Planned vs actual
What each department said it would spend, program by program, and what it spent.
Key figures
90organisations with a planof which 88 with public accounts 2024-25
1,150comparable programsof 1,170 published programs · 20 without a positive plan or without actuals
+7.4%median gap, actual / plannedquartiles −4.6% and +26.4%how it's calculated
Median actual / planned gap — where the number comes from
- The calculation
- For each program: actual spending ÷ planned spending − 1. The median of these gaps: +7.4%.
- What goes in
- 1,150 comparable programs, out of 1,170 programs published for fiscal year 2024-25: those whose planned spending is positive and whose actual spending is published. The others stay out.
- Source
- Departmental plans and Public Accounts · Open Government Licence – Canada (OGL-Canada-2.0) · data up to fiscal year 2024-25 · link to this detail
501published explanationsby departments, on the gap
By organisation
| Organisation EN | Programs | Median gap | Above / below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Employment and Social Development | 65 61 comparable | +4.5% −11.6 to +24.5 | 36 / 25 |
| Department of National Defence | 64 | +3.1% −5.9 to +27.6 | 42 / 22 |
| Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development | 53 | +1.5% −9.5 to +23.4 | 28 / 25 |
| Department of Fisheries and Oceans | 42 | +11.5% −4.5 to +24.3 | 27 / 15 |
| Department of Transport | 41 | +9.0% −9.9 to +21.6 | 26 / 15 |
| Department of Natural Resources | 39 | +3.6% −7.4 to +21.6 | 22 / 17 |
| Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food | 36 34 comparable | +8.5% −3.7 to +40.7 | 23 / 11 |
| National Research Council of Canada | 34 33 comparable | +14.6% +0.2 to +36.6 | 25 / 7 |
| Correctional Service of Canada | 30 | +9.4% +2.9 to +19.3 | 24 / 6 |
| Department of Health | 30 | +12.7% −6.7 to +50.8 | 21 / 9 |
how it's calculated — By organisation
By organisation — where the number comes from
- What goes in
- In dollars and in staff: the source publishes by program, and Lauréo compares each program with its own plan. Sorted by number of programs. The median gap is that of the organisation's programs, with its quartiles; no amount is added up. A positive gap is spending above plan. “None”: the department published no explanation for any of its programs that year. What this department bought against what it spent: plans and public accounts identify the organisation by a number, contracts by a code, and the two share no identifier. The question remains open.
- Breakdown
By organisation Organisation Explanations FTEs, median gap Department of Employment and Social Development none +2.0% Department of National Defence none +6.4% Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development none −2.0% Department of Fisheries and Oceans 42 +9.1% Department of Transport 23 −4.9% Department of Natural Resources 39 −1.2% Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food 26 +3.3% National Research Council of Canada 21 +0.4% Correctional Service of Canada none +1.3% Department of Health 30 +5.4% - Source
- Departmental plans and Public Accounts · Open Government Licence – Canada (OGL-Canada-2.0) · data up to fiscal year 2024-25 · link to this detail
Departmental Plans and Public Accounts, Government of Canada Open Data · aggregates of October 11, 2026