Anand Gives Colleagues October Deadline to Cut $15B in Spending: Report

Anita Anand arrives for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on July 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Cabinet ministers in the Liberal government have been told to come up with $15 billion in spending cuts before Oct. 2, according to a report.

In correspondence obtained by The Globe and Mail, Treasury Board President Anita Anand delivered the deadline to her cabinet colleagues, giving them just a few months to find cuts that were first promised in the 2023 federal budget.

“I am seeking your support to develop proposals to achieve these targets. In particular, organizations should review their programming to identify where there might be duplication, programs with lower value for money, or programs that do not address top priorities of the government,” Ms. Anand said.

In the letter, sent to ministers shortly before a cabinet retreat scheduled in Charlottetown, P.E.I., Ms. Anand said that any savings the ministers make should be sustainable and not create any pressure on the delivery of services to Canadians.

Ms. Anand wrote that each submitted proposal to cut spending would need to be “described in a template” and would be reviewed by public servants and her department.

The government’s March 28 budget projected that $7.1 billion would be saved over the next five years through a 15 percent cut in discretionary spending on consulting, other professional services, and travel. “The government will focus on targeting these reductions on professional services, particularly management consulting,” the budget report said.

The budget report said that spending cuts on consulting, professional services, and travel would amount to just $500 million in 2023–2024, then $1.65 billion each year until 2028–2029.

Total federal government expenses are expected to rise from $470.4 billion in the 2022–2023 fiscal year to $555.7 billion in 2027–2028. Meanwhile, the federal deficit is projected to be $40.1 billion in the current fiscal year and decline to $14 billion by 2027–2028.

During a press conference on Aug. 15, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “won’t achieve these savings.” He said that before getting elected in 2015, the Liberals promised to eliminate the deficit by finding $3 billion in booked annual savings within four years.

At the time, Mr. Trudeau said the savings would not mean more service cuts. Instead, the savings would be made by reducing expenditures in areas such as partisan government advertising and external consulting. Mr. Poilievre said that while the Liberals had started the process, they “couldn’t save a penny, but they come up with a bunch of ideas for even more spending.”

During a press conference that same day, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said while he supported cutting funding to billion-dollar corporations and consulting firms, he was concerned with the “types of cuts that are going to be put in place” at a time when Canadians are already feeling squeezed by inflation.

“People are having a hard time buying their groceries. We don’t want to exacerbate that problem by cutting the programs that people need,” he said.