Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
National Defence 2023 - 2024
As required by the Treasury Board Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures, this report provides information on travel, hospitality and conference expenditures for National Defence for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024.
Travel, hospitality and conference expenditures incurred by a federal department or agency relate to activities that support the department or agency’s mandate and the government’s priorities.
Mandate:
As required by the Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences, this report provides information on travel, hospitality and conferences for the Department of National Defence (DND) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. It also provides the main variance explanations from the previous year.
Travel, hospitality and conference expenditures incurred by a federal department or agency relate to activities that support the department or agency’s mandate and the government’s priorities.
Mandate:
The Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) support a strategic vision for defence in which Canada is:
- Strong at home, with a military ready and able to defend its sovereignty, and to assist in times of natural disaster, support search and rescue, or respond to other emergencies;
- Secure in North America, active in a renewed defence partnership in NORAD and with the United States; and
- Engaged in the world, with Defence doing its part in Canadian contributions to a more stable and peaceful world.
The National Defence Act (NDA) establishes DND and the CAF as separate entities, operating within an integrated National Defence Headquarters, as they pursue their primary responsibility of providing defence for Canada and Canadians.
National Defence Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2024
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2024 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2023 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Operational activities |
$130,857.00 |
$89,398.00 |
$41,459.00 |
Key stakeholders |
$27,526.00 |
$23,526.00 |
$4,000.00 |
Internal governance |
$43,691.00 |
$58,193.00 |
-$14,502.00 |
Training |
$155,782.00 |
$130,781.00 |
$25,001.00 |
Other |
$33,325.00 |
$21,137.00 |
$12,188.00 |
| A. Total travel | $391,181.00 |
$323,035.00 |
$68,146.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $1,908.00 |
$1,279.00 |
$629.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $1,077.00 |
$1,040.00 |
$37.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $394,166.00 |
$325,354.00 |
$68,812.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $188.00 |
$279.00 |
-$91.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
The increase in fiscal year 2023-2024 expenditures is a result of the continued easing of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions in previous years, causing THCEE related activities to return to pre-pandemic levels, and increased levels of international engagement.
Hospitality:
Hospitality expenditures increased by $629 thousand compared to the previous fiscal year, which was mainly due to the easing of travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to an increase in physical presence in meetings.