its first year · assertive framing

government → spend → contractors

The government's audited financial statements for last year, released Friday, show the government spent almost $19.2 billion on external professional and special services in 2025-26. asserted

government → audit → 2025

That's almost as much as the $19.5 billion it spent on those services the year before. asserted

it → spend → services

Organizations contracted by the government last year include Bell Canada, KPMG, Microsoft Canada Inc. and the City of Toronto. asserted

Organizations → contract → Toronto

The Liberals have been criticized for years over how much they spend on outside consulting. asserted

they → criticize → consulting

Prime Minister Mark Carney promised in his election platform to significantly reduce the government's reliance on consultants, and to improve the capacity of the public service to hire in-house expertise. asserted

Carney → promise → expertise

In its budget, released last week, the federal government said it had already taken steps to reduce spending on external management and other consulting services by 20 per cent, in the hopes of reaching annual savings of $900 million by 2028-29. asserted

it → release → 2028

Sean O'Reilly, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), criticized the government for cutting public servants while not significantly reducing consultant fees. asserted

O'Reilly → criticize → fees

Sean O'Reilly, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, said while the federal government keeps promising to cut outsourcing, Canadians keep footing the bill. asserted

Canadians → say → bill

"Actual spending in 2025-26 was barely lower than the year before, and projected spending for 2026-27 is the highest on record," he said. asserted

he → project → record

"The government is cutting its own public service experts, then paying a premium to rent that expertise back. asserted

government → cut → expertise

Cuts to public service The Liberals' 2025 budget outlined a plan to slash the public service by 10 per cent by the end of the 2028-29 fiscal year. asserted

budget → outline → year

The federal public service has shed more than 23,000 staffers over the last two years, according to Canada's parliamentary spending watchdog. uncertain

service → shed → watchdog

An online tool released by the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer in September estimates there were 344,970 federal employees in the second quarter of this year, down 6.5 per cent from two years ago. asserted

tool → release → year

The government's financial statements show that the total spent on contracted services last year was $22.8 billion, which includes external contracting and contracts signed with other government departments. asserted

which → show → departments

The government's estimates show that number is expected to reach $26.6 billion in 2026-27. asserted

number → show → 2026

The Public Service Alliance of Canada said in 2023 it negotiated language in contracts to protect public service jobs and reduce outside contracting. asserted

it → say → contracting

It also said the government had committed to a consultation process on the issues associated with contracting out in the federal public service. asserted

government → say → service

Among the union's key issues are job security and the need to end contracting services that it considers "wasteful." asserted

it → end → services

Carney government spent over $19B on external consultants in its first year

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