From ArriveCAN, an app whose first version cost Receipt$80,000Cost to build the first ArriveCAN version (Android and iOS), per the CBSAActual · 2020SourceCanada Border Services AgencyDocumentArriveCAN costsWhereCost summary (the $80 thousand initial-version line)PublishedMarch 8, 2024CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceNot a budget. The Auditor General found that, with no governance structure from April 2020 to July 2021, the Public Health Agency of Canada (the business owner) "did not develop ... budgets and cost estimates" (Report 1, paragraph 1.62, under the heading "No governance structure or budget"). The report does not say the CBSA set no budget for its own work, so do not write "no budget was ever set".All sourcesaccountability.arrivecan.first_version_cost.2020 and whose total the Auditor General put at Receipt$59,500,000Auditor General's estimate of ArriveCAN's total costEstimate · 2020-04/2023-03SourceOffice of the Auditor General of CanadaDocumentReport 1—ArriveCAN (2024 Reports of the Auditor General)WhereAt a Glance; Exhibit 1.1PublishedFebruary 12, 2024CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceThe AG could not determine the precise cost because the CBSA's documentation, financial records and controls were so poor.All sourcesaccountability.arrivecan.cost_estimate.2024-02-12, to a Phoenix pay system that still can't pay everyone on time, here's where your tax dollars went to die. Every entry links to its source, and we use official records wherever they exist.
Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2024-25
Receipt$8,085,566,933Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2024-25Actual · FY2024-25How we got itdebts written off, forgiven and waived + losses booked by Crown corporationsInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2024-25, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post reports loss before tax for 2024 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $665 million, compared to a loss before tax of $529 million the previous year"PublishedMay 28, 2025CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Income before income taxes" 5 (2024), millions of dollarsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction (Note 7)" 462 (2024), millions of dollars; note 7: "cessation in the capitalization of equity AFUDC" on May 1, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe waste ledger. It does not add the allowance for loans not expected back (that would count write-offs twice), money at risk, or public debt charges.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2024-25
Debts written off, forgiven and waived, plus losses booked by Crown corporations, in the latest year the Public Accounts reach. Over ten years, from 2015-16, it comes to Receipt$69,456,582,347Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2015-16 to 2024-25Actual · 2015-16 to 2024-25How we got itmoney gone from Ottawa’s books, 2015-16 + … + 2024-25Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2015-16, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2016-17, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2017-18, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2018-19, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2019-20, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2020-21, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2021-22, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2022-23, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2023-24, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment posts loss for 2020 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies results: "reported a loss before tax of $626 million in 2020"CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment reports loss before tax for 2022 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $292 million in 2022, compared to a loss before tax of $246 million a year earlier"PublishedMay 4, 2023CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Income before income taxes" 14,829 (2023) and 708,073 (2022), thousands of dollarsPublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction" 1,165,361 (2023) and 704,334 (2022), thousands of dollars; "AFUDC contains a cost of borrowed funds component and a return on equity component."PublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post reports loss before tax for 2024 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $665 million, compared to a loss before tax of $529 million the previous year"PublishedMay 28, 2025CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Income before income taxes" 5 (2024), millions of dollarsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction (Note 7)" 462 (2024), millions of dollars; note 7: "cessation in the capitalization of equity AFUDC" on May 1, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceAll sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2015-16_fy2024-25. Public debt charges are shown beside it, never added.
This is the floor, not the ceiling. It counts only money Ottawa's own books say is gone. Money spent on programs that bought less than promised never shows up as a loss, so it is not here. The overruns and improper payments we have documented are further down this page.
1.Written off, forgiven and waived
Receipt$6,963,566,933Debts Ottawa wrote off, forgave and waived, by fiscal yearActual · FY2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceMostly tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could not collect, plus loans forgiven (CEBA in 2023-24) and taxes waived. Remissions (code C) are left out: most of the printed remissions total is GST remitted to federal departments, Ottawa paying itself.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2024-25
Ottawa's case: most of this is tax the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could never collect, not money it spent. The CEBA forgiveness was promised in the loan terms to every borrower who repaid the rest on time. And the Underused Housing Tax waiver was relief on a new filing rule, for owners who filed and paid by the deadline.
The record: in 2024-25 the CRA wrote off Receipt$4,725,796,002Tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency wrote off, 2024-25Actual · FY2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval code A, rows filed under "Canada Revenue Agency (Adm. Activities)" (Financial Administration Act and Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act), 2024/2025; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceLeaves out 1 small row filed under plain "Canada Revenue Agency", whose nature the file does not give; the line 1 total still counts it.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.cra_tax_written_off.fy2024-25 of tax debts, Receipt67.9%Share of 2024-25 write-offs, forgiveness and waivers that was tax debt the CRA wrote offActual · FY2024-25How we got ittax debts the CRA wrote off ÷ all debts written off, forgiven and waived, 2024-25Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.cra_tax_written_off.fy2024-25, accountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval code A, rows filed under "Canada Revenue Agency (Adm. Activities)" (Financial Administration Act and Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act), 2024/2025; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceAll sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.cra_share.fy2024-25 of the line. The peak year was 2023-24, when Ottawa booked the forgiveness of Receipt$10,222,997,569CEBA loans forgiven, 2023-24Actual · FY2023-24SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval code B, Export Development Canada (Canada Account), Export Development Act, 2023/2024; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe Comptroller General identifies the Export Development Act forgiveness as CEBA ("$10.2 billion in 2024"): Treasury Board Secretariat, briefing book for the Public Accounts committee, February 9, 2026, section K.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.ceba_forgiven.fy2023-24 of pandemic business loans and waived Receipt$2,459,050,652Underused Housing Tax penalties and interest waived, 2023-24Actual · FY2023-24SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval code D, Canada Revenue Agency (Adm. Activities), legislation "Other", 2023/2024; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceTreasury Board Secretariat, briefing book for the Comptroller General at the Public Accounts committee, February 9, 2026, section K: "CRA waived interest and penalties related to Underused Housing Tax for returns and amounts owed received by April 30, 2024."All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.underused_housing_tax_waived.fy2023-24 of penalties and interest on its own Underused Housing Tax. Ottawa had expected that forgiveness: in 2020-21 it booked Receipt$13,085,000,000CEBA forgiveness Ottawa expected and expensed when the loans went out, 2020-21Actual · FY2020-21SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada 2021, Volume IWhereSection 2, note 5(f) other transfer payments: "$13,085 million for the CEBA loan incentive"; note 16: "Amounts expected to be forgiven have been reported in other transfer payments expenses"CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe cost of the forgiveness reached Ottawa's deficit in 2020-21. The ledger counts the write-off when it was booked, in 2023-24, and never both.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.ceba_incentive_expensed.fy2020-21 as an expense for the forgiveness it foresaw on CEBA loans made by March 31, 2021. What it finally wrote off was Receipt$10,222,997,569CEBA loans forgiven, 2023-24Actual · FY2023-24SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval code B, Export Development Canada (Canada Account), Export Development Act, 2023/2024; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe Comptroller General identifies the Export Development Act forgiveness as CEBA ("$10.2 billion in 2024"): Treasury Board Secretariat, briefing book for the Public Accounts committee, February 9, 2026, section K.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.ceba_forgiven.fy2023-24 in 2023-24 and Receipt$246,431,393CEBA loans forgiven, 2024-25Actual · FY2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval code B, Export Development Canada (Canada Account), Export Development Act, 2024/2025; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceIdentified as CEBA by the Comptroller General ("$0.2 billion related to the Export Development Act (CEBA)"), Treasury Board Secretariat briefing book, February 9, 2026, section K.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.ceba_forgiven.fy2024-25 in 2024-25. The ledger counts the write-offs, in the year each was booked, because it is built from the Public Accounts' record of write-offs (Volume III); the earlier expense is shown here and never added. A tax debt written off is tax that was owed and never paid: other taxpayers, or new borrowing, cover it.
2.Lost by Crown corporations
Receipt$1,122,000,000Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2024-25Actual · FY2024-25How we got itCanada Post group loss before tax, 2024 + Trans Mountain loss before income tax without its equity AFUDC credit, 2024 (each zero in a profit year)Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2024, accountability.waste_ledger.tmc_result_full.2024SourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post reports loss before tax for 2024 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $665 million, compared to a loss before tax of $529 million the previous year"PublishedMay 28, 2025CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Income before income taxes" 5 (2024), millions of dollarsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction (Note 7)" 462 (2024), millions of dollars; note 7: "cessation in the capitalization of equity AFUDC" on May 1, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceCalendar-year results, booked in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2024-25
Ottawa's case: Canada Post is meant to pay its way from postage, not taxes, and Trans Mountain reports a profit before tax. The credit behind that profit is standard accounting for regulated pipelines, and the tolls are designed to recover the pipeline's cost, the credit included, with a return on capital.
The record covers two corporations so far, each counted the same way: its loss before income tax, and nothing in a year it made money. The Canada Post group, Purolator's profits included, lost Receipt-$665,000,000Canada Post Group of Companies, profit (loss) before tax, by calendar yearActual · 2024SourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post reports loss before tax for 2024 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $665 million, compared to a loss before tax of $529 million the previous year"PublishedMay 28, 2025CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe group includes Purolator, whose profits offset part of the postal loss. A negative value is a loss. The ledger books each calendar year in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2024 before tax in 2024, its seventh loss in a row. Trans Mountain reported income before tax of Receipt$14,829,000Trans Mountain Corporation, income (loss) before income taxes as it reports it, by calendar yearActual · 2023SourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Income before income taxes" 14,829 (2023) and 708,073 (2022), thousands of dollarsPublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceTrans Mountain's own figure. It includes a non-cash credit, the equity allowance for funds used during construction, which the ledger takes out (accountability.waste_ledger.tmc_equity_afudc). Results for 2018 to 2021 were not checked (the company's statements for those years did not load).All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.tmc_result@2023 in 2023, the year it wrote off Receipt$888,098,000Trans Mountain Corporation goodwill written off, 2023Actual · 2023SourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereGoodwill Impairment; results table, year ended December 31, 2023: "Goodwill impairment (888,098)" (thousands of dollars)PublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe full carrying value of the goodwill from Ottawa's 2018 purchase of the pipeline. Trans Mountain's reason: "primarily a rise in the cost of capital from increased domestic interest rates as well as changes in the timing of the commencement of service of the TMEP and associated costs." Its reported income before tax for 2023 was still a profit, because of the equity AFUDC credit; the net loss after income tax was $208.4 million.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.tmc_goodwill_impairment.2023 of goodwill, mainly because interest rates rose. That is its figure. It includes a credit of Receipt$1,165,361,000Trans Mountain Corporation, equity allowance for funds used during construction (a non-cash credit to income), by calendar yearActual · 2023SourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction" 1,165,361 (2023) and 704,334 (2022), thousands of dollars; "AFUDC contains a cost of borrowed funds component and a return on equity component."PublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceA return on the equity invested during construction, booked as other income and added to the cost of the pipeline, which is then depreciated. The cash flow statement takes it out as a non-cash item. It stopped when the expansion entered service on May 1, 2024.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.tmc_equity_afudc@2023 called equity AFUDC: a return Trans Mountain books itself on the equity Ottawa put in while the pipeline was being built, counted as income though no cash comes in. Taking the Crown as one, that is Ottawa paying itself, so the ledger takes it out: Trans Mountain lost Receipt-$1,150,532,000Trans Mountain's result before income tax without its non-cash equity AFUDC credit, 2023Actual · 2023How we got itTrans Mountain income before income taxes, 2023 − its equity allowance for funds used during construction, 2023Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.tmc_result@2023, accountability.waste_ledger.tmc_equity_afudc@2023SourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Income before income taxes" 14,829 (2023) and 708,073 (2022), thousands of dollarsPublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction" 1,165,361 (2023) and 704,334 (2022), thousands of dollars; "AFUDC contains a cost of borrowed funds component and a return on equity component."PublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe full measure beside Trans Mountain’s reported income before tax: the credit is a return it books on the equity Ottawa put in during construction, and no cash comes in.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.tmc_result_full.2023 before tax in 2023 and Receipt-$457,000,000Trans Mountain's result before income tax without its non-cash equity AFUDC credit, 2024Actual · 2024How we got itTrans Mountain income before income taxes, 2024 − its equity allowance for funds used during construction, 2024Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.tmc_result@2024, accountability.waste_ledger.tmc_equity_afudc@2024SourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Income before income taxes" 5 (2024), millions of dollarsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction (Note 7)" 462 (2024), millions of dollars; note 7: "cessation in the capitalization of equity AFUDC" on May 1, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe full measure beside Trans Mountain’s reported income before tax: the credit is a return it books on the equity Ottawa put in during construction, and no cash comes in.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.tmc_result_full.2024 in 2024, a year it reported income before tax of Receipt$5,000,000Trans Mountain Corporation, income (loss) before income taxes as it reports it, by calendar yearActual · 2024SourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Income before income taxes" 5 (2024), millions of dollarsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceTrans Mountain's own figure. It includes a non-cash credit, the equity allowance for funds used during construction, which the ledger takes out (accountability.waste_ledger.tmc_equity_afudc). Results for 2018 to 2021 were not checked (the company's statements for those years did not load).All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.tmc_result@2024. Whether the tolls will earn the credit back is not settled: the expanded line charged interim tolls through 2024, and Trans Mountain says final tolls could change its revenue. Its results for 2018 to 2021 are not counted yet, because we have not read its statements for those years. Each year's loss is counted in the federal year that ends the next March, as the Public Accounts book it.
3.Paid to projects that failed
None on the record yet
Ottawa's case: most of the battery money is paid only on output, so a plant that never produces never collects it.
The record: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said in a note written after Northvolt's parent filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2024 that Ottawa had paid the company Receipt$0Federal money paid to Northvolt, as of ISED's Question Period note of late 2024Actual · 2024SourceInnovation, Science and Economic Development CanadaDocumentQuestion Period note: Northvolt (ISI-2024-QP-00025)WhereKey messages: "To date no support, in any form, has been disbursed to the company by the Government of Canada."CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe note cites the parent company's Chapter 11 filing of November 21, 2024, so it was written after it; the page shows no date of its own. It does not say why nothing was paid. The Public Accounts' transfer payment files to March 31, 2025 list no payment to Northvolt.All sourcesaccountability.northvolt.federal_disbursed.2024, construction support included, without saying why. The Public Accounts, through March 2025, list no payment to it. No primary record yet shows federal cash lost on a project that failed. The money already paid to battery plants is below, under money at risk.
Year by year
Federal fiscal years, April to March.
Year
Written off
Crown losses
Gone
2015-16
Receipt$4,339,583,180Debts Ottawa wrote off, forgave and waived, by fiscal yearActual · FY2015-16SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceMostly tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could not collect, plus loans forgiven (CEBA in 2023-24) and taxes waived. Remissions (code C) are left out: most of the printed remissions total is GST remitted to federal departments, Ottawa paying itself.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2015-16
Receipt$0Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2015-16Actual · FY2015-16How we got itCanada Post group loss before tax, 2015 (zero in a profit year)Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2015SourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceCalendar-year results, booked in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2015-16
Receipt$4,339,583,180Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2015-16Actual · FY2015-16How we got itdebts written off, forgiven and waived + losses booked by Crown corporationsInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2015-16, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2015-16SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe waste ledger. It does not add the allowance for loans not expected back (that would count write-offs twice), money at risk, or public debt charges.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2015-16
2016-17
Receipt$4,146,420,026Debts Ottawa wrote off, forgave and waived, by fiscal yearActual · FY2016-17SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceMostly tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could not collect, plus loans forgiven (CEBA in 2023-24) and taxes waived. Remissions (code C) are left out: most of the printed remissions total is GST remitted to federal departments, Ottawa paying itself.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2016-17
Receipt$0Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2016-17Actual · FY2016-17How we got itCanada Post group loss before tax, 2016 (zero in a profit year)Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2016SourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceCalendar-year results, booked in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2016-17
Receipt$4,146,420,026Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2016-17Actual · FY2016-17How we got itdebts written off, forgiven and waived + losses booked by Crown corporationsInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2016-17, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2016-17SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe waste ledger. It does not add the allowance for loans not expected back (that would count write-offs twice), money at risk, or public debt charges.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2016-17
2017-18
Receipt$7,293,483,057Debts Ottawa wrote off, forgave and waived, by fiscal yearActual · FY2017-18SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceMostly tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could not collect, plus loans forgiven (CEBA in 2023-24) and taxes waived. Remissions (code C) are left out: most of the printed remissions total is GST remitted to federal departments, Ottawa paying itself.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2017-18
Receipt$0Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2017-18Actual · FY2017-18How we got itCanada Post group loss before tax, 2017 (zero in a profit year)Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2017SourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceCalendar-year results, booked in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2017-18
Receipt$7,293,483,057Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2017-18Actual · FY2017-18How we got itdebts written off, forgiven and waived + losses booked by Crown corporationsInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2017-18, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2017-18SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe waste ledger. It does not add the allowance for loans not expected back (that would count write-offs twice), money at risk, or public debt charges.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2017-18
2018-19
Receipt$5,227,818,282Debts Ottawa wrote off, forgave and waived, by fiscal yearActual · FY2018-19SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceMostly tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could not collect, plus loans forgiven (CEBA in 2023-24) and taxes waived. Remissions (code C) are left out: most of the printed remissions total is GST remitted to federal departments, Ottawa paying itself.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2018-19
Receipt$118,000,000Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2018-19Actual · FY2018-19How we got itCanada Post group loss before tax, 2018 (zero in a profit year)Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2018SourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceCalendar-year results, booked in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2018-19
Receipt$5,345,818,282Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2018-19Actual · FY2018-19How we got itdebts written off, forgiven and waived + losses booked by Crown corporationsInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2018-19, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2018-19SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe waste ledger. It does not add the allowance for loans not expected back (that would count write-offs twice), money at risk, or public debt charges.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2018-19
2019-20
Receipt$5,720,728,502Debts Ottawa wrote off, forgave and waived, by fiscal yearActual · FY2019-20SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceMostly tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could not collect, plus loans forgiven (CEBA in 2023-24) and taxes waived. Remissions (code C) are left out: most of the printed remissions total is GST remitted to federal departments, Ottawa paying itself.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2019-20
Receipt$23,000,000Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2019-20Actual · FY2019-20How we got itCanada Post group loss before tax, 2019 (zero in a profit year)Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2019SourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceCalendar-year results, booked in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2019-20
Receipt$5,743,728,502Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2019-20Actual · FY2019-20How we got itdebts written off, forgiven and waived + losses booked by Crown corporationsInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2019-20, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2019-20SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe waste ledger. It does not add the allowance for loans not expected back (that would count write-offs twice), money at risk, or public debt charges.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2019-20
2020-21
Receipt$2,781,079,906Debts Ottawa wrote off, forgave and waived, by fiscal yearActual · FY2020-21SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceMostly tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could not collect, plus loans forgiven (CEBA in 2023-24) and taxes waived. Remissions (code C) are left out: most of the printed remissions total is GST remitted to federal departments, Ottawa paying itself.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2020-21
Receipt$626,000,000Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2020-21Actual · FY2020-21How we got itCanada Post group loss before tax, 2020 (zero in a profit year)Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2020SourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment posts loss for 2020 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies results: "reported a loss before tax of $626 million in 2020"CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceCalendar-year results, booked in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2020-21
Receipt$3,407,079,906Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2020-21Actual · FY2020-21How we got itdebts written off, forgiven and waived + losses booked by Crown corporationsInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2020-21, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2020-21SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment posts loss for 2020 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies results: "reported a loss before tax of $626 million in 2020"CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe waste ledger. It does not add the allowance for loans not expected back (that would count write-offs twice), money at risk, or public debt charges.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2020-21
2021-22
Receipt$4,700,407,279Debts Ottawa wrote off, forgave and waived, by fiscal yearActual · FY2021-22SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceMostly tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could not collect, plus loans forgiven (CEBA in 2023-24) and taxes waived. Remissions (code C) are left out: most of the printed remissions total is GST remitted to federal departments, Ottawa paying itself.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2021-22
Receipt$246,000,000Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2021-22Actual · FY2021-22How we got itCanada Post group loss before tax, 2021 (zero in a profit year)Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2021SourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment reports loss before tax for 2022 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $292 million in 2022, compared to a loss before tax of $246 million a year earlier"PublishedMay 4, 2023CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceCalendar-year results, booked in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2021-22
Receipt$4,946,407,279Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2021-22Actual · FY2021-22How we got itdebts written off, forgiven and waived + losses booked by Crown corporationsInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2021-22, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2021-22SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment reports loss before tax for 2022 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $292 million in 2022, compared to a loss before tax of $246 million a year earlier"PublishedMay 4, 2023CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe waste ledger. It does not add the allowance for loans not expected back (that would count write-offs twice), money at risk, or public debt charges.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2021-22
2022-23
Receipt$5,644,137,470Debts Ottawa wrote off, forgave and waived, by fiscal yearActual · FY2022-23SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceMostly tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could not collect, plus loans forgiven (CEBA in 2023-24) and taxes waived. Remissions (code C) are left out: most of the printed remissions total is GST remitted to federal departments, Ottawa paying itself.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2022-23
Receipt$292,000,000Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2022-23Actual · FY2022-23How we got itCanada Post group loss before tax, 2022 + Trans Mountain loss before income tax without its equity AFUDC credit, 2022 (each zero in a profit year)Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2022, accountability.waste_ledger.tmc_result_full.2022SourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment reports loss before tax for 2022 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $292 million in 2022, compared to a loss before tax of $246 million a year earlier"PublishedMay 4, 2023CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Income before income taxes" 14,829 (2023) and 708,073 (2022), thousands of dollarsPublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction" 1,165,361 (2023) and 704,334 (2022), thousands of dollars; "AFUDC contains a cost of borrowed funds component and a return on equity component."PublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceCalendar-year results, booked in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2022-23
Receipt$5,936,137,470Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2022-23Actual · FY2022-23How we got itdebts written off, forgiven and waived + losses booked by Crown corporationsInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2022-23, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2022-23SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment reports loss before tax for 2022 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $292 million in 2022, compared to a loss before tax of $246 million a year earlier"PublishedMay 4, 2023CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Income before income taxes" 14,829 (2023) and 708,073 (2022), thousands of dollarsPublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction" 1,165,361 (2023) and 704,334 (2022), thousands of dollars; "AFUDC contains a cost of borrowed funds component and a return on equity component."PublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe waste ledger. It does not add the allowance for loans not expected back (that would count write-offs twice), money at risk, or public debt charges.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2022-23
2023-24
Receipt$18,532,825,712Debts Ottawa wrote off, forgave and waived, by fiscal yearActual · FY2023-24SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceMostly tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could not collect, plus loans forgiven (CEBA in 2023-24) and taxes waived. Remissions (code C) are left out: most of the printed remissions total is GST remitted to federal departments, Ottawa paying itself.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2023-24
Receipt$1,679,532,000Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2023-24Actual · FY2023-24How we got itCanada Post group loss before tax, 2023 + Trans Mountain loss before income tax without its equity AFUDC credit, 2023 (each zero in a profit year)Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2023, accountability.waste_ledger.tmc_result_full.2023SourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post reports loss before tax for 2024 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $665 million, compared to a loss before tax of $529 million the previous year"PublishedMay 28, 2025CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Income before income taxes" 14,829 (2023) and 708,073 (2022), thousands of dollarsPublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction" 1,165,361 (2023) and 704,334 (2022), thousands of dollars; "AFUDC contains a cost of borrowed funds component and a return on equity component."PublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceCalendar-year results, booked in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2023-24
Receipt$20,212,357,712Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2023-24Actual · FY2023-24How we got itdebts written off, forgiven and waived + losses booked by Crown corporationsInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2023-24, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2023-24SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post reports loss before tax for 2024 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $665 million, compared to a loss before tax of $529 million the previous year"PublishedMay 28, 2025CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Income before income taxes" 14,829 (2023) and 708,073 (2022), thousands of dollarsPublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction" 1,165,361 (2023) and 704,334 (2022), thousands of dollars; "AFUDC contains a cost of borrowed funds component and a return on equity component."PublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe waste ledger. It does not add the allowance for loans not expected back (that would count write-offs twice), money at risk, or public debt charges.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2023-24
2024-25
Receipt$6,963,566,933Debts Ottawa wrote off, forgave and waived, by fiscal yearActual · FY2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceMostly tax debts the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could not collect, plus loans forgiven (CEBA in 2023-24) and taxes waived. Remissions (code C) are left out: most of the printed remissions total is GST remitted to federal departments, Ottawa paying itself.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2024-25
Receipt$1,122,000,000Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2024-25Actual · FY2024-25How we got itCanada Post group loss before tax, 2024 + Trans Mountain loss before income tax without its equity AFUDC credit, 2024 (each zero in a profit year)Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.canada_post_result@2024, accountability.waste_ledger.tmc_result_full.2024SourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post reports loss before tax for 2024 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $665 million, compared to a loss before tax of $529 million the previous year"PublishedMay 28, 2025CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Income before income taxes" 5 (2024), millions of dollarsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction (Note 7)" 462 (2024), millions of dollars; note 7: "cessation in the capitalization of equity AFUDC" on May 1, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceCalendar-year results, booked in the federal fiscal year that ends the following March.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2024-25
Receipt$8,085,566,933Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2024-25Actual · FY2024-25How we got itdebts written off, forgiven and waived + losses booked by Crown corporationsInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.written_off@FY2024-25, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post reports loss before tax for 2024 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $665 million, compared to a loss before tax of $529 million the previous year"PublishedMay 28, 2025CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Income before income taxes" 5 (2024), millions of dollarsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction (Note 7)" 462 (2024), millions of dollars; note 7: "cessation in the capitalization of equity AFUDC" on May 1, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceThe waste ledger. It does not add the allowance for loans not expected back (that would count write-offs twice), money at risk, or public debt charges.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2024-25
Receipt$4,106,532,000Losses booked by Crown corporations, 2015-16 to 2024-25Actual · 2015-16 to 2024-25How we got itlosses booked by Crown corporations, 2015-16 + … + 2024-25Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2015-16, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2016-17, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2017-18, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2018-19, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2019-20, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2020-21, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2021-22, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2022-23, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2023-24, accountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses.fy2024-25SourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment posts loss for 2020 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies results: "reported a loss before tax of $626 million in 2020"CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment reports loss before tax for 2022 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $292 million in 2022, compared to a loss before tax of $246 million a year earlier"PublishedMay 4, 2023CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Income before income taxes" 14,829 (2023) and 708,073 (2022), thousands of dollarsPublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction" 1,165,361 (2023) and 704,334 (2022), thousands of dollars; "AFUDC contains a cost of borrowed funds component and a return on equity component."PublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post reports loss before tax for 2024 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $665 million, compared to a loss before tax of $529 million the previous year"PublishedMay 28, 2025CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Income before income taxes" 5 (2024), millions of dollarsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction (Note 7)" 462 (2024), millions of dollars; note 7: "cessation in the capitalization of equity AFUDC" on May 1, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceAll sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.crown_losses_sum.fy2015-16_fy2024-25
Receipt$69,456,582,347Money gone from Ottawa's books, 2015-16 to 2024-25Actual · 2015-16 to 2024-25How we got itmoney gone from Ottawa’s books, 2015-16 + … + 2024-25Inputsaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2015-16, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2016-17, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2017-18, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2018-19, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2019-20, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2020-21, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2021-22, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2022-23, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2023-24, accountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 2: debts, obligations and claims written off, forgiven and waived (open data file)Wherecreancerenon-debtforgive.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: approval codes A (write-off), B (forgiveness) and D (waiver), summed by fiscal year; minister, Parliament and Governor in Council amounts added (scripts/data/waste-ledger-writeoffs.mjs)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocument2019 Annual Report, Financial SectionWhereHistorical Financial Information (unaudited), page 44: Profit (loss) before tax, Canada Post Group of Companies, 2015 to 2019 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment posts loss for 2020 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies results: "reported a loss before tax of $626 million in 2020"CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post segment reports loss before tax for 2022 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $292 million in 2022, compared to a loss before tax of $246 million a year earlier"PublishedMay 4, 2023CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Income before income taxes" 14,829 (2023) and 708,073 (2022), thousands of dollarsPublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Management Report, December 31, 2023WhereResults table, year ended December 31: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction" 1,165,361 (2023) and 704,334 (2022), thousands of dollars; "AFUDC contains a cost of borrowed funds component and a return on equity component."PublishedMarch 7, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceCanada Post CorporationDocumentCanada Post reports loss before tax for 2024 (news release)WhereGroup of Companies: "recorded a loss before tax of $665 million, compared to a loss before tax of $529 million the previous year"PublishedMay 28, 2025CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Income before income taxes" 5 (2024), millions of dollarsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourceTrans Mountain CorporationDocumentTrans Mountain Corporation Consolidated Financial Statements, December 31, 2024WhereConsolidated statement of income: "Equity allowance for funds used during construction (Note 7)" 462 (2024), millions of dollars; note 7: "cessation in the capitalization of equity AFUDC" on May 1, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceAll sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.total.fy2015-16_fy2024-25
Beside the ledger, never added to it
Loans and investments Ottawa does not expect back
At March 31, 2025, Ottawa carried an allowance of Receipt$44,273,419,805Allowance for loans, investments and advances Ottawa does not expect back, at March 31Actual · FY2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada 2025, Volume IWhereSection 9, Table 9.1 Loans, investments and advances: Total, Valuation Allowance, March 31, 2025; section 2, note 20 summary by category for March 31, 2024 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceA stock at each year end, not a year's spending. It includes capital subscriptions to international organizations, allowanced in full from the start.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.allowance@FY2024-25 against loans and investments it does not expect to recover, up Receipt$1,814,419,805Change in the allowance for loans and investments Ottawa does not expect back, 2024-25Actual · FY2024-25How we got itallowance at March 31, 2025 − allowance a year earlierInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.allowance@FY2024-25, accountability.waste_ledger.allowance@FY2023-24SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada 2025, Volume IWhereSection 9, Table 9.1 Loans, investments and advances: Total, Valuation Allowance, March 31, 2025; section 2, note 20 summary by category for March 31, 2024 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceAdditions less the write-offs that used it up. It falls in a year when a write-off consumes allowance booked earlier, as CEBA forgiveness did in 2023-24.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.allowance_change.fy2024-25 in the year. Its case: booking a loss early is prudent accounting. Of the allowance, Receipt$19,039,349,204Allowance on capital subscriptions to international organizations, March 31, 2025Actual · FY2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada 2025, Volume IWhereSection 9, Table 9.1: "Capital subscriptions—International organizations", Valuation Allowance, March 31, 2025CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSubscriptions to development banks are allowanced in full when paid, because they earn no return, though they are repayable if Canada leaves.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.allowance_capital_subscriptions.fy2024-25 is Canada's capital in international development banks, which earns nothing, and Receipt$5,354,000,000Allowance on CEBA loans still outstanding, March 31, 2025Actual · FY2024-25SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada 2025, Volume IWhereSection 2, note 20 Other loans, investments and advances: "a valuation allowance of $5,354 million for estimated credit losses was applied to the outstanding loans"CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceAll sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.allowance_ceba.fy2024-25 is CEBA loans still unpaid.
It is not added because it would count twice: a write-off uses up allowance booked in an earlier year. That is why it fell Receipt-$10,798,000,000Change in the allowance for loans and investments Ottawa does not expect back, 2023-24Actual · FY2023-24How we got itallowance at March 31, 2024 − allowance a year earlierInputsaccountability.waste_ledger.allowance@FY2023-24, accountability.waste_ledger.allowance@FY2022-23SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada 2025, Volume IWhereSection 9, Table 9.1 Loans, investments and advances: Total, Valuation Allowance, March 31, 2025; section 2, note 20 summary by category for March 31, 2024 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada 2023, Volume IWhereSection 2, note 19 Other loans, investments and advances, summary by category: "Total other loans, investments and advances", valuation allowance, 2023 and 2022 (millions of dollars)CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceAdditions less the write-offs that used it up. It falls in a year when a write-off consumes allowance booked earlier, as CEBA forgiveness did in 2023-24.All sourcesaccountability.waste_ledger.allowance_change.fy2023-24 in 2023-24, the year the CEBA loans were forgiven.
Money at risk: the battery plants
Ottawa and the provinces offered up to Receipt$52,500,000,000Government support for EV supply-chain investments announced from 2020 to April 2024, federal and provincial, up toEstimate · 2020-10/2032-33SourceOffice of the Parliamentary Budget OfficerDocumentTallying Government Support for EV Investment in Canada (BLOG-2425-004)WhereParagraph 2: "PBO estimates total corresponding government support ... to be up to $52.5 billion"PublishedJune 18, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceAn upper bound through 2032-33. Most of it is production subsidy paid only on batteries made and sold; it is not cash paid or lost.All sourcesaccountability.ev_support.pbo_up_to.2024-06-18 for electric vehicle investments announced from 2020 to April 2024, Ottawa's share up to Receipt$31,400,000,000Federal share of that support, up toEstimate · 2020-10/2032-33SourceOffice of the Parliamentary Budget OfficerDocumentTallying Government Support for EV Investment in Canada (BLOG-2425-004)WhereParagraph 3: "PBO estimates federal support to be up to $31.4 billion (60 per cent)"PublishedJune 18, 2024CheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceAll sourcesaccountability.ev_support.pbo_federal_up_to.2024-06-18, by the Parliamentary Budget Officer's count. Ottawa's case: most of it is a production subsidy, paid only on batteries made and sold.
Paid so far, to March 2025: Receipt$663,827,219Federal cash paid to battery and battery-materials plants, April 2023 to March 2025Actual · 2023-24 to 2024-25How we got itfederal payments to NextStar, Ultium CAM, PowerCo and E-One Moli under the Strategic Innovation Fund + the battery production subsidy paid to a recipient whose name is withheld, 2023-24 and 2024-25Inputsaccountability.ev_battery.nextstar_sif.fy2023-24, accountability.ev_battery.nextstar_sif.fy2024-25, accountability.ev_battery.production_subsidy.fy2024-25, accountability.ev_battery.ultium_cam_sif.fy2023-24, accountability.ev_battery.ultium_cam_sif.fy2024-25, accountability.ev_battery.powerco_sif.fy2024-25, accountability.ev_battery.e_one_moli_sif.fy2023-24SourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 6: transfer payments (open data file), 2023-24Wherept-tp-2024.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: Department of Industry, Contributions under the Strategic Innovation Fund, Nextstar Energy Inc (Toronto), aggregate paymentsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 6: transfer payments (open data file), 2024-25Wherept-tp-2025.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: Department of Industry, Contributions under the Strategic Innovation Fund, Nextstar Energy Inc (Toronto), aggregate paymentsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 6: transfer payments (open data file), 2024-25Wherept-tp-2025.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: Department of Industry, Contributions to electric vehicle battery manufacturers (recipient name withheld), aggregate paymentsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 6: transfer payments (open data file), 2023-24Wherept-tp-2024.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: Department of Industry, Contributions under the Strategic Innovation Fund, Ultium Cam Limited Partnership (Montréal), aggregate paymentsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 6: transfer payments (open data file), 2024-25Wherept-tp-2025.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: Department of Industry, Contributions under the Strategic Innovation Fund, Ultium Cam Limited Partnership (Montréal), aggregate paymentsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 6: transfer payments (open data file), 2024-25Wherept-tp-2025.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: Department of Industry, Contributions under the Strategic Innovation Fund, Powerco Canada Inc (St Thomas), aggregate paymentsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceSourcePublic Services and Procurement Canada (Receiver General for Canada)DocumentPublic Accounts of Canada, Volume III, section 6: transfer payments (open data file), 2023-24Wherept-tp-2024.csv, file dated 2025-11-07: Department of Industry, Contributions under the Strategic Innovation Fund, E One Moli Energy (Canada) Limited (Maple Ridge), aggregate paymentsCheckedOctober 5, 2026Open the sourceFrom the Public Accounts transfer payment files. The 2022-23 file lists no payment to these companies. Payments to Umicore Canada Inc are left out: the record does not name their project.All sourcesaccountability.ev_battery.federal_paid.fy2023-24_fy2024-25, to four named battery and battery-materials companies and as a production subsidy to one recipient whose name is withheld, by the Public Accounts. It is not lost unless a plant fails, so it is not in the ledger.
Interest: public debt charges
Ottawa's public debt charges were Receipt$53,410,000,000Federal public debt charges (interest on the debt), 2024-25Actual · FY2024-25SourceDepartment of Finance CanadaDocumentFiscal Reference Tables 2025, Part 1WhereTable 1 Fiscal transactions, 2024-25 row, "Public debt charges" column (millions of dollars)CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceAll sourcesfederal.pdc.fy2024-25 in 2024-25: interest on its bonds and bills, and on its pension and benefit obligations. They buy nothing: no road, no doctor, no soldier. But they are the price of past borrowing and promises, not money lost, so they stand here beside the ledger and are never added to it.
The documented file
Our running file of overruns, failures and payments to people who did not qualify, from 2008 to 2026, comes to Receipt$109,759,000,000Documented overruns, failures and improper payments in drained.ca's waste fileEstimate · 2008 to 2026How we got itfrigate overrun + Trans Mountain overrun + COVID benefits to ineligible recipients + CEBA loans to ineligible recipients + cost to clean up Phoenix + SDTC funding to ineligible projectsInputsaccountability.csc.overrun.2008-2022, accountability.tmx.overrun.2013-2024, accountability.covid.ineligible_paid.2026, accountability.ceba.ineligible.2024-12-02, federal.phoenix.cost_to_fix.2025, accountability.sdtc.ineligible_funding.2017-2023SourceOffice of the Parliamentary Budget OfficerDocumentThe Life Cycle Cost of the Canadian Surface Combatants — A Fiscal Analysis (RP-2223-016-C)WhereSummary (development and acquisition phases)PublishedOctober 27, 2022CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceOffice of the Parliamentary Budget OfficerDocumentThe Cost of Canada's Surface CombatantsWhereExecutive Summary, p. 1 (the original 2008 budget, in then-year dollars)PublishedJune 1, 2017CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceOffice of the Parliamentary Budget OfficerDocumentTrans Mountain Pipeline – 2024 Report (RP-2425-021-S)WhereSummary (total project cost estimate rose from $21.4 billion to $34.2 billion)PublishedNovember 8, 2024CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceKinder MorganDocumentTrans Mountain Files Facilities Expansion Application with the National Energy BoardWhereNews release text ('proposed $5.4 billion project')PublishedDecember 16, 2013CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceCBC NewsDocumentCRA still owed over $5B in COVID-19 benefits sent to ineligible recipientsWhereArticle body (figures the CRA provided to CBC News)PublishedSeptember 18, 2026CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceOffice of the Auditor General of CanadaDocumentReport 8—Canada Emergency Business Account (2024 Reports of the Auditor General)WhereAt a GlancePublishedDecember 2, 2024CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceThe Canadian Press (published by The Globe and Mail)DocumentFixing Phoenix payroll problems cost Ottawa $5.1-billion, says federal officialWhereParagraph quoting Alex Benay, associate deputy minister, Public Services and Procurement Canada, on the roughly $5.1 billion spent processing the backlog of Phoenix pay errorsPublishedJune 23, 2025CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceOffice of the Auditor General of CanadaDocumentReport 6—Sustainable Development Technology Canada (2024 Reports of the Auditor General)WhereAt a Glance; Key facts and findings (8 projects, $51M; 2 Ecosystem projects, $8M)PublishedJune 4, 2024CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceEach item counted once, and only its overrun, failure cost or payments to people and businesses that did not qualify: never whole program costs, contract values, loans repaid, private court orders or cancelled deals.All sourcesaccountability.waste.documented_total.now. It covers many years and kinds of loss the ledger cannot see, so the two are never added. The file is below.
What the records do not reach yet
Money spent on programs that missed their targets. The books record it as spent, not lost. The departmental results reports, set against each program's targets, are the documents that would measure it.
Federal money paid to battery and EV projects that have since been paused or dropped. The Public Accounts for 2025-26, due in late 2026, and the contribution agreements' claim records would show what was paid and whether any comes back.
Provincial losses, such as Quebec's on its battery bets. They are real money gone, but not Ottawa's, so this federal ledger leaves them out.
The documented file: overruns, failures and improper payments
Receipt$109,759,000,000Documented overruns, failures and improper payments in drained.ca's waste fileEstimate · 2008 to 2026How we got itfrigate overrun + Trans Mountain overrun + COVID benefits to ineligible recipients + CEBA loans to ineligible recipients + cost to clean up Phoenix + SDTC funding to ineligible projectsInputsaccountability.csc.overrun.2008-2022, accountability.tmx.overrun.2013-2024, accountability.covid.ineligible_paid.2026, accountability.ceba.ineligible.2024-12-02, federal.phoenix.cost_to_fix.2025, accountability.sdtc.ineligible_funding.2017-2023SourceOffice of the Parliamentary Budget OfficerDocumentThe Life Cycle Cost of the Canadian Surface Combatants — A Fiscal Analysis (RP-2223-016-C)WhereSummary (development and acquisition phases)PublishedOctober 27, 2022CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceOffice of the Parliamentary Budget OfficerDocumentThe Cost of Canada's Surface CombatantsWhereExecutive Summary, p. 1 (the original 2008 budget, in then-year dollars)PublishedJune 1, 2017CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceOffice of the Parliamentary Budget OfficerDocumentTrans Mountain Pipeline – 2024 Report (RP-2425-021-S)WhereSummary (total project cost estimate rose from $21.4 billion to $34.2 billion)PublishedNovember 8, 2024CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceKinder MorganDocumentTrans Mountain Files Facilities Expansion Application with the National Energy BoardWhereNews release text ('proposed $5.4 billion project')PublishedDecember 16, 2013CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceCBC NewsDocumentCRA still owed over $5B in COVID-19 benefits sent to ineligible recipientsWhereArticle body (figures the CRA provided to CBC News)PublishedSeptember 18, 2026CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceOffice of the Auditor General of CanadaDocumentReport 8—Canada Emergency Business Account (2024 Reports of the Auditor General)WhereAt a GlancePublishedDecember 2, 2024CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceThe Canadian Press (published by The Globe and Mail)DocumentFixing Phoenix payroll problems cost Ottawa $5.1-billion, says federal officialWhereParagraph quoting Alex Benay, associate deputy minister, Public Services and Procurement Canada, on the roughly $5.1 billion spent processing the backlog of Phoenix pay errorsPublishedJune 23, 2025CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceOffice of the Auditor General of CanadaDocumentReport 6—Sustainable Development Technology Canada (2024 Reports of the Auditor General)WhereAt a Glance; Key facts and findings (8 projects, $51M; 2 Ecosystem projects, $8M)PublishedJune 4, 2024CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceEach item counted once, and only its overrun, failure cost or payments to people and businesses that did not qualify: never whole program costs, contract values, loans repaid, private court orders or cancelled deals.All sourcesaccountability.waste.documented_total.now
From the 6 items below that have a documented overrun, failure cost or payments to recipients who didn't qualify, each counted once, from many years. Whole program costs, contract values and cancelled deals are not counted, and it is never added to the ledger above. This is just what we know about.
What the total counts
Largest first.
WASTE
Frigates: $84.5B estimated, none delivered
$58.3BReceipt$58,300,000,000Canadian Surface Combatants: estimated cost above the original 2008 budgetEstimate · 2008 to 2022How we got itPBO's 2022 estimate for the 15 Canadian Surface Combatants − the program's 2008 budgetInputsaccountability.csc.cost_estimate.2022, accountability.csc.budget.2008SourceOffice of the Parliamentary Budget OfficerDocumentThe Life Cycle Cost of the Canadian Surface Combatants — A Fiscal Analysis (RP-2223-016-C)WhereSummary (development and acquisition phases)PublishedOctober 27, 2022CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceOffice of the Parliamentary Budget OfficerDocumentThe Cost of Canada's Surface CombatantsWhereExecutive Summary, p. 1 (the original 2008 budget, in then-year dollars)PublishedJune 1, 2017CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceAn estimated overrun: no ship has been delivered. The budget is in then-year dollars.All sourcesaccountability.csc.overrun.2008-2022over the 2008 budget
The 15 Canadian Surface Combatants were budgeted at $26.2B in 2008. In 2022 the PBO estimated $84.5B to build them, $58.3B over that budget and about $5.6B a ship, and $306B over their life. None has been delivered. Another new navy class, 6 Arctic patrol ships, was completed when the last one was accepted on August 21, 2025.
$28.8BReceipt$28,800,000,000Trans Mountain expansion: final cost above the 2013 estimateEstimate · 2013 to 2024How we got itTrans Mountain expansion's total cost (PBO, 2024) − its 2013 estimateInputsaccountability.tmx.cost.2024, accountability.tmx.estimate.2013SourceOffice of the Parliamentary Budget OfficerDocumentTrans Mountain Pipeline – 2024 Report (RP-2425-021-S)WhereSummary (total project cost estimate rose from $21.4 billion to $34.2 billion)PublishedNovember 8, 2024CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceSourceKinder MorganDocumentTrans Mountain Files Facilities Expansion Application with the National Energy BoardWhereNews release text ('proposed $5.4 billion project')PublishedDecember 16, 2013CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceAll sourcesaccountability.tmx.overrun.2013-2024over the 2013 estimate
The expansion was pegged at $5.4 billion in 2013 and finished at $34.2 billion, 6.3 times the estimate. Ottawa bought the line and the project from Kinder Morgan in 2018, after the company halted work amid regulatory and political fights. You own it.
$14BReceipt$14,000,000,000COVID-19 benefits the CRA paid to individuals it says were not eligible (about $14 billion)Estimate · 2020-2026SourceCBC NewsDocumentCRA still owed over $5B in COVID-19 benefits sent to ineligible recipientsWhereArticle body (figures the CRA provided to CBC News)PublishedSeptember 18, 2026CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceReporting of CRA figures. The CRA says these recipients did not meet the income requirements; most of the money went out under the CERB and the CRB. This is not a fraud total.All sourcesaccountability.covid.ineligible_paid.2026paid to people who did not qualify
About $14B in COVID benefits went to people the CRA says were not eligible because they did not meet the income requirements. $5.56 billion was still owed on July 31, 2026, and the CRA writes off debts it deems uncollectable. Miss your own tax deadline and see how forgiving it is.
$5.1BReceipt$5,100,000,000What taxpayers spent fixing Phoenix pay-system errors, as of June 2025 (senior PSPC official's estimate)Estimate · 2025SourceThe Canadian Press (published by The Globe and Mail)DocumentFixing Phoenix payroll problems cost Ottawa $5.1-billion, says federal officialWhereParagraph quoting Alex Benay, associate deputy minister, Public Services and Procurement Canada, on the roughly $5.1 billion spent processing the backlog of Phoenix pay errorsPublishedJune 23, 2025CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceReporting: The Canadian Press, quoting a senior Public Services and Procurement Canada official. An official's estimate, not a total from a published government report.All sourcesfederal.phoenix.cost_to_fix.2025to clean up pay errors
Phoenix cost $309M to build. Processing its backlog of pay errors has cost about $5.1 billion, a senior Public Services and Procurement Canada official said in June 2025. On August 26, 2026, 198,000 pay transactions were still waiting, 69,000 of them over a year old.
CEBA: $3.5B in pandemic loans to ineligible businesses
$3.5BReceipt$3,500,000,000CEBA loans that went to ineligible recipients (AG estimate)Estimate · 2020-2024SourceOffice of the Auditor General of CanadaDocumentReport 8—Canada Emergency Business Account (2024 Reports of the Auditor General)WhereAt a GlancePublishedDecember 2, 2024CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceCounts toward drained.ca's documented-waste total (payments to ineligible recipients).All sourcesaccountability.ceba.ineligible.2024-12-02to ineligible recipients
The Auditor General estimates $3.5B in CEBA loans went to 77,160 ineligible recipients. Export Development Canada paid Accenture $209M through non-competitive contracts by March 2024, and gave that one vendor 92% of the program's contract value without competition.
SDTC, the "green slush fund": $59M to ineligible projects
$59MReceipt$59,000,000Funding SDTC awarded to 10 ineligible projectsActual · 2017-03-01/2023-12-31SourceOffice of the Auditor General of CanadaDocumentReport 6—Sustainable Development Technology Canada (2024 Reports of the Auditor General)WhereAt a Glance; Key facts and findings (8 projects, $51M; 2 Ecosystem projects, $8M)PublishedJune 4, 2024CheckedSeptember 28, 2026Open the sourceCounts toward drained.ca's documented-waste total (payments to ineligible projects).All sourcesaccountability.sdtc.ineligible_funding.2017-2023to ineligible projects
The Auditor General found Sustainable Development Technology Canada, dubbed the "green slush fund" by critics, didn't follow its own conflict-of-interest policies in 90 funding decisions worth nearly $76M, and gave $59M to 10 ineligible projects. The Ethics Commissioner found its chair, Annette Verschuren, broke the Conflict of Interest Act by taking part in decisions that benefited companies tied to her, including COVID-relief payments to NRStor, a company she founded.
Ethics breaches, Charter violations, procurement failures and other findings. Their dollar figures are contract values or program costs, so they are not added to the total.
ETHICS BREACH
WE Charity: a $500M+ sole-source deal
Ottawa handed WE Charity, without competition, a deal worth over $500M to run its $912M student grant program, with about $43.5M earmarked for WE itself. Justin Trudeau's mother had been paid about $250,000 by WE for 28 events, and his brother about $32,000 (per WE). The Ethics Commissioner cleared Trudeau but found Finance Minister Bill Morneau broke 3 sections of the Conflict of Interest Act; as the scandal broke, Morneau had repaid WE $41,366 for his family's WE-hosted trips. WE pulled out, Morneau resigned, and WE wound down its Canadian operations. No one was charged. On July 30, 2026 the Supreme Court let a court challenge of Trudeau's clearance go ahead.
The first use of the Emergencies Act since it became law in 1988, against the 2022 'Freedom Convoy' protests. On January 23, 2024 the Federal Court ruled that the invocation was unreasonable and beyond the government's legal authority, and that its measures, including the bank-account freezes, violated Charter rights to free expression and against unreasonable search and seizure. The Federal Court of Appeal upheld that on January 16, 2026. Ottawa has asked the Supreme Court for one more appeal. The inquiry Ottawa was legally required to call, run by a commissioner it appointed, had found the threshold for using the Act was met.
The Ethics Commissioner found Justin Trudeau used his position to try to influence Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to help SNC-Lavalin avoid a criminal trial, improperly furthering the company’s interests, contrary to section 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act. She refused. She was moved out of Justice in January 2019, then resigned from cabinet.
Aga Khan vacations: 4 breaches of federal ethics law
Justin Trudeau became the first sitting prime minister found to have broken the federal Conflict of Interest Act: 4 sections, over family vacations on the Aga Khan's private island and trips on his private helicopter. Ottawa had put nearly $330M into projects backed by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada since 1981, and the Foundation was registered to lobby the Prime Minister's Office at the time. Penalty: none. The Act provides none for these breaches.
The CBSA says the first version cost $80,000. The Auditor General estimates the total at $59.5M, 744 times as much, and couldn't determine the exact cost because records were so poor. There was never a budget. GC Strategies, which helped write the requirements for a contract it later won, took in about $19.1M; it is now barred from federal contracts for 7 years.
McKinsey: $209M in contracts, 70% without competition
The Auditor General found 97 federal contracts worth $209M went to McKinsey from 2011 to 2023, about 70% of them without competition, and 9 of the 10 departments and agencies it audited broke procurement rules on at least one. Radio-Canada counted $2.2M paid over nine Harper years and $66M over Trudeau's first seven.
Foreign interference: slow to act, slow to tell you
The public inquiry into foreign interference found Canada's democratic institutions held up against attempted interference, but that the government sometimes took too long to act, coordinated poorly, and did a poor job of telling Canadians about the threat. It made 51 recommendations.
Before politics, Steven Guilbeault was an adviser to Cycle Capital, a clean-tech investor. His ethics filings listed a passive interest in it, which Cycle's managing partner told MPs was a performance bonus, not shares, and had paid him nothing. She also sat on SDTC's board while four Cycle portfolio companies received $10.4M from SDTC; she says she recused herself. No ethics finding has been made against him. On November 27, 2025 he quit Mark Carney's cabinet to protest Ottawa's pipeline deal with Alberta.
Randy Boissonnault and the texts that named 'Randy'
Texts from Global Health Imports, the medical-supply company he co-founded, referred to a 'Randy' in September 2022, while Boissonnault was a sitting cabinet minister; he says it wasn't him, and the Ethics Commissioner took no further action (June 25, 2024). Alberta courts have ordered GHI to pay more than $7.8M after it lost lawsuits by default; he wasn't named in them. He quietly left cabinet on November 20, 2024 amid questions about his shifting claims of Indigenous identity.
Chrystia Freeland: Zelensky's adviser while still an MP
As Finance Minister she led the Emergencies Act's bank-account freezes, which two federal courts later found violated the Charter. In January 2026, while still a sitting MP and Ottawa's special representative for Ukraine's reconstruction, she took an unpaid job advising President Zelensky. She said she'd leave Parliament “in the coming weeks”, then quit four days later amid opposition pressure.
The Public Accounts show $19.6 billion in federal spending on professional and special services in 2024-25, a category wider than consultants that covers management consulting, IT, legal and engineering work. The public service itself hit a record 367,772 in 2024. Paying twice for everything.
By Ottawa's own books, $8.1 billion was gone in 2024-25: debts written off, forgiven and waived, and losses booked by Crown corporations. Ottawa's case is that most of it is not spending: 68% was tax debt the Canada Revenue Agency judged it could never collect. Still, that tax was owed and never paid. It is the floor, not the ceiling, and it does not count public debt charges ($53.4 billion that year). Separately, the overruns, failures and payments to recipients who didn't qualify documented on this page add up to $109.8 billion: the frigate program's estimated cost is $58.3 billion over its 2008 budget, Trans Mountain finished $28.8 billion over its 2013 estimate, $17.5 billion in pandemic aid went to people and businesses that didn't qualify, cleaning up Phoenix has cost $5.1 billion, and SDTC gave $59M to ineligible projects. Each is counted once. Whole program costs, contract values and cancelled deals are not counted, so the real cost of these files is higher.
What was the ArriveCAN scandal?
ArriveCAN was the border app Ottawa made mandatory in the pandemic. Its first version cost $80,000 (CBSA); the Auditor General estimated the total at $59.5M and found no budget had ever been set. GC Strategies took in about $19.1M after helping write the requirements for a contract it went on to win. The app went through 177 versions, often with little testing documentation; one June 2022 update wrongly told about 10,000 travellers to quarantine. Its health-screening role ended in October 2022.
How much did the Phoenix pay system cost?
Phoenix cost $309M to build. A senior official at Public Services and Procurement Canada put the cost of processing its backlog of pay errors at about $5.1 billion (June 2025). On August 26, 2026, 198,000 pay transactions were still waiting, 69,000 of them more than a year old. The system still can't pay everyone on time.
Sources: Auditor General audits, Ethics Commissioner reports, court rulings, government data and, where no official record exists, news reporting and analysis, which we label. Each entry links to its source; every figure is listed on our sources page. View methodology →