$487 Billion: Which Canadian Ministries Get the Most Money?

Who actually gets Canada's $487 billion? We ranked every major federal ministry from highest to lowest — with the biggest programs and the salary bill inside each one. Canada's 2025–26 federal budget is $486.9 billion. The Department of Finance controls the largest slice (~$129B) — but most of it flows out automatically as Old Age Security, the Canada Health Transfer, and equalization. Parliament can't easily cut those without changing the law. ESDC manages EI, CCB, and CPP. National Defence gets $33.9B voted. Indigenous Services and CIRNAC together total $38.2B (~8% of the entire budget). And the federal salary bill? $76.3 billion for 346,000 public servants — down from a pandemic peak of 358,000. We also look at who wins (seniors, provinces, federal employees) and who bears the long-term risk (young Canadians, taxpayers, future programs competing against $49.1B in annual interest payments). 📌 Sources: Treasury Board Main Estimates 2025–26 | PBO RP-2526-003-S & RP-2526-008-S | Departmental Plans | Budget 2025: Canada Strong CHAPTERS: 00:00 Cold open 00:15 Slide 1 — Where Does the Money Go? 01:00 Slide 2 — The Big Question 01:55 Slide 3 — The Price Tag 02:56 Slide 4 — How Ottawa Pays for It 03:59 Slide 5 — Top 10 Departments Ranked 05:11 Slide 6 — Dept. of Finance (~$129B) 06:21 Slide 7 — ESDC & National Defence 07:34 Slide 8 — Indigenous Services & CIRNAC 08:39 Slide 9 — The Federal Salary Bill 09:57 Slide 10 — The Case FOR 11:03 Slide 11 — The Case AGAINST 12:21 Slide 12 — Winners vs. Risk Bearers 13:28 Slide 13 — The Verdict 14:43 Outro 🔔 Subscribe for weekly policy breakdowns → @PolicyPulseCanada