[{"label":"Home","url":"https:\/\/www.pbo-dpb.ca\/en"},{"label":"News Releases","url":"https:\/\/www.pbo-dpb.ca\/en\/news-releases--communiques-de-presse","section":{"id":4,"title_en":"Communications","title_fr":"Communications"}},{"label":"PBO Estimates $159 Billion in Federal Infrastructure Spending Over Five Years","url":"https:\/\/www.pbo-dpb.ca\/en\/news-releases--communiques-de-presse\/pbo-estimates-159-billion-in-federal-infrastructure-spending-over-five-years-le-dpb-estime-a-159-milliards-de-dollars-sur-cinq-ans-les-depenses-en-infrastructure","section":{"id":4,"title_en":"Communications","title_fr":"Communications"}}]

PBO Estimates $159 Billion in Federal Infrastructure Spending Over Five Years

Ottawa (Ontario), September 18, 2025

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) has released a new report estimating that the Government of Canada will spend $159 billion on infrastructure between 2025-26 and 2029-30.

This estimate is based on data from federal departments and past trends. It does not include the revised NATO 5% defence spending target or additional defence-related expenditures outlined in Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26.

While federal reporting on infrastructure projects has improved, the PBO finds there is still no single, timely source that provides a complete picture of total infrastructure spending. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for Parliament and Canadians to evaluate the effectiveness and fiscal impact of infrastructure spending.

“Infrastructure spending is a major federal expense, yet there’s no clear view of where the money is going or what impact it’s having,” said Jason Jacques, Interim PBO. “This report underscores the need for more transparent and coordinated reporting so we can better understand the impact on the Government’s bottom line.”

Publication

{"id":"RP-2526-010-S","is_published":"2025-09-18T12:57:07.000000Z","release_date":"2025-09-18T13:00:00.000000Z","last_revised_date":null,"title_en":"Federal Infrastructure Spending \u2013 Update","title_fr":"D\u00e9penses f\u00e9d\u00e9rales en infrastructures \u2013 Mise \u00e0 jour","internal_id":"RP-2526-010-S","metadata":{"abstract_en":"In response to interest from parliamentarians, this report provides an update on federal infrastructure spending.","abstract_fr":"En r\u00e9ponse \u00e0 l\u0027int\u00e9r\u00eat exprim\u00e9 par les parlementaires, ce rapport pr\u00e9sente une mise \u00e0 jour des d\u00e9penses f\u00e9d\u00e9rales en mati\u00e8re d\u0027infrastructures.","highlights":[{"content":{"en":"The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) estimates that the Government of Canada will spend $159 billion on infrastructure between 2025-26 and 2029-30. This estimate does not account for the revised NATO 5% spending target or the additional defence-related spending in the Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26.","fr":"Le directeur parlementaire du budget (DPB) estime que le gouvernement du Canada d\u00e9pensera 159 milliards de dollars en infrastructures pendant la p\u00e9riode comprise entre 2025-2026 et 2029-2030. Cette estimation ne tient pas compte de l\u2019objectif de d\u00e9penses r\u00e9vis\u00e9 de 5 % de l\u2019OTAN ou des d\u00e9penses suppl\u00e9mentaires li\u00e9es \u00e0 la d\u00e9fense qui sont indiqu\u00e9es dans le Budget suppl\u00e9mentaire des d\u00e9penses (A) 2025-2026."}},{"content":{"en":"Although the federal government has improved how it reports infrastructure projects, there is no timely, consolidated overview of total infrastructure spending. This reporting gap hinders the ability to fully assess infrastructure spending and its overall impact on the Government\u2019s fiscal position or budgetary balance.","fr":"M\u00eame si le gouvernement f\u00e9d\u00e9ral a am\u00e9lior\u00e9 la qualit\u00e9 de ses rapports sur les projets d\u2019infrastructure, il n\u2019a pas produit d\u2019aper\u00e7u consolid\u00e9 \u00e0 jour des d\u00e9penses totales en infrastructures. Cette absence d\u2019informations amoindrit la capacit\u00e9 d\u2019\u00e9valuer de mani\u00e8re exhaustive les d\u00e9penses en infrastructures et leur incidence globale sur la situation financi\u00e8re ou sur l\u2019\u00e9quilibre budg\u00e9taire du gouvernement."}}]},"updated_at":"2025-09-18T12:57:07.000000Z","type":"RP","slug":"RP-2526-010-S--federal-infrastructure-spending-update--depenses-federales-infrastructures-mise-jour","permalinks":{"en":{"website":"https:\/\/www.pbo-dpb.ca\/en\/publications\/RP-2526-010-S--federal-infrastructure-spending-update--depenses-federales-infrastructures-mise-jour","preview":"https:\/\/www.pbo-dpb.ca\/en\/publications\/RP-2526-010-S--federal-infrastructure-spending-update--depenses-federales-infrastructures-mise-jour"},"fr":{"website":"https:\/\/www.pbo-dpb.ca\/fr\/publications\/RP-2526-010-S--federal-infrastructure-spending-update--depenses-federales-infrastructures-mise-jour","preview":"https:\/\/www.pbo-dpb.ca\/fr\/publications\/RP-2526-010-S--federal-infrastructure-spending-update--depenses-federales-infrastructures-mise-jour"}},"artifacts":{"main":{"en":{"public":"https:\/\/distribution-a617274656661637473.pbo-dpb.ca\/2a30a8791762027a04348469644c5138081529e919c8cedcdaf35b8c9beddedf"},"fr":{"public":"https:\/\/distribution-a617274656661637473.pbo-dpb.ca\/868079f7fc27671c24940e865d2361c8d80b00ccbe8e98310d0508ae41043231"}}},"coverpages":{"distribution":{"fr":{"small":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/610a36deee89bf6eb130928cea373e196db9e7f644033b78ff1a9f3cb708e14d","large":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/42ad4bf7c389e1a37fd0526f4e1a1f916a77000bb3387a70589dd4446935a029","h150_png_optimized":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/2fa5b27d723222715059cd328e6139e52b2c0bf6abf724bcf8352042f7fdc544","h150_webp":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/056200c47f2b0447ad2e3b19ecb079222c88d75659f929912eeb823aebf29d7f","h300_png_optimized":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/714e94b819cfbed8097442ae88a231bf3c147bd93eb4faf9d1735a59e2066a78","h300_webp":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/95b4aed6586fc5796e7e81a6b4f44f92da5b519658fe4176e559197edad431d8","h600_png_optimized":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/a871f2610df6929c46ab544b0db438540bee6bc73f9f41a54df1ec574e01951f","h600_webp":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/b9ab9f7b40915c94bc7eb267fd033a693425ce87d9ff54c8bbb3f0f4a91b401d"},"en":{"small":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/0e64123a26281fa5c3886118abee6a6d4a6d85625ca486dc9f8de5cf22a169b2","large":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/41a1a9dab2df5ec1b5b850008a86bb4f7d81e306854069a89aca132d75077fb9","h150_png_optimized":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/7c453cc11c748f8b5fff11e184fb2e117d3c6a65a471307c142156984a0904b9","h150_webp":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/575d8f6d2493e0712567ce1631bacf8eaed5e2ec66b8377908c4d9600a0ee786","h300_png_optimized":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/1dc97c2cbec8dfb954c7475dfbd5c7efd50afdd2d7d5dc01a14d99ac061e1be4","h300_webp":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/d22e998b9f4ce82d3d9b3f7d5f5ad04a2599ea9391efef7b5954ea2cdfcf0bcb","h600_png_optimized":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/26c6c7588acfd6252c8cd4376b7f217f110c1289e2b7b338d5d6a3081f689aa5","h600_webp":"https:\/\/distribution-i696d61676573.pbo-dpb.ca\/22089c8c1dca6aa9d06d25e2a4e25611f30731269189f73f176a4f801f429736"}}},"quotes":[],"bills":[],"labels":[],"bibtex":{"en":"@techreport{PBO-RP2526010S,\n author={Kho, Albert and Michalyshyn, Katarina},\n title={Federal Infrastructure Spending - Update},\n institution={The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer},\n year=2025,\n \n address = \u0022Ottawa, ON\u0022\n}","fr":"@techreport{DPB-RP2526010S,\n author={Kho, Albert and Michalyshyn, Katarina},\n title={D\\\u0027{e}penses f\\\u0027{e}d\\\u0027{e}rales en infrastructures - Mise \\`{a} jour},\n institution={Bureau de la directrice parlementaire du budget},\n year=2025,\n \n address = \u0022Ottawa, ON\u0022\n}"}}