By Canadian Press

Federal IT contracting cost 25 per cent more than in-house services: PBO report

Jan 16, 2025 | 1:14 PM

OTTAWA — The federal government spent more on contracted IT services in four federal departments in 2022-23 than it would have if the work had been done by public servants, says a new report by the parliamentary budget officer.

The PBO report says the federal government spent $18.6 billion on professional and special services in 2022-23, with $2.6 billion of that money going to IT services.

The departments and agencies spending the most on IT were the Canada Border Services Agency ($287 million), the Department of National Defence ($346 million), Employment and Social Development Canada ($268 million), Public Services and Procurement Canada ($230 million) and Shared Services Canada ($256 million).

Those departments and agencies accounted for more than half of total government spending on IT contractors.

The PBO says that in the four departments it studied, IT services provided by outside contractors cost taxpayers between 22 and 25.7 per cent more than they would have if the services had been provided in-house.

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The PBO says the CBSA did not share enough data to be included in the results.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2025.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press