Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2024 - 2025
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 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025.
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:
IRB’s travel, hospitality and conference expenditures support the delivery of the following core programs and services:
• The IRB renders quality decisions and resolves cases in a timely manner regarding immigration and refugee protection cases. This includes determining refugee protection claims and appeals and applications to vacate or cease refugee protection. It also includes making decisions on admissibility hearings and detention reviews, and on appeals on certain immigration cases. The IRB delivers these services through the following four divisions:
Refugee Protection Division
Refugee Appeal Division
Immigration Division
Immigration Appeal Division
• The IRB carries out its work in Ottawa and three regional offices: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, one satellite office in Calgary, points of service in Winnipeg and Edmonton and itinerant locations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as required. All these sites hold hearings, supported by adjudicative and corporate support.
More information on the IRB’s mandate and activities can be found in the 2024-2025 Departmental Result Report and 2025-2026 Departmental Plan.
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2025
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2025 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2024 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Operational activities |
$293.00 |
$526.00 |
-$233.00 |
Key stakeholders |
$38.00 |
$74.00 |
-$36.00 |
Internal governance |
$38.00 |
$74.00 |
-$36.00 |
Training |
$118.00 |
$483.00 |
-$365.00 |
Other |
$13.00 |
$9.00 |
$4.00 |
| A. Total travel | $500.00 |
$1,166.00 |
-$666.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $16.00 |
$28.00 |
-$12.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $13.00 |
$24.00 |
-$11.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $529.00 |
$1,218.00 |
-$689.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $0.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
In support of the Government of Canada's strategic priority to refocus expenditures, the IRB has reduced travel spending for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. This reflects a deliberate shift toward virtual collaboration and remote engagement, minimizing non-essential travel while ensuring that critical in-person activities continue to support operational mandates, service delivery and training requirements. As a result, the IRB’s travel expenditures for 2024-2025 decreased by $654K (50%) in comparison to 2023-2024. Travel expenditures for 2024-2025 represent 26% of pre-pandemic levels, using 2018-2019 as a reference.
Hospitality:
Hospitality expenditures have been carefully reviewed and scaled back to align with fiscal restraint objectives. The department prioritized cost-effective approaches to hosting official events and meetings, ensuring that hospitality is provided only when necessary to advance government business and foster meaningful stakeholder engagement. Hospitality expenditures in 2024-2025 decreased by $12K (43%), compared to 2023-2024. The 2024-2025 spending represents 17% of pre-pandemic hospitality expenditures.
Conference fees:
Conference-related spending was reduced through a more selective approach to participation. Emphasis was placed on attending events that deliver clear value to departmental priorities, while virtual platforms were leveraged to maintain knowledge exchange and collaboration at reduced cost. These measures support the government's broader goal of prudent financial management, resulting in a spending decrease of $11K (46%) compared to 2023-2024 expenditures. The 2024-2025 spending represents 16% of pre-pandemic conference expenditures.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
Not applicable