Question Period Note: Performance Pay for Executives

Why did the Government spend $142.5 million on performance pay for federal executives in 2023–2024?

• The Performance Management Program for Executives helps build a high-performing leadership team that can deliver results to Canadians.
• Performance pay is a key component of executive compensation and is common among Canadian private and public sector organizations.
• A portion of executives’ compensation is held back each year and only paid if executives meet the expectations outlined in their performance agreements. For a small proportion of executives who demonstrate exceptional performance, performance pay also includes a bonus.
• On average, executives in the Core Public Administration received performance pay equal to 10.8% of their salary, well below the average received by executives in other Canadian public and private sector organizations.

Performance pay is a key component of executive compensation in the federal public service. It is not an automatic entitlement. Each year, a portion of executives’ total compensation is held back and only paid once it is confirmed that they have met the performance objectives outlined in their performance agreements. This ensures accountability for results.
In addition to this base amount, a smaller portion of executives, those who exceed expectations, may receive a bonus. Bonuses are the only fully discretionary component of performance pay.
Executives do not receive performance pay when their performance does not meet expectations or cannot be assessed for a variety of reasons (for example, when an executive is absent from the job for a significant portion of the performance cycle).
On July 31, 2025, TBS published the results of the Performance Management Program for Executives (EXPMP) for 2023-2024 on Canada.ca. In the 2023-2024 performance pay cycle, 7,960 executives (97%) in the core public administration (CPA) received performance pay, including 623 (7.6%) who received a bonus for exceptional performance. Compared to the 2022-2023 performance pay cycle, where 7,689 executives (97%) across the CPA earned performance pay with 705 (8.9%) of them receiving a bonus.
The total spending for performance pay was $142.5M in 2023-2024, including $3.8M for bonuses, which is an increase of $15.6M (+12.3%) compared to 2022-2023 ($126.9M). The increase is primarily due to:
• Salary adjustments, including compounded salary increases totaling 5.8% for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, and other salary changes (e.g. promotions and in-range movements). The salary increases align with those provided to the majority of employees across the federal public service.

• 3.5% increase in the number of executives who received performance pay, from 7,689 to 7,960.
In 2023-2024, the average performance pay per executive increased from $16,498 to $17,869. On average, executives in the CPA received performance pay equal to 10.8% of their salary, well below the 27.0% average received by executives in other Canadian public and private sector organizations.
The Government of Canada has not yet fully paid out performance pay or bonuses for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Annual performance pay details are published on the Performance Management Program for Executives webpage once it has been compiled and verified for accuracy. Information on amounts authorized and paid to executives for 2024-2025 will be available in January 2026.

None