Employment and Social Development Canada’s 2023 to 2024 Departmental results report

From the Ministers

We are pleased to present the Departmental Results Report for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) for fiscal year 2023 to 2024. This report outlines the results achieved in that year to improve the economic and social security of Canadians.

As we continue to recover as a country from the pandemic and improve the cost of living, ESDC continues to play an essential role in supporting the Government of Canada's efforts to make life more affordable and build an economy that works for all Canadians.

We do this by prioritizing programs that improve the lives of Canadians at every stage of life-starting from childhood.

We recognize the need for continued support to families. Collaborative efforts with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners are delivering high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive regulated early learning and child care across Canada. As of August 2024, eight provinces and territories already offer regulated child care for an average of $10 per day or less, and all other provinces and territories have reduced fees by at least 50% compared to 2019 levels. We also collaborated with our partners to support Indigenous groups in advancing their early learning and child care priorities, including funding day care and Aboriginal Head Start sites and allocating $441 million to build and maintain new Indigenous early learning and child care centres.

A better future for Indigenous Peoples also includes fair access to education and good-paying jobs. We collaborated with Indigenous organizations and communities to co-develop the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program, which reflects our commitment to reconciliation and aligns with Canada's Action Plan on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Through this program, we provided funding to over 115 Indigenous service delivery organizations so they can provide training and other supports in their communities.

In an ever-evolving job market, providing access to training initiatives is crucial so that workers of all ages and backgrounds have the skills necessary to seize the opportunities of emerging industries. ESDC has invested multi-year funding to support many new and existing training initiatives. In March 2024, the call for proposals for the new Sustainable Jobs Training Fund was launched, which will help 15,000 workers upgrade or gain new skills in the low-carbon economy over the next four years. Additionally, through the Skills for Success Program, we supported over 70,000 Canadians in acquiring foundational and transferrable skills. The program also supports women facing various barriers through the Women's Employment Readiness pilot program.

We have achieved significant milestones in advancing the skilled trades and apprenticeship landscape in Canada. With the support of the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy, we successfully launched a new Sustainable Jobs stream under the Union Training and Innovation Program, focusing on developing green training for journeypersons and apprentices in Red Seal trades crucial to reducing emissions. In addition, we published six interprovincial Red Seal Occupational Standards and completed the development of nearly 70 examinations for 18 trades, further supporting labour mobility and certification in the trades. Overall, the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy has played a pivotal role in supporting the participation of individuals across the country in skills training activities, reinforcing a framework for federal apprenticeship initiatives that promote a skilled, inclusive, certified and productive trades workforce. Furthermore, we provided funding to the Future Skills Centre, benefitting over 35,000 Canadians in receiving training and employment support in the fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

Access to education, training and lifelong opportunities to gain skills and work experience remains a priority for the Government of Canada. Starting in April 2023, we made all Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans permanently interest-free, including those currently being repaid. We increased federal student loan forgiveness for health practitioners working in underserved rural and remote communities, with eligible individuals now able to receive up to $60,000 in loan forgiveness. We extended funding for the Supports for Student Learning Program for two years, investing $28 million to promote equal access to education resources and after-school supports for students facing barriers. In summer 2023, we provided over 74,000 young people the opportunity to gain their first work experience and earn money through the Canada Summer Jobs program, part of our work to pave the way to a successful career for Canadian youth.

Safe, equitable and inclusive working conditions are essential for fostering a positive work environment, and we are taking steps to reinforce this commitment. The Government of Canada has introduced changes to the Canada Labour Code aimed at improving working conditions for employees in federally regulated industries. Employers will now need to provide menstrual products in all washrooms, regardless of gender, and ensure that employees have reasonable privacy to access them. Additionally, Budget 2024 announced $3.6 million over five years to support the implementation of amendments that will establish a right to disconnect policy for employees, limiting work-related communications outside of scheduled work hours. Additional amendments have already come into force to extend labour standards to gig workers by establishing that workers are presumed to be employees unless otherwise proven and strengthening prohibitions against employee misclassification. Moreover, the Government of Canada supports free collective bargaining and reports that 96% of all disputes referred to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service were resolved without a work stoppage during the fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

We continued to offer high-quality services and information to Canadians on various programs and benefits. The Department modernized the Passport Program to make it easier for Canadians to access passport services across the country. We increased access to passport services, reached out to rural and remote communities and made efforts to make passport services more accessible for them, and made it easier for Canadians to check their passport application status online. As a result, in the last fiscal year, 92% of issued passports met our service delivery standards. On behalf of Health Canada, we rolled out the application process for the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Through Service Canada, we received and processed applications, answered client questions, and confirmed eligibility for the Canadian Dental Care Plan. We also successfully registered 1.6 million clients for the Plan in the fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

Canadians deserve to age with dignity. In 2023 to 2024, the Old Age Security program provided $76 billion in Old Age Security pension, Guaranteed Income Supplement and Allowances benefits to 7.3 million beneficiaries. Through the Canada Pension Plan, we provided 6.5 million beneficiaries with $56 billion in the form of both Canada Pension Plan retirement pensions and supplemental benefits in the case of disability or death. In June 2023, we also successfully launched the first release for Old Age Security on the new benefits delivery platform. More than 600,000 International Agreement and Foreign Benefits clients are now being served through the new platform. It has improved workload management, integrated case management with other countries, and improved management of correspondence.

The Government of Canada is also improving and increasing supports for persons with disabilities. The Return-to-Work Pilot, which started in April 2024, aims to provide support to approximately 1,500 Canada Pension Plan-Disability recipients over two years to help them return to work. It will assess three supports for clients returning to work: a return-to-work navigator, an extended 12-month work trial and an improved approach to vocational rehabilitation. Additionally, the first annual Disability Inclusion Action Plan update was released online, highlighting the progress made on various action items. Key accomplishments include the passing of the Canada Disability Benefit Act, funding for 100 projects under the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities, the launch of the Disability Inclusion Business Council, the implementation of a new standard under the Accessible Canada Act, and the hosting of a Congress on Disability Inclusion. Following the approval of the Canada Disability Benefits Act, an engagement process was initiated to inform the development of regulations and the implementation of the Canada Disability Benefit. Over 8,000 Canadians and 113 organizations, including 58 organizations representing Indigenous communities, provided their input during this process.

Ensuring all Canadians have an equal chance to succeed is the best way to build success for Canadian society as a whole. We created Equi'Vision, a new website to help employers understand their workforce data and close pay gaps in our workplaces. By making pay and representation data publicly available, Equi'Vision helps us see where improvements are needed to achieve pay equity, leading to better, more informed decision-making. We also continued our partnership with the National Funders Network for the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative. To date, the Network has awarded roughly $70 million to more than 1,300 projects across the country to strengthen Black-led organizations. The Foundation for Black Communities also launched its first call for proposals under the Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund to support more than 100 projects.

We recognize and value bilingualism, which is an integral part of our national identity. Through our Social Development Partnerships Program, the Social Partnership Initiative funded two organizations in official language minority communities to address their needs and common social challenges, benefitting over 170,000 individuals.

We also continue our work to advance the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals in Canada and abroad. We published Taking Action Together: Canada's 2024 Annual Report on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals in June 2023, which outlines the Government of Canada's efforts to advancing the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Key highlights from the report included our efforts to reduce poverty, enhance education, promote gender equality and tackle climate change.

Under the federal government's Refocusing Government Spending Initiative, ESDC will reduce spending by $118.5 million by the 2026 to 2027 fiscal year. We will continue to maintain effective and efficient operations and programs aligned with the Government of Canada's priorities, and safeguard critical programs and services. No direct benefits or transfers will be reduced, and no employees will lose their jobs due to these reductions.

Through collaborative efforts, we are reaffirming the Government of Canada's commitment to delivering programs and services that improve the standard of living and quality of life for all Canadians. Our achievements during the past year demonstrate ESDC's dedication to fostering inclusive and supportive environments for all Canadians, as we look to the future to anticipate and meet the evolving needs of our country.

Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, Ginette Petitpas Taylor

Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jenna Sudds

Minister of Labour and Seniors, Steven MacKinnon

Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, Kamal Khera

Minister of Citizens' Services, Terry Beech

Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, Marci Ien

Service Excellence Highlights

1. Modernizing IT and addressing technical debt

We continued to transform our Information Technology (IT) systems through the Benefits Delivery Modernization (BDM) Programme. We made progress with the migration of Old Age Security to the Common Benefits Delivery Platform. We are setting ourselves up to migrate Employment Insurance next onto the new platform to both modernize the technology and transform Canadian's service experience. The Canada Pension Plan will be the last program migrated.

Since the first wave of Old Age Security was successfully deployed on the new platform in June 2023, over 600,000 International Agreement and Foreign Benefits clients are being served, and importantly, employees working on those files are now actively using the new system. For service officers, these changes improved workload management processes, integrated case management with other countries, and improved correspondence management. Once Old Age Security is fully migrated to the Common Benefits Delivery Platform, Canadians can expect a smoother, more reliable experience with the new solution.

We have worked with our federal partners, as well as the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, to allow citizens to access the department's services online using their provincial trusted credentials.

We continued to modernize our systems and infrastructure, addressing technical debt, to improve network performance, establish disaster recovery and address aging IT. Doing so, we reduced the risk of service interruption by:

Replacing outdated infrastructure and updating and modernizing our IT solutions
Implementing enhancements to the network to improve performance and security
Implementing new solutions to recover from major failures for all critical systems

2. Improving the client service experience and outcomes, supported by increasingly seamless digital services.

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, we created a new executive function to ensure that the client experience is at the core of how we design and deliver service. This function supports the Department in putting seamless, inclusive, and accessible service to clients at the heart of everything we do. Using a client-centred approach, client research and feedback is increasingly being used to shed light on the client journey so that changes to existing services and the design of new services provide a better client experience overall. To this end, the new Chief Client Experience Officer (CCXO) has been instrumental in providing expert advice across the Department. Specifically, in the last fiscal year, the CCXO engaged with teams to communicate insights that supported improvements to important programs like the Canada Dental Care Plan (CDCP) and the Canada Pension Plan - Disability, and to tools like the Passport Status Checker.

We improved in-person and online service design and delivery based on client feedback and accessibility standards. In October 2023, we piloted exit questionnaires at all Service Canada Centres (SCCs) and expanded their use to all SCCs in January 2024. By year-end, Canadians had given feedback on in-person service, including accessibility, at 87% of SCCs. The nation-wide collection of feedback provides a baseline for measuring the impact of interventions and experimentation. In addition to introducing the collection of feedback from in-person clients, we enhanced the type of client experience data being collected from SCCs, 1 800 O-Canada and eServiceCanada. On Canada.ca, we ensured that most visited content was in plain language.

We relaunched Service Canada Labs in October 2023. Clients were consulted on 4 products. These are the My Service Canada Account Dashboard, the Old Age Security Benefit Estimator, the Government of Canada Digital Standards refresh, and the Benefit Navigator. Participating clients learned about the products and were invited to participate in surveys on each one. Their feedback has informed product improvements.

We launched a test version of a new My Service Canada Account Dashboard. This new dashboard makes it easier for clients to manage their benefits and information. It will also reduce the need for clients to call Service Officers. Since its launch, the dashboard has had over 2.5 million visits and maintained a positive feedback rate of 72%. Given the success of the test launch, we will be rolling out the new dashboard and plan to introduce additional personalized features for clients in the coming years.

We continued to use client survey results and feedback to improve our grants and contributions systems. This included promoting the use of the Grants & Contributions Online System (GCOS). This system allows clients to easily submit their application, check the application status, and manage all aspects of their project online. As a result, the number of new users to the online system increased by over 43%. As well, the number of applications submitted through the GCOS increased by over 80% in fiscal year 2023 to 2024, compared to the previous fiscal year.

We successfully tested and started implementing Post Call Survey and Virtual Hold functionalities for our specialized call centres. These include the centres that handle calls for Employment Insurance, Pensions, the Employer Contact Centre, Social Insurance Numbers, and for Registration and Authentication.

We worked in collaboration with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to modernize Passport Program delivery by deploying:

The Passport Program Modernization Initiative, which provides new intake and processing tools to our frontline staff. This initiative is increasing access to passport services and making the service more efficient by allowing a paperless intake and processing environment, as well as reducing manual processing. It will strengthen the integrity and security of the Passport Program, keeping pace with evolving international passport issuance and identity management best practices
The Electronic Passport Next Generation initiative to passport print sites, which provides the Program with new printers, and provides Canadians with access to new booklets that are secure and universally trusted travel documents

3. Reaching all Canadians

We continued to develop and implement the Reaching All Canadians (RAC) initiative. This initiative removes barriers to make it easier for clients to access benefits and services. Through the initiative, we strive to simplify services, extend the reach of our programs, improve awareness of our programs and promote inclusion in service delivery. More details on this initiative can be found under Core Responsibility 5.

To identify and address client needs and service barriers, we collected and analyzed feedback through various mechanisms. These included the Annual Service Canada Client Experience Survey and feedback questionnaires.

We collaborated with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to develop tools and processes to assist shared clients by telephone. Clients with complex needs can now be warm transferred between Service Canada and CRA. Warm transfer is a type of call transfer where the contact centre employee stays on the phone with the client (with their consent) to support a smooth transition to another call centre.

This collaboration:

Supported a no wrong door approach for at-risk individuals
Offered personalized service to those who required a higher level of assistance
Provided seamless and compassionate assistance to at-risk taxpayers to improve their access to benefits and credits

We also collaborated with the CRA to offer a new "one-stop shop" approach to services, such as joint Social Insurance Number (SIN), tax filing clinics, and community outreach events promoting a wide array of government services.

As part of our first 3-year Accessibility Plan for Client Service, we committed to ensuring all new or improved services (in-person, phone and online) were developed in consultation with persons with disabilities.

Some examples of initiatives from the Accessibility Plan included:

Providing training to employees on how to create accessible and plain content for the web
Revamping the Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP) online pages to provide content that is easier to find and more accessible
Conducting readability scans for all new and updated online content to ensure consistent content quality
Enabling accessibility features on all citizen access workstations
Providing accessible keyboards in all self-help zones

We successfully designed and tested a modernized teletypewriter (TTY) service. This service allows citizens who are deaf, speech-impaired, or hard-of hearing to use a phone to communicate in real time. This new solution provides a call to queue capacity, and the ability to operate within defined hours of operation. As such, it improves the overall experience because clients will be able to speak with an agent in near real-time.

In June 2023, we launched a new Old Age Security (OAS) Benefits Estimator on Canada.ca. Success rate with the new tool is 85%, compared to 35% when performing the same tasks with the old OAS rate tables. The estimator averages 20,000 visits by Canadians weekly, with 1.2 million unique visitors since launch. Additionally, we also launched the Retirement Hub. The Retirement Hub is an accessible, user-friendly online tool aimed to help seniors, near-seniors, and those who support them, understand the retirement benefits they are entitled to.

We used email notification to increase the online promotion of Grants and Contributions funding opportunities. Notifications used wording that include information about the Grants and Contribution Online Services (GCOS), which permit users to submit applications for funding online. From May 2023 to May 2024, the total number of subscribers to these services increased from 6,500 to 18,000.

We continued our Grants and Contributions Client Experience Research program. Through this research, we gather client experience insights to directly inform program design and service delivery improvements. As a result, we made changes to applicant materials, so they are easier to understand and complete.

We improved the funding application process by testing a flat rate approach for administrative costs in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. Applicants can now request up to 15% for these costs. This simplifies budgets, reduces administrative workload, and maintains accountability. The same approach will be used for future funding applications where suitable and eligible.

We also developed an online eligibility self-assessment tool. It will be piloted in the 2024 call for proposals for the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF) - small projects component. Applicants can self-assess their eligibility before applying, reducing ineligible applications and eligibility inquiries. Pilot results will guide future versions of the tool for EAF funding intakes and may also test it with other funding.

We launched an online grants and contributions funding finder tool. Potential applicants can use the tool's filters to identify funding opportunities that suit their needs. The tool informs users of different funding opportunities that may be available to them.

We improved the grants and contributions landing page by enhancing navigation, design, and plain language content. This makes it easier for users to find information and understand requirements and processes. The page explains grants and contributions differences and provides links for creating online accounts.

We have developed and successfully launched a Secure Portal for Verified Partners in Children Services. This new secure online portal enables authorized users to submit online Social Insurance Number (SIN) requests on behalf of children under the guardianship of Provincial and Territorial Children Services. By streamlining the process for SIN validation and first-time SIN requests, this solution significantly reduces administrative burdens. Alberta Children and Family Services (CFS) was the first partner to be onboarded to this new system.

Service Canada Regional Service Delivery

Service Canada supported the delivery of key government commitments by responding to the needs of citizens. Through partnerships with provinces, territories, municipalities, and communities, our regional offices delivered a wide array of essential services across the country. This year, Service Canada pursued the following initiatives in each region:

Western Canada and Territories

The construction of the first Passport Operations Centre in Western Canada is underway. The centre is expected to launch operations in October 2024. It will support the national network with processing and printing passports. In preparation for the opening, the centre hired and trained 146 employees, who processed over 160,000 passports in 2023 to 2024. This operations centre will minimize potential risks to passport services by enabling high volume printing capability in Western Canada.

We collaborated with three Indigenous Skills and Employment Training agreement holders and one Skills and Partnership Fund agreement holder to host two virtual Nunavut Labour Market Forums. The forums aimed to create partnerships and build relationships to enhance economic development and increase opportunities for Nunavummiut. The government of Nunavut, Nunavut Arctic College, Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, and other ESDC partners attended the forums. They provided updates on student funding, program initiatives and training opportunities.

We reached 507 Indigenous communities to share information about Service Canada programs and services. We held more than 450 clinics and info sessions, either virtual or in-person, to help Indigenous individuals receive federal benefits. We also teamed up with community partners and other government departments to set up 654 Super Clinics. These clinics brought different service providers together for client convenience. In addition, through the Reaching All Canadians initiative, we have built strong partnerships with 24 organizations to improve access to benefits for underserved Canadians.

Ontario Region

We improved the client service experience at the Toronto North York Flagship Service Canada Centre by incorporating Passport Services. We also used new technology to create a more inclusive environment for both clients and employees. This includes accessible point-of-sale machines, height-adjustable workstations, and mobile privacy panels. In addition, roving officers equipped with tablets, carts, and two-way radio headsets now offer services to clients without being tied to a traditional workstation.

As part of the service delivery network, we consolidated five Service Canada Centres and Passport Offices, providing Canadians with a streamlined in-person service experience. Clients can access the full range of Passport Program and Service Canada services at the same place in those consolidated offices. Additionally, we expanded the number of Service Canada Centres offering expedited passport delivery services in rural and remote areas.

We enhanced first contact resolution by cross-training call centre officers and processing officers. This enables them to serve clients in either channel. This reduces wait times and improves service delivery to Canadians.

Québec Region

We have taken various measures to support clients who face barriers in accessing Canadian government programs and services. Specifically, we have:

Launched a project with Services Québec to assist seniors receiving provincial financial aid in applying for federal Old Age Security benefits as soon as they become eligible. This project will be expanded to all centers in the Montreal region
Conducted a third annual awareness campaign involving 4,000 organizations and partners. The campaign aims to inform seniors about the importance of filing their tax returns on time. We thereby help them avoid suspension of their Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits during renewal
Enrolled over 20 new Indigenous client representatives in the Employment Insurance program through Government of Canada's Data Gateway. This helps in more effectively supporting these vulnerable client groups
Undertaken a tour in Nunavik to strengthen partnerships and provide services, such as passport application services

We have also held three mobile clinics in urban areas in partnership with the provincial government. These clinics enable many Indigenous clients to access essential services, including Social Insurance Numbers, Indian Status cards, birth certificates, and health insurance cards. The services offered have assisted clients with tax filings, financial assistance applications, job searches, and obtaining uninsured health services.

We organized four consultation meetings and two innovation labs with Indigenous communities. These initiatives have led to tailored solutions for improving access to services, programs, and benefits for these client groups. As a result, 30 advisors from Indigenous organizations received training on Employment Insurance, and nine Indigenous representatives underwent training on Social Insurance Numbers. Supporting documents have been created and translated into Indigenous languages, including Atikamekw, Inuktitut, and Innu Aimun.

Atlantic Region

We are dedicated to transforming the Charlottetown Service Canada Centre (SCC) into a full-fledged Passport Office. To prepare, we have recruited and trained five Passport officers and a team leader. These officers currently help process the national Passport workload. Additionally, the Charlottetown SCC still provides express service to Prince Edward Island residents, with processing times ranging from 5 to 9 days.

We undertook significant outreach activities with official language minority communities (OLMC) to ensure their awareness of, and uptake on key programs. In response, we received 80 French New Horizons for Seniors Program applications which resulted in 38 signed agreements. These agreements will have a direct impact on the vitality and development of OLMC.

To improve our capacity to serve clients in both official languages, we worked with community partners to implement a targeted recruitment strategy. That process resulted in over 400 new hires into bilingual positions.

Chart of Service Canada in-person service network: description follows — **Figure 1: Service Canada in-person service network**

Results - what we achieved

Core responsibilities and internal services

Core responsibility 1: Social Development 
Core responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits 
Core responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment 
Core responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations
Core responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Gov't Departments
Internal services

Core responsibility 1: Social Development

Description

Increase inclusion and opportunities for Canadians to participate in their communities.

Progress on results

This section presents details on how the department performed to achieve results and meet targets for Social Development. Details are presented by departmental result.

The following section provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Social Development.

Departmental result: Not for profit organizations, communities and other groups have an enhanced capacity to address a range of social issues such as the social inclusion of persons with disabilities, the engagement of seniors and support for children and families

Performance indicator: Newly developed partnerships as a percentage of all partnerships developed by recipient organizations to address a range of social issues such as the social inclusion of persons with disabilities, children and families and other vulnerable populations

Target: At least 35%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: Result to be achieved in the future

2022 to 2023 actual results: 61%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 72.5%

Departmental result: Barriers to accessibility for persons with disabilities are removed

Performance indicator: Number of community spaces and workplaces that are more accessible due to Enabling Accessibility Fund funding

Target: 322^{Footnote 1}

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 1,290

2022 to 2023 actual results: 1,048

2023 to 2024 actual results: 437

Departmental result: Affordability of early learning and child care is increased

Performance indicator: Average child care fees for regulated early learning and child care spaces

Target: Average fee of $10-a-day^{Footnote 1}

Date to achieve target: March 2026

Actual results:

As of March 31, 2022, one territory and one province were delivering regulated ELCC at an average of $10-a-day or less.

As of March 31, 2023, seven provinces and territories were delivering regulated ELCC at an average of $10-a-day or less.

As of March 31, 2024, seven provinces and territories were delivering regulated ELCC at an average of $10-a-day or less.

Departmental result: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs^{Footnote 1}

Performance indicator: Number of targets that are being met for the published service standards of Social Development programs

Target: 3 out of 3

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 2 out of 3^{Footnote 2}

2022 to 2023 actual results: 3 out of 3

2023 to 2024 actual results: 2 out of 3^{Footnote 3}

Notes

Footnote 1

Service standards are available on Canada.ca

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

In most Grants and Contributions programs, the Service Standards were met. A few exceptions were the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF) and the Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) programs where flexibility for clients in some administrative procedures meant the Notification of Funding Decisions Service Standard target was not met

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

In most Grants and Contributions programs, the Service Standards were met. A few exceptions were the New Horizons for Seniors (NHSP) and the Social Development Partnerships Program (SDPP) programs where flexibility for clients in some administrative procedures meant the Notification of Funding Decisions Service Standard target was not met

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Details on results

The following section describes the results for Social Development in fiscal year 2023 to 2024 compared with the planned results set out in Employment and Social Development Canada's departmental plan for the year.

Affordability of early learning and child care is increased

Results achieved

By March 31, 2024, seven of Canada's provinces and territories (Quebec, Yukon, Nunavut, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Saskatchewan) were delivering regulated child care for an average of $10 per day or less. The Northwest Territories announced plans to lower fees to $10-a-day effective April 1, 2024, while the remaining provinces and territories had decreased fees by at least 50%.

On March 19, 2024, the Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act received Royal Assent. The legislation enshrines the guiding principles for federal investments in a Canada-wide early learning and child care system. This system will ensure families have access to affordable, high-quality, flexible, and inclusive programs and services no matter where they live.

The National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care has met several milestones. This includes:

Submission of an interim report on early learning and child care workforce
Advice on total compensation for Early Childhood Educators

As part of the Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Innovation Program, we approved an additional 6 ELCC Innovation projects, complementing the initial 16 projects. These initiatives aim to improve the life outcomes of children by exploring innovative approaches.

We implemented a Budget 2022 commitment to create an ELCC Infrastructure Fund for provinces and territories to make additional child care investments. Specific details about the projects supported through the Fund will be available when action plans are finalized.

Together with our federal partners, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Crown-Indigenous Relation and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), we continued to support Indigenous groups in making advances on their Early Learning and Child Care priorities. A significant portion of Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) funding was provided to bolster over 900 existing Aboriginal Head Start sites in addition to new sites established in Métis communities.

Federal partners continued to advance funding in support of over 950 projects for repairs, renovations, addressing immediate health and safety needs of existing sites. For example, the Bloodvein First Nation Daycare in Manitoba was provided approximately $800,000 to repair their preschool room to meet licensing standards. They also used these funds to purchase an accessible vehicle for Indigenous children with disabilities.

This period also marked the first year of funding for major infrastructure investments announced in the 2021 Budget, with $441 million allocated to build new Indigenous ELCC centres or replace sites that have outlived their useful life.

We made progress in establishing long-term funding decisions with our Indigenous partners for Indigenous early learning and child care investments. Métis partners agreed on a new five-year funding approach, while Inuit partners set a 10-year allocation formula. First Nations partners are developing a funding model that aligns with their ELCC needs and priorities. These decisions reflect the emerging governance and technical capacity in this sector and will enable the development of multi-year strategies and workplans, streamlined administration and timely advancement of funding in the coming years.

Barriers to accessibility for persons with disabilities are removed

Results achieved

We have made progress in implementing the Accessible Canada Act. Our proactive approach focuses on identifying, removing and preventing barriers to accessibility, while embodying the principle of ‘Nothing Without Us'. For example, we are developing regulations on accessible information and communication technologies. To inform the regulations, we engaged extensively with the disability community, federally regulated public and private entities, digital accessibility experts and Indigenous people.

And while Phase 1 of a performance indicator framework on accessibility was published last year, we recently collaborated with the disability community and academic stakeholders on Phase 2 performance indicators. These indicators focus on the remaining four priority areas: procurement, communication other than information and communication technologies, design and delivery of programs and services, and the built environment. These indicators will be published in Fall 2024.

We have also added a commitment in the United Nations Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act action plan for advancing accessibility to First Nations communities on reserve. Moreover, we funded the Assembly of First Nations and the Native Women's Association of Canada, to carry out research to help inform the understanding of barriers to accessibility faced by First Nations persons with disabilities living on reserve.

We continued our efforts to shift the culture from ‘accessibility as an add-on' to ‘inclusive from the start' by hosting the second annual Canadian Congress on Disability (CCDI). CCDI generated significant interest with over 3,600 registrations from across Canada and beyond. Participants included persons with disabilities, disability organizations, public and private sectors, academics, innovators and thought leaders. CCDI has become an anchor event to kick-start our National AccessAbility Week celebrations.

This year, the first annual Disability Inclusion Action Plan update was released online, outlining progress made on action items from the previous year. Accomplishments to date include:

Passing of the Canada Disability Benefit Act
Funding 100 projects under the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
Launching of the Disability Inclusion Business Council
Launching a new accessibility standard under the Accessible Canada Act
Hosting a Congress on Disability Inclusion

Following Parliament's approval of the Canada Disability Benefit Act on June 22, 2023, we launched an engagement process to inform the development of the benefit's regulations and implementation of the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). To date, we have held a series of roundtables, meetings and online surveys with disability stakeholders across the country. In total, the Government heard from over 8,000 Canadians during this phase of the regulatory engagement process. In total, 113 organizations provided substantive input and completed the demographic questions, 58 of these organizations were representing Indigenous communities.

We held engagement sessions with persons with disabilities, the organizations that serve them, organizations representing them more broadly, and experts in accessible reading technology. In addition, we worked with Statistics Canada to conduct the Survey on Accessible Print Materials. These engagement sessions and the survey findings informed the design and development of the Equitable Access to Reading Program.

Poverty is reduced

Results achieved

In 2022, Canada's overall poverty rate was 9.9%, as measured by the Market Basket Measure Canada's Official Poverty Line. This represents a 32% decrease compared to the baseline year of 2015 (14.5%), with approximately 1.3 million fewer people living in poverty.

We continued to support the work of the National Advisory Council on Poverty. The council's 2023 report, titled Blueprint for Transformation, was tabled in Parliament on October 27, 2023. The council continued to engage Canadians through in-person and online consultations. To inform their report, they met with people with lived experience in poverty, academics and stakeholders. These include policymakers, service providers, community groups, and non-profit organizations.

The Third Comprehensive Review of the Market Basket Measure (MBM) was launched in June 2023, in collaboration with Statistics Canada. The methodology used to determine the MBM must be reviewed on a regular basis. This ensures that poverty thresholds based on the MBM continue to reflect a modest, basic standard of living. The process is on track to deliver the 2023-based MBM in 2025.

As well, poverty thresholds based on the MBM methodology are now available for all three territories. Canada thus fulfilled a commitment made in Canada's Poverty Reduction Strategy to support and develop an official poverty measure for the territories.

We established a dedicated funding agreement with the Métis National Council and continued supporting and funding the Assembly of First Nations and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. These agreements supported ongoing efforts toward identifying and co-developing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis-specific indicators of poverty and well-being. These include non-income-based measures of poverty that reflect the multiple dimensions of poverty and well-being experienced by First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

Capacity to address social issues is enhanced

Results achieved

On October 31, 2023, we published National School Food Policy Engagements - What We Heard Report. This report reflects the feedback and insights gained from engaging over 5,000 stakeholders and individuals across Canada on school food. The report informed the development of a National School Food Program and Policy. The Canadians we heard from highlighted the importance for children to have access to stigma-free school food programming in Canada. They also indicated the need for such programs to be tailored to the unique contexts and needs of communities. Stakeholders also emphasized particular areas of need for school food, including robust school food infrastructure, locally sourced food and culturally appropriate and inclusive programming.

Through the Social Development Partnerships Program Disability component, we continued to provide National Operating Funding to 27 organizations. The Community Inclusion Initiative of this program continues to fund 13 regional organizations to improve the social inclusion of persons with intellectual disabilities.

The Social Partnership Initiative (SPI) is delivered through our Social Development Partnerships Program - Children and Families component. The SPI funded two organizations in Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) so they can serve the needs of OLMC individuals, families and communities, and helped address common social challenges. Approximately 171,106 individuals benefitted from these activities.

Through the Social Development Partnership Program - Children and Families, 11 projects are now underway to support the financial empowerment of low-income adults. In addition, 17 projects are underway to support the social inclusion of vulnerable children and youth.

We continued to partner with the National Funders Network for the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative (SBCCI). From November to December 2023, the National Funders Network launched the third call for proposals for SBCCI. This call for proposals provided more than $36 million in funding to over 880 capacity-building projects across the country. Funding will help to strengthen and improve the capacity of Black-led, Black-focused, and Black-serving community organizations.

We met with the SBCCI External Reference Group (ERG) 7 times in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. The ERG met with the Minister of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the SBCCI National Funders Network. During these meetings, the ERG provided advice reflecting the lived experiences of Black communities to support the implementation of SBCCI. One of the key themes the ERG underscored was the importance of celebrating Canada's vibrant Black communities and raising awareness of their success. We are incorporating advice from the ERG into our future activities.

We also continued our work toward selecting an organization that will establish the National Institute for People of African Descent. We expect the announcement in 2024 to 2025.

Through our New Horizons for Seniors Program's Pan-Canadian stream, 22 projects were underway. These projects are using a collective impact approach to bring together multiple community organizations to achieve results. The current cohort of Pan-Canadian projects are anticipated to be completed by 2025. The New Horizons for Seniors Program's Community-Based stream funded 3,002 projects to help seniors improve their quality of life and feeling of inclusion in society. In total, 926,890 seniors participated in these projects across Canada.

Similarly, we supported the National Seniors Council (NSC) with their engagement activities. The NSC engaged with older adults, organizations, and experts to validate findings and to prioritize areas of greatest needs. The NSC submitted a report titled Supporting Canadians Aging at Home: Ensuring Quality of Life as We Age to the Minister of Labour and Seniors and Minister of Health.

We successfully completed the Investment Readiness Program, which was extended into 2023 to 2024. Funding recipients completed a range of ecosystem building activities that strengthened the social innovation and social finance ecosystem.

As part of Canada's commitment to the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (UN Decade), the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities participated in the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent. The Minister recognized the systemic barriers and wide-ranging forms of discrimination that people of African descent face both in Canada and around the world. The Minister also signaled Canada's intention to support the Forum's call for a second UN Decade, noting that Canada's domestic efforts have already been extended through 2028.

The Foundation for Black Communities (FFBC) was selected to administer the Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund. In December 2023, FFBC launched the first call for proposals. This will provide a total of $9.1 million, including $5.9 million from the fund, to support more than 100 projects working to fight anti-Black racism and improve social and economic outcomes for Black communities in Canada.

The Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat (ARSEC) continued to lead a whole-of-government approach to combat systemic racism and discrimination in federal policies, programs and services. We engaged with racialized and religious minority communities, Indigenous Peoples, stakeholders, and other partners. We also provided feedback to departments, delivered training sessions, collaborated with international partners, and established networks for racial equity. ARSEC's work increased awareness and resource allocation for community programs, benefiting Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities.

We led work for the Government of Canada to present its second Voluntary National Review on Sustainable Development at the United Nations in July 2023. The review highlighted progress, challenges, and lessons learned since the first review in 2018. It involved all levels of government, Indigenous groups, civil society, academia, and youth. To further support sustainable development, 14 projects received $3.8M in funding through the Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program. Additionally, $790,380 was allocated to National Indigenous Organizations to ensure Indigenous perspectives contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program also launched a new call for proposals in November 2023, which will provide a total of approximately $3.5 million per year over 3 years to selected projects in Fall 2024.

Services to Canadians

Results achieved

Through the Age Well at Home initiative, 71 In-Home Support Pilot projects and 21 Scaling Up for Seniors projects were underway to help low income and otherwise vulnerable seniors age at home. We worked with an external contractor to conduct performance measurement and evaluation activities of projects. Results are anticipated to be available in early 2026.

In support of the Accessible Canada Act, we launched an online tool to help applicants find grants and contributions funding opportunities. Users can filter funding opportunities based on their needs. Additionally, we improved the grants and contributions landing page, making it easier for users to navigate, understand requirements, and access relevant information. The page explains the differences between grants and contributions and provides links for creating online accounts.

Resources required to achieve results

This section provides a summary of the planned and actual spending and full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to achieve results.

Resource:Gross Spending

Planned: 6,905,105,617

Actual: 6,884,431,661

Resource: Net Spending

Planned: 6,905,105,617

Actual: 6,884,431,661

Resource: Full-time equivalents

Planned: 511

Actual: 562

Please refer to ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

The complete financial and human resources information GC InfoBase for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government-wide priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

The National Advisory Council on Poverty engaged with individuals and organizations from across Canada. The Council travelled to Calgary, Halifax, Truro, St. John's and Whitehorse to meet directly with people with lived expertise of poverty. The Council hosted 5 virtual discussions involving over 200 organizations working in the poverty space to discuss diverse topics related to poverty. These insights will inform the Council's 2024 annual report and recommendations, including specific calls for continued support of equity-enabling poverty reduction efforts.

Organizations have reported to us that they are applying a GBA Plus intersectional lens to their operations. They have done so when: implementing policy, making strategic decisions, engaging partners, designing programs, staffing and providing ongoing services. Additionally, a GBA Plus lens is being used for staff, volunteers and board of director orientation.

As part of the Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), we worked with National Indigenous Organizations to use an intersectional approach in GBA Plus analysis. This ensured that Indigenous populations' specific concerns are being addressed. Key issues reported by National Indigenous Organizations included lack of access to healthcare, alcohol abuse, poverty, disease, malnutrition, climate change, and patriarchal colonial structures contributing to high rates of disability among Indigenous women. Additionally, there is a lack of access to social services and safe spaces for Indigenous Peoples to discuss intergenerational trauma and begin spiritual healing. Recommendations included making resources available for Indigenous WG2STGD+ Peoples with disabilities, adding a fifth pillar to the DIAP to support caregivers, and taking an intersectional approach with culturally appropriate gender-based analysis.

Officers of the Investment Readiness Program successfully applied a GBA Plus lens in data collection. This allowed them to assess the program's outreach and impact on the diverse Social Purpose Organizations (SPOs) that applied to the program. The data informed the activities completed by the twenty-six program funding recipients. This ensured the activities met the needs of diverse SPOs, especially those that are led by and serving equity deserving groups.

Meanwhile, the department's Social Finance Fund continued to develop its data collection requirements and framework. The purpose is to track investments, including those that advance social equity and gender equality.

Finally, the Foundation for Black Communities (FFBC) collected various GBA Plus data through the call for proposals they launched under the Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund. This data informed FFBC's funding decisions and will be provided to the department once it becomes available.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals

End poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1) - The Canada Disability Benefit Act was approved in 2023. It will support the financial security of low-income persons with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64.

Quality education (SDG 4) - As of March 31, 2024, seven Canadian provinces and territories (Quebec, Yukon, Nunavut, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan) provided regulated child care at an average cost of $10 per day or less. The Northwest Territories also announced plans to reduce fees to $10 per day starting from April 1, 2024. Additionally, the other provinces and territories had already lowered parent fees by at least 50% by December 31, 2022.

Reduce inequality within and among countries (SDG 10) - The Social Innovation and Social Finance (SI/SF) Strategy includes the Investment Readiness Program (IRP) and the Social Finance Fund (SFF). It enhances the ability of social purpose organizations (SPOs) to increase their social and environmental impact. Such SPO's include charities, non-profit organizations, co-operatives, and mission-focused for-profits. Up to April 2024, the IRP had funded more than 1100 organizations, of which 40% were dedicated to addressing SDG 10. The SI/SF Strategy also contributed to SDG 17 by promoting partnerships between non-profit organizations, private and public organizations to achieve social outcomes.

Peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16) - The Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund contributed to SDG 16 and SDG 10 through work that will lead to funding for more than 100 Black-led, Black-focused, and Black-serving organizations. The organizations will deliver projects that address longstanding and systemic barriers to social and economic inclusion. These projects are led by and for Black communities and are committed to delivering community-led solutions.

More information on Employment and Social Development Canada's contributions to Canada's Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Innovation

We continued our work on the innovative pilot for the Accessible Canada Partnerships (Partnerships) stream. Projects funded under Phase 1 have demonstrated positive results to date. This included creating and testing new innovative and sustainable approaches to identify, remove and prevent barriers to accessibility and disability inclusion.

We are working to establish an external technical review committee. The committee will provide input to Employment and Social Development Canada on the outcomes of Phase 1 projects to support a solicited call for proposals for Phase 2 funding. Phase 2 funding will allow projects to submit plans to expand their reach and to sustain activities in the long term, after federal funding ends

Program inventory

Social Development is supported by the following programs:

Accessible Canada Initiative
Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund
Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime
Early Learning and Child Care
Enabling Accessibility Fund
Indigenous Early Learning Child Care Transformation Initiative
New Horizons for Seniors Program
Social Development Partnerships Program
Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy
Strategic Engagement and Research Program
Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program

Additional information related to the program inventory for Social Development is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Core responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

In this section

Description
Progress on results
Resources required to achieve results
Related government-wide priorities
Program inventory

Description

Assist Canadians in maintaining income for retirement, and provide financial benefits to survivors, people with disabilities and their families.

Progress on results

This section presents details on how the department performed to achieve results and meet targets for Pensions and Benefits. Details are presented by departmental result.

This section provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Pensions and Benefits.

Departmental result: Seniors have income support for retirement

Performance indicator: Percentage of seniors living in poverty

Target: At most 6.1%^{Footnote 1}

Date to achieve target: December 2030

2021 to 2022 actual results: 3.1%^{Footnote 2} (2020)^{Footnote 3}

2022 to 2023 actual results: 5.6% (2021)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 6.0% (2022)

Performance indicator: Percentage of seniors receiving the Old Age Security Pension at age 65 and over in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors aged 65 and over (OAS pension take-up rate)

Target: At least 94%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 96.8% (2019)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 96.7% (2020)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 96.5%^{Footnote 3}

Performance indicator: Percentage of seniors receiving the Old Age Security pension at age 70 and over in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors aged 70 and over (OAS pension take-up rate 70+)

Target: At least 97%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 99% (2019)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 99% (2020)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 99%

Performance indicator: Percentage of seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors (GIS take-up rate)

Target: At least 90%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 92.2% (2019)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 91.9% (2020)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 90.3%^{Footnote 5}

Performance indicator: Percentage of Canada Pension Plan contributors aged 70+ receiving retirement benefits

Target: At least 99%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 99% (2020)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 99% (2021)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 98%

Notes

Footnote 1

The target set for fiscal year 2023 to 2024 (6.1%) does not reflect the most recent Market Basket Measure (MBM), Canada's current official poverty line provided by Statistics Canada. The target will be updated to 7.3% in the 2024-2025 Departmental Plan, in line with the most recent MBM (2018 base)

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

The lower poverty rate in 2020 can largely be attributed to the pandemic-related benefits. The poverty rates for 2021 and 2022 are consistent with pre-pandemic poverty rates

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

The year in parentheses is the most recent for which data is available

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

Since 2013, seniors can delay receiving their OAS pension until age 70 for higher monthly benefits. This affects the OAS pension take-up rate. For this reason, the Department also measures OAS pension take-up among eligible seniors aged 70 and over.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

The increase in the GIS earnings exemption in July 2020 has made more low-income seniors who work eligible for the GIS. This may have contributed to a lower ‘beneficiaries over eligible seniors’ ratio. Moreover, the loss of income that some seniors experienced in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, may have also contributed to an increase in eligible seniors, further decreasing that ratio. Through targeted outreach activities, the Department reaches out to seniors who could be eligible for the GIS and invites them to apply for the benefit.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Departmental result: Persons with disabilities and their families have financial support

Performance indicator: Percentage of Canada Pension Plan contributors who have contributory eligibility for Canada Pension Plan Disability benefits and therefore have access to financial support in the event of a severe and prolonged disability

Target: At least 66%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 65% (2020)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 65% (2021)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 65% (2022)

Performance indicator: Percentage of Canadians approved for the Disability Tax Credit who have a Registered Disability Savings Plan to encourage private savings^{Footnote 1}

Target: 35%

Date to achieve target: December 2023

2021 to 2022 actual results: 35% (2021)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 36% (2022)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 35% (2023)

Performance indicator: Percentage of Registered Disability Savings Plan beneficiaries that have been issued a grant and/or a bond to assist them and their families to save for their long-term financial security^{Footnote 2}

Target: At least 77%

Date to achieve target: December 2023

2021 to 2022 actual results: 78% (2021)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 76% (2022)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 75% (2023)

Departmental result: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs^{Footnote 1}

Performance indicator: Number of targets that are being met for the published service standards of Pensions and Benefits programs^{Footnote 2}

Target: 10 out of 10

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 5 out of 10

2022 to 2023 actual results: 4 out of 10

2023 to 2024 actual results: 4 out of 10

Performance indicator: Percentage of Canada Pension Plan Retirement Benefits paid within the first month of entitlement

Target: At least 90%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 95.9%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 94.3%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 94.3%

Performance indicator: Percentage of decisions on applications for a Canada Pension Plan disability benefit within 120 calendar days

Target: At least 80%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 87.2%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 78.7%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 53.2%^{Footnote 3}

Performance indicator: Percentage of Old Age Security basic benefits paid within the first month of entitlement

Target: At least 90%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 89.5%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 87.6%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 86.6%^{Footnote 4}

Notes

Footnote 1

Service standards are available on Canada.ca

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Indicator will measure whether the service standards are met or not, and includes the following 10 indicators: Canada Pension Plan retirement benefits are paid within the first month of entitlement; Canada Pension Plan payments are accurate; Canada Pension Plan calls are answered by an agent within 10 minutes; Make a decision on applications for a Canada Pension Plan disability (CPPD) benefit within 120 calendar days of receiving a complete application; A decision for CPPD benefit applicants with a terminal illness is made within 5 business days of receiving a complete terminal illness application; A decision for CPPD benefit applicants with a grave condition is made within 30 calendar days of receiving a complete application; A decision on a CPPD benefit reconsideration request is made within 120 calendar days of receiving the reconsideration request; Old Age Security basic benefits are paid within the first month of entitlement; Old Age Security payments are accurate; Old Age Security calls are answered by an agent within 10 minutes. Service Canada continually strives to improve overall results in circumstances where service standards are not met. The OAS and CPPD programs experienced increases in inventories caused by changing demographics and increased complexity, which impacted speed of service results . The OAS program has implemented operational strategies to reduce the volume of older work in the inventory and improve service delivery results. The CPPD program implemented short-term measures to increase capacity, streamline processes, and enhance operational efficiency through process automations. To improve service levels, the Pensions Call Centre increased its officer capacity to better align with call demand, anticipating improvement in performance throughout fiscal year 2024 to 2025 as officers gain experience and proficiency

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Recent growth in CPPD inventories, due to inadequate staffing and an increase in complex cases, has created a structural deficit to complete forecasted intake. Applications due to mental health and cognitive disabilities are on an upward trend, representing 34% of CPPD applications. The CPPD Action Plan has been implemented with the goal of increasing capacity, containing inventory and simplifying processes. A balanced approach is being implemented to reduce the inventory by prioritizing older work and preventing new files from surpassing the service standard, with improvements to the inventory beginning in fiscal year 2024 to 2025

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

OAS application inventories increased significantly in 2023 to 2024, due to technological challenges, increased workload complexity due to changing demographics regarding clients' residence and working histories, and workforce capacity. A workload strategy has been implemented to prioritize the oldest applications first, temporarily decreasing the speed of service. Service delivery results are expected to improve in the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Details on results

The following section describes the results for Pensions and Benefits in fiscal year 2023 to 2024 compared with the planned results set out in Employment and Social Development Canada's departmental plan for the year.

Seniors have income support for retirement

Results achieved

We continued to provide seniors with a minimum income and helped to replace their income in retirement. In 2023 to 2024, the Old Age Security (OAS) program provided $76 billion in benefits to 7.3 million beneficiaries. This included:

$57.4 billion in OAS pension benefits to 7.2 million seniors
$18.0 billion in Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefits paid to 2.5 million low-income seniors
$609 million in Allowance benefits paid to 70,662 Canadians aged 60 to 64 who are the spouses or common-law partners of GIS recipients, or who are widows or widowers

Through the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), we provided partial earnings replacement to retired contributors. We provided supplemental benefits if a contributor became disabled or died. In 2022 to 2023, we provided 6.5 million beneficiaries a total of $56.0 billion in CPP benefits.

This included:

$45.7 billion in retirement and post-retirement pensions to 5.8 million CPP retirement pensioners
$5.3 billion in survivor benefits to 1.2 million surviving spouses or common-law partners and 62,000 children of deceased contributors
$4.6 billion in disability and post-retirement disability benefits to 321,000 people with disabilities and 75,000 of their children
$446 million in death benefits to the estates or next-of-kin of 178,000 deceased contributors

We worked with provincial partners to ensure that the CPP continues to meet the needs of Canadians through the 2022 to 2024 Triennial CPP Review. This led to Canada's Finance Ministers agreeing in principle to a set of changes to the CPP legislation. These changes will include a top-up to the Death Benefit for certain contributors, introduce a partial children's benefit for part-time students, and extend eligibility for the disabled contributors children's benefit when a parent reaches age 65.

Persons with disabilities and their families have financial support

Results achieved

We continued to consult clients and stakeholders who have experience interacting with the Canada Pension Plan - Disability (CPPD) program to explore the client experience and gain further insight into how the program, including service delivery, can be improved. We are using the feedback to inform future CPPD policy, operations, and implementation.

Changes to Social Security Tribunal (SST) have been fully implemented, following consultations with stakeholders. Medical Advisors now review client appeal files in detail for second level of appeal to decide if a client is eligible for CPPD benefits.

We expanded the quality assurance program to include reconsideration decisions. We started studies on grave medical condition and terminal illness applications. This work is helping to inform program improvements.

The Return-to-Work pilot is a priority under the Disability Inclusion Action Plan's Employment Pillar. It was developed with domestic and international stakeholder input from 2020 to 2023. It began accepting clients in April 2024, and will run for 2 years accepting a total of 1,500 clients. It is testing three new and improved supports for clients: a Return-to-Work Navigator, an extended 12-month work trial, and an improved Vocational Rehabilitation program.

Services to Canadians

Work is progressing following the successful delivery of the first enhanced portion of the CPP benefits payment. The CPP enhancement project is on track to deliver the second additional payment in March 2025. This project involves important and complex system changes that, as a result of the enhanced contributions, will pay benefits at a rate of 33% instead of 25% of a client's average monthly pensionable earnings.

On June 12, 2023, we successfully launched the first release for OAS on the new Benefits Delivery Platform. Over 600,000 International Agreement and Foreign Benefits clients are now being served through the new platform and employees working on these cases are actively using the new system. This release has improved workload management, integrated case management with other countries, and correspondence management.

We launched the new Old Age Security Benefits Estimator on Canada.ca in June 2023. By March 31, 2024, the estimator had more than 900,000 visits. The new tool helps people understand their eligibility for the OAS pension, GIS, Allowance, and Allowance for Survivor. The estimator is an easy to use, secure, accessible, and bilingual tool. It asks users five simple questions to help eligibility for benefits. It provides clear information on eligibility entitlement. The estimator does not transfer or store any client data.

Resources required to achieve results

This section provides a summary of the planned and actual spending and full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to achieve results.

Resource: Gross Spending

Planned: 140,587,342,781

Actual: 138,642,211,774

Resource: Net Spending

Planned: 77,990,394,891

Actual: 77,425,657,291

Resource: Full-time equivalents

Planned: 7,075

Actual: 7,608

Please refer to ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

The complete financial and human resources information GC InfoBase for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government-wide priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

The OAS pension is a quasi-universal, non-contributory pension based on residence and legal status. It contributes to inclusive outcomes for Canadians, and the gender breakdown of beneficiaries reflects that of the general population aged 65 and older. Slightly more women (54%) than men (46%) benefited from the OAS pension in fiscal year 2023 to 2024 This matches the latest available data (2023) on all seniors aged 65 and over (that is 54% women and 46% men).

The GIS also contributes to inclusiveness. This additional benefit is payable to low-income OAS pension recipients who have little or no income other than the OAS pension. Its income-tested design ensures that benefits are targeted to those seniors most in need. A slightly higher percentage of women (58%) than men (42%) benefited from the GIS. This reflects the higher earnings of men, which in turn result in relatively more men than women being above the benefit's phase-out thresholds.

Finally, inclusive outcomes also result from the Allowances payable under the OAS program. The regular Allowance supports couples living on a single pension until the other spouse, aged 60 to 64, becomes eligible for OAS benefits. Similarly, the Allowance for the Survivor assists 60- to 64-year-old low-income widows or widowers who have not remarried or become a common-law partner. Women's historically lower attachments to the labour market are reflected in the noticeably higher portion of women (85%) who benefit from the Allowances than men (15%).

There are some gender differences in the benefits received from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). For example, slightly more women (52%) than men (48%) received a CPP retirement pension. The average monthly pension for men ($779) was higher than that of women ($575). This reflects that men have, historically, had higher earnings during their working years. However, there were considerably more women (79%) receiving the CPP survivor's pension than men (21%). Given differences in life expectancy between men and women, all options considered during CPP's 2022 to 2024 Triennial Review were examined through a lens of Gender-based analysis plus. Gender, household income level, past labour force attachment, family status and widowhood were considered. This will help to ensure that all proposed options promote gender equality, diversity and inclusiveness.

Limited GBA plus analysis was done on the Canada Disability Savings Program due to data limitations. We are working to increase the availability of gender and sociodemographic information for this program. Key program results were monitored by sex, income level, province/territory of residence, and language. This analysis guided targeted outreach and promotions to increase take up in regions with lower than average participation. Starting May 2024, all beneficiaries can now report their gender instead of their sex when opening a plan and applying for Grant and Bond.

Approval for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) is a key criteria in determining eligibility for the Registered Disability Savings Plan. Consequently, the gender distribution of Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) beneficiaries is closely aligned with that of people approved for the DTC (58.5% for men and 41.5% for women, in 2023). As a result, in 2023, men represented 59.7% and women represented 40.3% of Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) beneficiaries aged 0 to 59 years.

As of March 31, 2024, there were 286,898 active Registered Disability Savings Plans. Of all Registered Disability Savings Plan beneficiaries 54.5% (156,227) are aged 0 to 34 years. Among them, men make up 65.2% (101,903) and women make up 34.8% (54,318). Those aged 35 to 49 years comprise 26.7% (76,594) of RDSP beneficiaries, within which men make up 54.2% (41,476) and women 45.8% (35,117).

Of the 286,898 Registered Disability Savings Plans, 61.2% (175,476) belong to low- or modest-income individuals and 27.4% (78,612) belong to high-income individuals. The remaining 11.4% (32,810) belong to individuals whose plan is held by an agency or who have no declared or found income.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals

End poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1) - Through the Canada Disability Savings Program we supported the long-term financial security of persons with disabilities. In 2023, 75% of beneficiaries aged 0 to 49 years received the Canada Disability Savings Bond and/or the Canada Disability Savings Grant. From December 2008, when the program was introduced, until December 2023, we have paid $4.40 billion in Grants and $1.84 billion in Bonds.

Innovation

We used research and stakeholder consultations on the Canada Pension Plan Disability Program to design a pilot project to test new and improved return to work supports. The pilot project started in April 2024. The project will provide supports over 2 years to approximately 1,500 Canada Pension Plan Disability recipients. It is testing three supports for clients who are returning to work: a Return-to-Work Navigator, an extended 12-month work trial and an improved approach to vocational rehabilitation.

Program inventory

Pensions and benefits is supported by the following programs:

Canada Disability Savings Program
Canada Pension Plan
Old Age Security Program

Additional information related to the program inventory for Working conditions and workplace relations is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Core responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

In this section

Description
Progress on results
Resources required to achieve results
Related government-wide priorities
Program inventory

Description

Help Canadians access post-secondary education, obtain the skills and training needed to participate in a changing labour market, and provide supports to those who are temporarily unemployed.

Progress on results

This section presents details on how the department performed to achieve results and meet targets for Learning, Skills Development and Employment. Details are presented by departmental result.

This section provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Learning, Skills Development and Employment.

Departmental result: Canadians access education, training, and life-long learning supports to gain the skills and work experience they need

Performance indicator: Number of Canadians receiving provincially or territorially delivered skills training and/or employment services supported by Government of Canada funding transfers

Target: Not available^{Footnote 1}

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2021 to 2022 actual results: 607,149 (2020 to 2021)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 664,922 (2021 to 2022)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 716,005 (2022 to 2023)

Performance indicator: Employment or returns to school following provincially or territorially delivered skills training and/or employment services supported by Government of Canada funding transfers

Target: Not available^{Footnote 1}

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2021 to 2022 actual results: 278,995 (2020 to 2021)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 268,124 (2021 to 2022)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 334,605 (2022 to 2023)

Performance indicator: Number of Canadians receiving training and/or employment supports through federally administered programs

Target: 234,441

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 252,360

2022 to 2023 actual results: 269,607

2023 to 2024 actual results: 408,611^{Footnote 2}

Performance indicator: Employment or returns to school following training/supports through federally administered programs

Target: 58,430

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 163,174

2022 to 2023 actual results: 132,975

2023 to 2024 actual results: 102,594^{Footnote 3}

Performance indicator: Percentage change in Canadians aged 25 to 64 enrolled in university or college

Target: 0.5% decrease to 0.5% increase

Date to achieve target: December 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 5.7% increase (2021)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 2.6% decrease (2022)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 2.2% increase (2023)

Performance indicator: Percentage of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 24 that are enrolled in university or college

Target: At least 45.8%

Date to achieve target: December 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 45.2% (2021)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 44.5% (2022)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 44.3% (2023)

Notes

Footnote 1

Though provincially and territorially (P/T) delivered programs set their own annual targets, results are reported annually

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

The result includes the actual number of participants who received employment or training supports through the following federally delivered programs: Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy (CAS) 41,697; Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program (ISET) 47,898; Skills and Partnership Fund (SPF) 1,773; Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program (SWSP) 89,546; Community Workforce Development Program (CWDP) 1,181; Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) 57,467 (23,008 work placements and 34,459 Innovative Work-Integrated Learning opportunities ) - the SWPP tracks the number of opportunities only, not the number of individual participants; Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) 93,330, (which includes ESDC Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program (YESSP) 18,803 and Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) 74,527); Skills for Success (SFS) 75,719 (which includes 72,194 who completed or were still in training from SFS and 3,525 who completed training from the Women's Employment Readiness Pilot Program). Results for Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities are not available at time of publishing; as such results will be reported in the 2024-2025 Departmental Results Report

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

The result includes the actual number of participants who found employment or returned to school following participation in the following federally delivered programs: Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program (ISET) 25,936; Skills and Partnership Fund (SPF) 527; Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) 72,944, (which includes Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program (YESSP) 13,695 and Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) 59,249); and Skills for Success (SFS) 4,023. Results for Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities are not available at time of publishing; as such results will be reported in the 2024-2025 Departmental Result Report

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Departmental result: Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market

Performance indicator: Difference in the employment rate between Indigenous peoples (First Nations status and non-status, Inuit and Métis) and non-Indigenous peoples^{Footnote 1}

Target: At most 15.6 percentage points

Date to achieve target: March 2027

2021 to 2022 actual results: 14.1 percentage points (Census 2021)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 14.1 percentage points (Census 2021)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 14.1 percentage points (Census 2021)

Performance indicator: Difference in the employment rate between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities^{Footnote 1}

Target: At most 25.2 percentage points

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 20.8 percentage points (2017 Canadian Survey of Disability)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 20.8 percentage points (2017 Canadian Survey of Disability)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 16 percentage points (2022 Canadian Survey of Disability)

Performance indicator: Difference in the employment rate between women and men^{Footnote 1}

Target: At most 5.6 percentage points

Date to achieve target: March 2027

2021 to 2022 actual results: 6.1 percentage points (Census 2021)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 6.1 percentage points (Census 2021)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 6.1 percentage points (Census 2021)

Performance indicator: Difference in the employment rate gap between visible minority group members and the non-visible minority population^{Footnote 1}

Target: At most 6 percentage points

Date to achieve target: March 2027

2021 to 2022 actual results: 4.6 percentage points (Census 2021)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 4.6 percentage points (Census 2021)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 4.6 percentage points (Census 2021)

Departmental result: Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions such as job loss, illness, or maternity/parental leave

Performance indicator: Beneficiary to Unemployed Contributor ratio (B/UC ratio)

Target: 64.3%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: Not available^{Footnote 1} (2020-2021)

2022 to 2023 actual results: Not available^{Footnote 2} (2021-2022)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 73.4%^{Footnote 3} (2022-2023)

Departmental result: Students, including those from low and middle-income families, are provided with federally funded supports to help them participate in post-secondary education (PSE)

Performance indicator: Percentage of low- and middle- income Canadian young adults participating in Post-Secondary Education

Target: At least 50%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 50.1% (2018)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 51.5% (2019)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 51.9% (2020)

Performance indicator: Percentage of children under 18 who were eligible for the Canada Learning Bond and/or the additional amount of the Canada Education Savings Grant and were provided with any of those benefits in the current year

Target: At least 30%

Date to achieve target: December 2023

2021 to 2022 actual results: 31.9 % (2019)^{Footnote 1}

2022 to 2023 actual results: 32.2% (2020)^{Footnote 1}

2023 to 2024 actual results: 32.0% (2021)^{Footnote 1}

Departmental result: Student borrowers are able to repay their federal student debt

Performance indicator: The percentage of loans in repayment that are paid each year

Target: At least 12%^{Footnote 1}

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 11.9% (2020 to 2021)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 15.8% (2021 to 2022)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 15.1% (2022 to 2023)

Departmental result: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs^{Footnote 1}

Performance indicator: Number of targets that are being met for the published service standards of Learning, Skills Development and Employment programs

Target: 25 out of 25

Date to achieve target: March 2023

2021 to 2022 actual results: 19 out of 25

2022 to 2023 actual results: 19 out of 25

2023 to 2024 actual results: 20 out of 25

Performance indicator: Percentage of Employment Insurance benefit payments or non-benefit notifications issued within 28 days of filing

Target: At least 80%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 85.4%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 76.2%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 86.4%

Performance indicator: Percentage of Employment Insurance requests for reconsideration reviewed within 30 days of filing

Target: At least 80%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 83.7%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 33.8%^{Footnote 2}

2023 to 2024 actual results: 53.1%^{Footnote 2}

Performance indicator: Percentage of Social Insurance Numbers applied for through the Newborn Registration Service issued within 10 business days

Target: 99%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 100%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 100%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 100%

Performance indicator: Percentage of registrations to My Service Canada Account through Trusted Digital Identities in participating provinces

Target: 6%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 6.3%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 7.75%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 6.99%

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Details on results

The following section describes the results for Learning, Skills Development and Employment in 2023-24 compared with the planned results set out in Employment and Social Development Canada's departmental plan for the year.

Students, including those from low- and middle-income families, are provided with federally funded supports to help them participate in post-secondary education.

Results achieved 

The department took several measures to increase awareness and take-up of the Canada Learning Bond (CLB) in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. We sent over 600,000 letters to primary caregivers of CLB eligible children and youth. These letters informed caregivers of the amounts their children were eligible to receive in a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) and of the process for opening a RESP and requesting the benefit. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, close to $29 million in CLB benefits were paid to close to 39,000 new CLB beneficiaries that had received these letters.

We continued to collaborate with Service Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency on mailings to eligible households and in support of outreach events, particularly in rural and remote communities. To this end, in Fall 2023 and Winter 2024, we supported 13 community-based outreach events across Manitoba, Ontario, and New Brunswick. These mailings resulted in total CLB payments of approximately $800,000 for 925 children and youth, with more results to follow later this year. This is in addition to adding upwards of 1.2M inserts on the CLB into the Canada Revenue Agency's mailings providing Notices of Entitlement for the Canada Child Benefit.

To test other ways of helping people access the CLB, we supported 13 community-based initiatives under Phase II of the CLB pilot project, launched in 2018. Lessons learned from these initiatives, which tested innovative approaches to enabling access to the CLB among harder to reach groups, are expected in the Fall of 2024. In addition, we hosted the 2023 Education Savings Week, which encouraged Canadians to start saving for a child's post-secondary education and raises awareness of the Government of Canada Education Savings Benefits. The event also provided training and information workshops from community partners and other program stakeholders. These sessions were attended by over 100 different participants from across the country.

Further to these measures, we implemented Budget 2023 commitments of increasing RESP withdrawal limits and allowing separated or divorced parents to open a joint RESP for their children.

Overall, in 2023, 3.1 million children received $1.1 billion in payments of the Canada Education Savings Grant, and over 701,000 children received $167 million from the CLB.

The Government committed to enhancing student financial assistance in Budget 2023. This was implemented for the 2023 to 2024 academic year through various initiatives.

We increased Canada Student Grants by 40%, over pre-pandemic levels. This included increasing grants for full-time students to up to $4,200 for an 8-month study period and to up to $2,520 for part-time students. The Canada Student Grant for Students with Disabilities was increased to $2,800. As well, the Canada Student Grant for Full-Time Students with Dependents was increased to up to $2,240 for an 8-month study period. This measure is expected to have supported 592,000 students. We increased the interest-free Canada Student Loan limit from $210 to $300 per week of study for that academic year. This measure is expected to have supported 272,000 students.

Further, we temporarily suspended the credit screening requirement for mature first-time applicants to federal student grants and loans. This suspension applied to the 2023 to 2024 academic year for students aged 22 years or older. This measure is expected to have supported 1,000 first time applicants.

Detailed data results for the academic year 2023 to 2024 will be available in the corresponding CSFA Program Annual Report and Statistical Review, which is expected to be released in Summer 2025.

Student borrowers are able to repay their federal student debt

Results achieved 

In April 2023, all Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans were made permanently interest-free, including those currently being repaid. The Fall Economic Statement 2022 announced $2.7 billion over five years and $556.3 million ongoing.

Additionally, we increased federal student loan forgiveness for health practitioners who work in an eligible underserved rural and/or remote community. These include family physicians, residents in family medicine, nurses and nurse practitioners. As of November 2023, nurses and nurse practitioners are eligible for loan forgiveness amounts of up to $30,000. Similarly, family physicians and residents in family medicine are eligible for loan forgiveness amounts of up to $60,000. We estimate that approximately 3,000 Canada Student Loan borrowers benefited from these increases in the academic year 2023 to 2024.

Detailed data results for the fiscal year 2023 to 2024 will be available in the corresponding CSFA Program Annual Report and Statistical Review, which are expected to be released in Summer 2025.

Canadians access education, training and life-long learning supports to gain the skills and work experience they need

Results achieved

In the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the Government provided multi-year funding to support various new and existing training initiatives. This funding started in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. In March 2024, we launched the new Sustainable Jobs Training Fund initiative. This was formerly known as the Sustainable Jobs Training Centre. Through this initiative, we will support training projects to help 15,000 workers. These workers will upgrade or gain new skills for jobs in the low-carbon economy over the next 4 years. These projects will focus on low-carbon energy and carbon management, green buildings and retrofits, as well as electric vehicle maintenance and charging infrastructure.

This funding also allowed us to launch a new Sustainable Jobs stream under the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy. More specifically, this stream is provided under the Union Training and Innovation Program and was launched on June 20, 2024.

In the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the Government committed additional funding for two years starting in 2023 to 2024 to the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program and Canada Summer Jobs. This funding provided youth, especially those facing barriers to employment such as Indigenous youth, Black and racialized youth and youth living with a disability, with the supports and opportunities to gain the skills and work experiences needed to get and keep jobs. In 2023 to 2024, through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program, the department supported over 18,800 Canadian youth, while the Canada Summer Job created over 74,500 job placements for youth.

In the 2023 Economic Statement, the Government also announced a two-year funding extension of the Supports for Student Learning Program (SSLP). This represents $28 million in incremental funding in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. Such funding was provided to ensure continued federal investments in after-school supports and to address barriers to education. This allowed us to support over 152,000 with after-school programming across Canada under the SSLP, through close to 20 youth-serving organizations.

Where possible, organizations reported on the number of learners supported by their project, disaggregated by target population if supported and data available. Overall, projects reported serving: 27,451 Indigenous learners; 15,919 racialized learners;

19,034 learners with disabilities
9,533 learners from low-income households
10,485 learners identifying as 2SLGBTQI+
238 learners experiencing or at-risk of homelessness
249 learners in or aging out of care
503 learners who are newcomers to Canada
7422 learners living in rural, remote or northern areas
936 learners first in their family to attend PSE
316 learners from official language minority communities

Under the Skills for Success Program, we funded 87 projects with organizations that provide training opportunities and resources for adult Canadians. These investments help Canadians improve their foundational and transferable skills, such as reading, numeracy, digital and adaptability skills, and others. Under the Skills for Success Program, we also offered the Women's Employment Readiness (WER) Pilot Program. Through it, we funded organizations to provide and test pre-employment and skills development supports for women facing multiple barriers. This pilot allowed us to test models to improve workplace inclusivity. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, 25 projects were completed under the WER pilot program, serving 3,525 women. The WER Pilot Program ended March 31, 2024.

We fund the Future Skills Centre, an independent innovation and applied research Centre. The Centre prototypes, tests, and evaluates innovative approaches to skills assessment and development. In total, 35,367 Canadians received training and/or employment supports through Future Skills Centre in fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

Under the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program, we continued to help key sectors of the economy implement solutions to address current and emerging workforce needs. We supported 45 projects in the agri-food, construction, health, information and communication technology, manufacturing, natural resources and environment, tourism and transportation sectors. These projects delivered industry-driven training and reskilling activities to 89,546 Canadians including 37,298 from equity-deserving groups. They also helped 21,607 employers, including 10,330 small and medium-sized enterprises, through increased access to skilled workers, practical human resources management and labour market information tools. As well, we supported 9 projects to help remove barriers and support employment opportunities for persons with disabilities across multiple sectors.

Thanks to the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy, we supported the participation of 41,697 individuals in skills training activities, including apprentices, employers, and tradespeople. The strategy provides a framework for federal apprenticeship initiatives that support a skilled, inclusive, certified, and productive trades workforce. It builds on measures such as:

The Union Training and Innovation Program
The Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness Program
The Apprenticeship Grants
The Apprenticeship Service

Under the Red Seal Program, we published 6 interprovincial Red Seal Occupational Standards. We completed the development of 69 examinations for 18 trades, several of which had been delayed during the pandemic. These standards and examinations support labour mobility, harmonization of apprenticeship training, and consistent tools for certification in the trades.

We supported student learning under the Outbound Student Mobility Pilot, also known as Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) which is reported under the SSLP. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, 5,705 college and undergraduate university students completed a GSO experience. These included 625 Indigenous students, 1,061 students with disabilities, and 3,556 students from low-income families.

We continued to expand and diversify the Canada Service Corps (CSC). Through the CSC, we delivered 12,205 service opportunities for youth in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. The target population includes:

53% racialized minority youth
52% girls and women
18% newcomer youth
16% youth living in rural or remote areas
13% 2SLGBTQI+ youth
10% Indigenous youth
8% youth with disabilities
7% youth from Official Language Minority Communities

In 2023 to 2024, 77% of CSC participants identified as coming from Indigenous and underserved populations.

We piloted new ways of engaging youth by providing micro-grants under the CSC. CSC micro-grants provides funding to youth-serving organizations. These organizations then deliver supports by redistributing one-time cash payments to youth participants carrying out youth-led community service projects. We funded 28 organizations with representative leadership to deliver the micro-grant diversity stream across Canada.

Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market

Results achieved

We continued to implement the renewed policy approach for the Skills and Partnership Fund. We engaged with Indigenous organizations on coordinating investment planning, training, and employment priority setting with relevant partners. In late 2023 to 2024, we began supporting 34 new projects resulting in:

1,871 Indigenous participants were served including 1,773 new participants
Helped 495 participants obtained help to find employment
32 participants returned to school for further training

Through the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program (ISET), we funded over 120 Indigenous service delivery organizations. These, in turn, provided skills training and other support to over 54,000 Indigenous participants, including close to 48,000 new participants. This assisted 19,401 of them in finding employment and 6,535 in returning to school for further training and development opportunities. The ISET program has been successful in supporting economic reconciliation.

The First Nations Labour Market Information Survey and Skills Inventory Initiative collects timely, detailed and community-specific labour market data. At present, 28 agreement holders and 117 communities use this survey data to identify workforce gaps and needs. The complementary skills inventory assists agreement holders to better match their members with the right training and jobs. The initiative was expected to end in March 2024, however Budget 2024 announced funding for an additional two years.

In March 2024, 6 of the Engagement Protocol Agreements with national Indigenous partners were extended for an additional 5 years. The funding provided through these agreements supports national Indigenous partners to act as interlocutors with the federal government. It also supports ongoing collaborative engagement, research and policy development with First Nations, Inuit and Métis leadership and communities. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, this funding contributed to a continued dialogue between the federal government and Indigenous partners regarding:

Accessibility and disability issues
Seniors' issues
Poverty reduction and indicators of wellbeing
Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care
Labour market programming

All of these programs and initiatives have strengthened our efforts towards building renewed partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and actively addressing reconciliation.

The Disability Inclusion Business Council launched the Canadian Business Disability Inclusion Network with a formal public announcement on December 4, 2023. The Disability Inclusion Business Council was established as part of the Employment Strategy for Persons with Disabilities. It helps to make Canadian workplaces more inclusive for persons with disabilities.

Under the Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP), our department funded 16 new multi-year projects. In addition, we provided direct support to over 4,500 internationally trained professionals who received direct support through FCR Loans and Employment Support projects. This included more than 500 people who received over $4.6 million in loans to help finance their foreign credential recognition. Most of the people we supported with these projects were internationally educated health professionals.

Under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, our department undertook key activities to better protect workers and support employers. For example, we continued to work with provincial and territorial officials to help protect workers from unsafe and unsuitable living conditions by improving employer-provided accommodations requirements. This collaboration led to the identification of 12 essential health and safety requirements to address the most pressing health and safety concerns. Such concerns include the availability of potable water and clean air, overcrowding, and the proximity of living quarters to hazardous material. The objective is not to change existing provincial/territorial housing standards but to seek greater assurances that these standards have been met, as a condition for participation in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

As well, we continued to strengthen the employer compliance regime. We improved the quality, timeliness and reach of inspections, and continued to implement the compliance rebuild plan to increase protections for temporary foreign workers. More specifically, we:

Focused inspections on high-risk areas, and increased our on-site presence:
- We completed 2,122 inspections. Of these, 35% found employers to be compliant, and 59% found employers to be compliant with justification. That means they were able to take corrective actions during the course of an inspection, bringing them into compliance. The remaining 6% found employers non-compliant, leading to 18 employers receiving a warning, $2.1M in administrative monetary penalties being issued, and 11 employers being banned from using the program
Maintained the Service Canada confidential worker protection tip line, online reporting form, and Consulate Liaison Service to report abuse and program misuse:
- Through these mechanisms, we assessed 8,426 tips. Of these, 57% resulted in an inspection being launched, informed an active inspection, or were referred to an external partner
Escalated any observed health and safety risks to temporary foreign workers to the appropriate stakeholders, authorities and jurisdictions
Suspended the processing of Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications when the department had reason to suspect the employers were not complying with program requirements
Provided information sessions to employers and migrant worker support organizations. This ensured greater awareness of employer obligations under the program and the rights of temporary foreign workers while they are in Canada

The Recognized Employer Pilot is a three-year pilot project launched in August 2023 under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. It is designed to help reduce administrative burden for repeat employers. Such employers must have a history of meeting program requirements for worker protections and must uphold a high standard of living and working conditions. Recognized employers gain access to validity periods of up to 36 months on their positive LMIA. If required, they can use simplified applications to hire additional workers in these high-demand occupations. This enables recognized employers to better plan for their labour needs. It also reduces the number of LMIA applications that would otherwise have been needed. The first phase of intake for primary agriculture employers was launched in September 2023. Intake started in January 2024 for all the other designated occupations, including tourism, trucking, and caregivers.

To maintain client services in the face of record demand, we transitioned the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to a paperless application model. In addition, the LMIA Online platform became the default application method in April 2023. As a result, 91.8% of applications were submitted online. We increased our processing capacity under this program and maintained client services for priority processing streams. We sped up the processing of LMIA applications by simplifying administrative steps. As of March 31, 2024, we had processed 21.8% more files compared to the same period last year.

We followed on our commitment to introduce public-facing service standards for the program. We set the standard to process 80% of all LMIA applications received under the Global Talent Stream within 10 business days. Work is underway to develop additional public service standards for all other streams. Monthly average processing times of LMIA are posted online by program stream to help employers.

Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions.

Results achieved 

The department is continuing to advance efforts to improve the Employment Insurance (EI) system by providing policy support and analysis based on government priorities, evolving labour market conditions and departmental objectives. This work is informed by the comprehensive consultations with stakeholders that took place in 2021 and 2022 and continued engagement with key stakeholders on their priorities.

The Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023 introduced amendments to the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code to create a new, shareable 15-week benefit and leave for parents who adopt a child(ren) and parents through surrogacy. Likewise, amendments to EI Regulations introduced a pilot project that provides additional weeks of EI regular benefits to eligible seasonal workers who meet the criteria of the existing legislated seasonal measure.

Services to Canadians

Results achieved 

Through Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, the Government established the new Employment Insurance (EI) Board of Appeal. The board will replace the previous EI Section of the Social Security Tribunal (SST), General Division. When clients appeal a Commission reconsideration decision regarding an EI claim, the appeal will be heard by the Board of Appeal.

As a tripartite organization, it will represent the interests of government, workers and employers. As such, it will help put first-level EI appeal decisions back into the hands of those who pay into the EI system and will result in faster decisions for clients.

The 2022 Fall Economic Statement (FES) announced $1.02 billion in funding over three years for the Employment Insurance (EI) and Old Age Security (OAS) programs to meet service standards and reduce backlogs.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the EI program already faced a higher volume of claims than it had historically managed. During the pandemic, claim volumes surged to unprecedented levels, doubling to over 1.1 million claims, surpassing the program's capacity. In fiscal year 2022 to 2023, we launched a multi-year strategy to return EI inventories to sustainable levels. The first year, we focused on hiring, training incremental resources and upskilling our current workforce. This allowed us to significantly reduce the backlog in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. In addition, we implemented a strategy to redirect officer capacity depending on peak periods. As a result, we reduced the overall EI claim inventory by approximately 460,000 claims in fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

We continued to improve the Youth Digital Gateway (YDG). We added goal-oriented tasks and expanded the list of resources and tools that can be found on Government of Canada (GC) websites. We introduced a new guide, helping youth navigate the job market and explore the skills they need to succeed. We made major advancements to the Organization Platform. We added multi-program capabilities to support Grants &Contributions (G&Cs) funded organizations. These organizations can now create an account and post jobs, skills building, volunteering and micro-grant opportunities from funded projects on the YDG. G&Cs funded organizations can now opt to use the new Application Intake Service. Youth can provide basic contact information directly through the YDG when interested in posted opportunities. This new feature will benefit youth by offering a standardized way to apply to those opportunities.

Resources required to achieve results

This section provides a summary of the planned and actual spending and full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to achieve results.

Resource: Gross Spending

Planned: 33,117,307,286

Actual: 33,930,132,694

Resource: Net Spending

Planned: 8,273,330,075

Actual: 8,856,955,550

Resource: Full-time equivalents

Planned: 16,182

Actual: 16,529

Please refer to ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

The complete financial and human resources information GC InfoBase for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government-wide priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

Our department has shifted away from collecting data on sex to collecting data on gender under the Canada Education Savings Program. As of May 2024, subscribers and beneficiaries now have the option to select "another gender" or to leave this form field blank and not provide any information on their gender.

Under the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program, we collect and analyze administrative data by various characteristics. These include gender, age, province, income, Indigenous and disability statuses, and program type. We continue to explore additional data resource to unlock more information about client outcomes. Such resources include the Educational and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform. This database contains numerous annual indicators on the labour market outcomes of public post-secondary graduates in Canada. The integration of these datasets allows us to analyze, to some extent, how the program helps its clients integrate into the labour market.

In the 2023-2024, the Improving Gender and Diversity Outcomes in Skills Programs initiative achieved the following milestones in its pursuit to improve the availability of disaggregated demographic data from the department's skills and employment programs through various initiatives.

We completed 4 qualitative research projects to increase our understanding of the lived experiences of underrepresented groups in the labour market. It included their experiences and/or perceptions of skills programs. Among other things, we examined the barriers faced by entrepreneurs with disabilities. We engaged with Canadians to better understand what is needed to make our skills programming more accessible, inclusive, and responsive. We looked as well at how the provision of wraparound supports can help address the needs of equity-deserving groups in the labour market. In addition, we examined ways to improve voluntary self-reporting rates among participants of departmental skills and employment programs.

To standardize the application of Gender Based Analysis (GBA) Plus in our skills and employment programs, we developed a Data Dictionary. This tool will address inconsistencies in the definition and categorization of socio-demographic information of program participants. Using this uniform terminology of socio-demographic variables will promote better data linkages and comparability.

We continued to advance the ongoing projects to link data from two of our programs to Statistics Canada's Social Data Linkage Environment. These programs are the Opportunity Fund for Persons with Disabilities program and the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy. Access to more datasets will help policymakers better understand program outcomes for people with disabilities and equity-deserving youth encountering employment barriers.

We finalized a maturity model tool to support the integration of GBA Plus in skills and employment programs throughout their lifecycle. The maturity model will enable programs officials to identify strengths and areas for improvement, creating a roadmap for growth on their journey to inclusive policy development and program design.

We surveyed temporary foreign workers to evaluate whether organizations funded through the Migrant Worker Support (MWS) Program are helping them to understand and exercise their rights while in Canada. The survey strengthened our understanding of the impacts of the MWS Program. It also informed us about the extent to which temporary foreign workers know their rights. The survey collected data about temporary foreign workers' experiences living and working in Canada. It also collected demographic data, such as gender, geographic location, language and nationality.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 4:

Through our support for Student Learning Program (SSLP) we promoted equal access to education resources and support systems for students facing barriers. These include indigenous students, racialized students, students with disabilities, students from low-income households and 2SLGBTQI+ students.

As part of the SSLP, 5,705 college and university students participated in the Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) component. Student surveys demonstrate that following their participation, most felt that their outbound mobility experience was helpful. They felt it improved soft skills such as:

Intercultural competency (92%)
Adaptability (90%)
Collaboration (87%)
Communication (86%)
Self-confidence (85%)
Networking skills (81%)

Approximately 69% of GSO students also reported feeling very or extremely prepared to enter the labour market after their mobility experience. Three quarters (76%) of students reported that they had made professional connections.

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, 77% of CSC participants identified as coming from Indigenous and underserved populations. This included 83% of Indigenous and underserved youth in the new diversity micro-grant stream, giving youth access to leaders and mentors with similar lived experiences.

Under the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program, we support decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) for Indigenous Peoples. We provide funding to Indigenous service delivery organizations so they can provide training and other supports in their communities to boost employment of their community members. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, over 54,000 Indigenous Peoples overall, including close to 48,000 new participants, benefitted from training and other supports. This helped over 19,401 Indigenous Peoples to obtain employment, including 8,862 Indigenous women. It also helped over 6,535 Indigenous Peoples, including 3,717 Indigenous women, to return to school.

In doing so, we supported:

SDG 1 (end poverty in all its forms everywhere)
SDG 4 (ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all)
SDG 10 (reduce inequality within and among countries)

At the same time, we advanced reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. We supported Canada's Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda. Further, we contributed to Canada's Action Plan on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

With the Skills for Success program, we contributed to the 2030 Agenda and related global targets. We met the cross-cutting objective of leaving no one behind through funding organizations that improve labour market access for marginalized and vulnerable groups. Through this program, we supported adult Canadians to improve their foundational and transferable skills by funding training opportunities and resources. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, we funded 87 projects under this program, more than half of which served underrepresented groups.

The Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities allowed our department to contribute to the 2030 Agenda and related global targets. Through it, we supported the employment of, and equal opportunities for, persons with disabilities irrespective of intersectional groups. We approved approximately 100 projects for three years, beginning in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. We also updated the reporting requirements to collect data on new outcomes and demographic indicators.

Student Work Placement Program

The Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) contributed to sustainable development goal (SDG) 8 (Decent work and economic growth) by supporting the creation of work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for students of all ages enrolled in any post-secondary education program at a college, university, or polytechnic in Canada. The Program supports post-secondary students to develop work-ready skills, employers to hire and develop talent, and post-secondary institutions to keep pace with changing on-the-job expectations. In fiscal 2023 to 2024, the Program has created 57,467 WIL opportunities for students.

Migrant Worker Support Program

Under the Migrant Worker Support Program, we funded organizations across Canada and supported their provision of migrant worker-centric programs and services. These included on-arrival orientation, assistance in emergencies, and help for workers to better understand and exercise their rights. We funded 10 recipients that had over 100 sub-agreement holders. From April 1 until December 31, 2023, there were over 300,000 service interactions with temporary foreign workers across Canada.

Innovation

We continued to advance work to test the impact of virtual training modules on improving the financial literacy of borrowers entering repayment under the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program. This study will allow us to evaluate the potential impact and effectiveness of such training. We will then determine if financial literacy training should be provided to all borrowers entering repayment. The study, pending no delays, is set to be completed by Spring 2026.

The Community Workforce Development Program tests innovative, place-based approaches to community economic development. The program trial funded 13 projects targeting rural and remote communities across the country with the majority ending March 31, 2024. As such, results will be published in the 2024 to 2025 Departmental Result Report.

Program inventory

Learning, Skills Development and Employment is supported by the following programs:

Canada Apprenticeship Strategy
Canada Education Savings Program
Canada Emergency Response Benefit
Canada Recovery Benefits
Canada Service Corps
Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprentice Loans
Community Workforce Development Program
Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit
Employment Insurance
Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities
Foreign Credential Recognition Program
Future Skills
Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program
Job Bank
Labour Market Development Agreements
Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program
Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship (Red Seal Program)
Skills and Partnership Fund
Skills for Success
Student Work Placement Program
Supports for Student Learning
Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Workforce Development Agreements
Youth Employment and Skills Strategy

Additional information related to the program inventory for Learning, Skills Development and Employment is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Core responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

In this section

Description
Progress on results
Resources required to achieve results
Related government-wide priorities
Program inventory

Description

Promotes safe, healthy, fair and inclusive work conditions and cooperative workplace relations.

Progress on results

This section presents details on how the department performed to achieve results and meet targets for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations. Details are presented by departmental result.

This section provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Working Conditions and Workplace Relations.

Departmental result: Workplaces are safe and healthy

Performance indicator: Number of health and safety violations identified under the Canada Labour Code (Part II) per 1,000 federally regulated employees

Target: 9

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 5.0^{Footnote 1}

2022 to 2023 actual results: 10.4^{Footnote 2}

2023 to 2024 actual results: 9.2

Departmental result: Work conditions are fair and inclusive

Performance indicator: Percentage of Legislated Employment Equity Program employers whose representation equals or surpasses Canadian labour market availability for 2+ designated groups or who demonstrated progress towards representation since the previous reporting period

Target: 65%

Date to achieve target: September 2023

2021 to 2022 actual results: 74%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 78%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 77%

Performance indicator: Three-year average number of founded violations identified under Part III of the Canada Labour Code per 1,000 federally regulated employees

Target: At most 3

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 2.7 (2019-2022)

2022 to 2023 actual results: 2.2 (2020-2023)

2023 to 2024 actual results: 1.8 (2021-2024)^{Footnote 1}

Departmental result: Labour relations are cooperative

Performance indicator: Percentage of labour disputes settled under the Canada Labour Code (Part 1) without work stoppages, where parties were assisted by Labour Program officers

Target: 95%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 99%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 96%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 96%

Departmental result: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs^{Footnote 1}

Performance indicator: Number of targets that are being met for the published service standards of Working Conditions and Workplace Relations programs

Target: 4 out of 4

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 3 out of 4

2022 to 2023 actual results: 2 out of 4

2023 to 2024 actual results: 2 out of 4

Performance indicator: Percentage of occupational health and safety cases each fiscal year that are finalized within 120 days (excluding prosecutions, appeals, and technical surveys)

Target: 80%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 82.9%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 72%^{Footnote 2}

2023 to 2024 actual results: 74%

Performance indicator: Percentage of unjust dismissal complaints that are finalized within 180 days

Target: 75%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 72%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 65%^{Footnote 3}

2023 to 2024 actual results: 50%^{Footnote 4}

Performance indicator: Percentage of conciliators assigned under the Canada Labour Code within 15 calendar days of receiving requests that are compliant with Canada Industrial Relations Regulations

Target: 100%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 100%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 100%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 100%

Performance indicator: Percentage of initial Wage Earner Protection Program payments and non-payment notifications issued within 35 calendar days

Target: 80%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 97.8%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 99%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 86.6%

Notes

Footnote 1

Service standards are available on Canada.ca

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

The adoption of the new ILS case management system and employee turnover has affected our ability to meet the target

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

In 2022 the Labour Program started using the new case management system for data associated with labour standards complaints. Previously, cases where Labour Affairs Officers (LAO) used Alternate Dispute Resolution to settle complaints of unjust dismissal were not included in the total volume of resolved complaints. However, now they are counted. This has impacted the percentage of unjust dismissal complaints that are resolved within 180 days

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

In 2023 to 2024, LAOs faced an increasing workload due to new Labour Standards, such as paid medical leave, new hours of work provisions, and a prohibition on the misclassification of workers. It has been harder to resolve all unjust dismissal complaints in a timely manner

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Details on results

The following section describes the results for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations in 2023 to 2024 compared with the planned results set out in Employment and Social Development Canada's departmental plan for the year.

Workplaces are safe and healthy

Results achieved 

We made it easier to access menstrual products in federally regulated workplace. On December 15, 2023, regulations were updated to specify that menstrual products must be available in all toilet rooms, regardless of their marked genders. This means that every all-gender, female-identified or male-identified toilet room, must have menstrual products available for employees. Guidance material was developed to help employers carry out the new requirement.

We worked to amend the Canada Labour Code to recognize mental health as a specific element of occupational health and safety.

We continued to support 7 Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund projects, approved in last fiscal year. The objectives of these projects included, but were not limited to:

Increasing awareness of the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention (WHVP) Regulations
Improving access to sector-specific tools and resources, including to best practices related to harassment and violence prevention and
Improving the capacity of employers and unions to communicate the new harassment and violence prevention provisions in the Canada Labour Code and associated Regulations

The total funding committed is $10.7 million over 3 fiscal years. In addition, a second call for applications was launched to increase the number of investigators on the Registry of Investigators. This registry supports the Regulations by making it easier to find qualified people to investigate occurrences of workplace harassment and violence. The second call for applications will increase the breadth of experience, regional representation of the registry and will help to meet demand.

This year, we convened a tripartite Harassment and Violence Prevention Working Group (HVP WG) with 34 members. The group will seek feedback on federal Harassment and Violence Prevention regime, including updates to interpretations, policies, guidelines as well as feedback on the Registry of Investigators. Two meetings were held in 2023 to 2024. A second call for the Registry of Investigators will be communicated at the next HVP WG meeting, planned for fall 2024. Feedback on future work (Interpretations, Policies and Guidelines, 5-year review of the legislation and the Regulations) will be communicated through meetings of the HVP WG, emails to stakeholders, as well as through other tripartite committees, such as the Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Committee (OHSAC).

Work conditions are fair and inclusive

Results achieved 

Work continues to develop options for renewing and improving the Employment Equity Act. On December 11, 2023, we released the final report from the Employment Equity Act Review Task Force and announced initial commitments for modernizing the Employment Equity Act. Commitments include the creation of two new designated groups under the act: Black people and 2SLGBTQI+ people, and changes to terminology and definitions. These and other potential changes will ensure the Act provides everyone a fair and equal chance to reach their full potential.

We drafted legislation to provide employment protections for "gig" workers, including workers employed by digital platforms. The proposed changes to the code would recognize these workers as employees, granting them full rights and protections unless their employer can demonstrate that a worker is a true independent contractor. We have also drafted legislation that will mandate federally regulated private sector employers to create policies on disconnecting from work. These "right to disconnect" policies aim to reduce the expectation that employees must stay connected beyond their scheduled work hours. At the same time, they allow employers to maintain operational flexibility.

Compliance and enforcement activities helped to address the misclassification of employees in the road transportation industry. A dedicated team has been conducting educational activities and targeted inspections across Canada to ensure employers understand and are compliant with their obligations under the Code. Compliance Orders and Administrative Monetary Penalties have been applied when employers are found to be in contravention of the Canada Labour Code. Employers issued administrative monetary penalties are publicly named on the Government of Canada website. We have engaged with the Canada Revenue Agency, Transport Canada and external stakeholders, to find ways to improve compliance and enforcement. These efforts are expected to create workplaces in the road transportation industry that are more fair, safe, respectful and inclusive for all.

On February 2, 2024, we launched a new pay transparency website called Equi'Vision. This website provides Canadians with user-friendly, comparative online information on designated group representation rates and pay gaps for each federally regulated private-sector employer. Designated groups include women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. Canada is the first country to publish pay gaps that go beyond gender on a government website.

We put into place regulations for the rail, banking, broadcasting and telecommunications sectors. It will give employers the scheduling flexibility needed for continuous operations (24 hours a day, 7 days a week). The regulations clarifying how employers must reimburse employees for attending hearings of the Canada Industrial Relations Board came into force.

In addition, we drafted regulations that will improve compliance with the Pay Equity Act.

We put into place two new sets of regulations under the Pay Equity Act. These include regulations to strengthen the Pay Equity Commissioner's ability to encourage compliance with the Pay Equity Act and regulations to support the application of the Pay Equity Act in ministers' offices.

In 2023 to 2024, the Labour Program (LP) and the Federal Workers' Compensation Service (FWCS) met with employers covered under the Government Employee Compensation Act (GECA) to share information and address issues related to service delivery for federally regulated employees who are injured at work. The Federal Workers' Compensation Service streamlined its processes to improve service delivery by implementing secure transmittal of documents and communication tools such as Data Gateway and increased the use of the provincial Workers Compensation Boards portals where available.

We continued to negotiate comprehensive and enforceable labour provisions in free trade agreements (FTA). These provisions ensure that trade and investment do not come at the expense of workers' protections. Such provisions were also included in the modernized Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. We also launched new projects in the Americas and the Indo-Pacific totalling over $16 million in multi-year grant funding. These projects will help governments, employers, and workers in our trading partner countries strengthen workers' rights. These include the right to associate freely and bargain collectively. They tackle forced and child labour, promote non-discrimination in the workplace, and ensure a safe and healthy work environment.

Labour relations are cooperative

Results achieved 

Through the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), we supported unions and employers under federal jurisdiction during collective bargaining. This included 147 conciliation appointments to support negotiations.

The FMCS offered ongoing support to parties during the life of their collective agreements. This support promotes collaborative labour relations and improve the management of workplace conflict. This included training workshops, facilitated joint initiatives, and grievance mediation. In 2023 to 2024, we delivered a total of 87 interventions. The FMCS is also developing new training programs.

We have introduced legislation to prohibit the use of replacement workers when unionized employees are locked out or on strike in federally regulated industries. On November 9, 2023, we introduced Bill C-58 (An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code and the Canada Industrial Relations Board Regulations, 2012) in the House of Commons. As of March 31, 2024, the bill was before the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

Services to Canadians

We created an action plan to address findings and recommendations of the following report: ‘Accelerating Digital Service Transformation and Web Renewal within the Labour Program'. Proposed action items include development of a digital service transformation strategy and a web renewal roadmap. We are now preparing to put this plan into action. 

Resources required to achieve results

This section provides a summary of the planned and actual spending and full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to achieve results.

Resource: Gross Spending

Planned: 182,949,731

Actual: 198,251,624

Resource: Net Spending

Planned: 182,949,731

Actual: 197,022,291

Resource: Full-time equivalents

Planned: 821

Actual: 807

Please refer to ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

The complete financial and human resources information GC InfoBase for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government-wide priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

In addressing the misclassification of workers through enhanced enforcement measures, the Labour Program aimed to improve working conditions for truck drivers within the federally regulated road transportation sector. The initiative aimed to ensure that all individuals in this profession are well-informed about their duties, rights, and entitlements under the Code. While specific statistical data is not available, it is believed that vulnerable drivers predominantly comprise males (97%), individuals between the ages of 30 and 60 years (80%), those with lower levels of education (70%), as well as immigrants, racialized individuals, and members of official language minority communities. Throughout 2023-2024, the Labour Program focused on establishing a national team to engage with employers, collaborate with industry stakeholders, and provincial and federal agencies. However, the Labour Program currently lacks the tools and data to comprehensively assess the impact of these efforts on vulnerable groups.

Representation and pay gap data from federally regulated private sector employers are available on the newly published Equi'Vision website. Making this information publicly available draws attention to pay gaps, encouraging business to address them. Representation data are published for women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities, and include data on representation by occupational group and employment status (full-time, part-time, and temporary). Pay gaps are available for the same four groups as well as their gendered intersections (that is, Indigenous women compared to non-Indigenous women), and include gaps in hourly rates, overtime pay, bonus pay, overtime hours worked, the incidence of working overtime, and the incidence of receiving bonus pay. Having these data publicly available makes Canada a leader in pay transparency measures.

Modernization of the Employment Equity Act is underway. Initial commitments announced include:

Creating 2 new designated groups under the EEA: Black people and 2SLGBTQI+ people
Replacing the term "Aboriginal Peoples" with "Indigenous Peoples," and updating the definition to include First Nations, Métis and Inuit, and ensure it is consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act
Replacing the term "members of visible minorities" with "racialized people" and updating the corresponding definition, and
Aligning the definition of "persons with disabilities" with the Accessible Canada Act to make it more inclusive

Through these additional designated groups and other changes, the modernization will ensure the Act better reflects the realities of today's Canada and create a more vibrant and diverse workforce.

Providing pads and tampons in federally regulated private and public sector workplaces will create a healthier and more inclusive work environment, improving gender equity, and reducing stigma around periods.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals

Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all (SDG 8) - through the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund, we funded two projects to support development of culturally sensitive tools and resources in Indigenous communities:

$1.7M to Berens River First Nation to increase awareness of lateral violence and to develop harassment and violence prevention policies in First Nations' workplaces. For context, lateral violence occurs when members of a group of marginalized people direct feelings of dissatisfaction or anger towards members of their own communities, instead of being directed at the source of oppression. For Indigenous communities, lateral violence is a part of a larger cycle of hurt that has its roots in colonization, trauma, racism, and discrimination
$451,000 to Tk'emlups te Secwepemc to develop policies and training on psychological safety and harassment prevention, and educating First Nations government leadership on prevention strategies

A dedicated team has been created to work on the issue of misclassification in the road transportation industry. This team is conducting educational activities and targeted inspections across Canada to ensure employers understand and are compliant with the Canada Labour Code. These efforts aim to make workplaces in the road transportation industry more fair, safe, respectful and inclusive.

We launched 7 new multi-year projects totalling over $16 million to advance compliance with international labour standards. These projects will take place in Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, and Southeast Asia. We are continuing to monitor ongoing projects in Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan and Ukraine.

This year, we worked with other federal departments with respect to forced labour. More specifically, the Labour Program led interdepartmental work to move forward with the Minister of Labour's ministerial mandate commitment. They also advanced the work on introducing legislation to help address forced labour in Canadian supply chains. We also aimed to ensure that Canadian businesses operating abroad did not contribute to human rights abuses. This work included hosting a technical roundtable in Fall 2023. This promoted discussion among Stakeholders on due diligence supply chain legislation and potential measures to strengthen the import prohibition on goods produced with forced labour.

Innovation

This year, we redesigned a behavioural insights project developed to determine if proactive communications can improve employers' compliance with federal labour standards. The redesign will maximize the potential effectiveness of the project and a phased approach will maximize alignment with operational priorities and communications. Implementation of the project is planned for 2024.

We are exploring the use of text as data analytics to extract insights from archived reports on occupational health and safety risks to inform future prevention activities. Researchers used a small sample of hazardous occurrence reports collected under the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations to develop an analytic project to examine the information contained in the reports. A draft report outlining the findings and next steps for a more extensive study is being developed and is expected to be finalized in fall 2024.

Program inventory

Working Conditions and Workplace Relations is supported by the following programs:

Federal Workers' Compensation
International Labour Affairs
Labour Relations
Labour Standards
Occupational Health and Safety
Wage Earner Protection Program
Workplace Equity

Additional information related to the program inventory for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Core responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Gov't Departments

In this section

Description
Progress on results
Resources required to achieve results
Related government-wide priorities
Program inventory

Description

Provide information to the public on the programs of the Government of Canada and the department and provide services on behalf of other government departments.

Progress on results

This section presents details on how the department performed to achieve results and meet targets for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments. Details are presented by departmental result.

This section provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments.

Departmental result: Clients receive high quality, timely and accurate government information and services that meet their needs^{Footnote 1}

Performance indicator: 1 800 O-Canada information completeness, relevancy and accuracy assessment

Target: At least 85%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 85%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 86%

2023 to 2024 actual results: 86%

Performance indicator: Percentage of clients served in person who received assistance within 25 minutes

Target: At least 80%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 95%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 78%^{Footnote 2}

2023 to 2024 actual results: 70%^{Footnote 2}

Performance indicator: Number of program services that meet their service standard targets^{Footnote 2}

Target: Exactly 5 out of 5

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 2 out of 5

2022 to 2023 actual results: 3 out of 5^{Footnote 3}

2023 to 2024 actual results: 4 out of 5^{Footnote 4}

Notes

Footnote 1

Service standards are available on Canada.ca

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

We are seeing a shift in the most common types of service requests at our in-person network. The time spent with clients has increased for most transactions to provide improved client service, for example Passport services. These two factors have at times resulted in increased wait times mainly in urban centers

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

This indicator combines results for 5 service standards, 3 of which relate to passport services, 1 to Canada.ca, and 1 to 1 800 O-Canada

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

Fiscal year 2023 to 2024 saw an increase in Passport application volumes in the last quarter beyond what had been forecasted. As a result, the service standards for this service channel were slightly impacted and only two of the three service standards related to passport were met

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Departmental result: Canadians can obtain a passport within Canada in a timely manner

Performance indicator: Percentage of travel documents and other passport services processed within standards

Target: At least 90%

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2021 to 2022 actual results: 77%

2022 to 2023 actual results: 70%^{Footnote 1}

2023 to 2024 actual results: 92%

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Details on results

The following section describes the results for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments in fiscal year 2023 to 2024 compared with the planned results set out in Employment and Social Development Canada's departmental plan for the year.

Citizen Service Network

Results achieved 

We continued to provide high quality services and information to Canadians on programs and benefits. This year, we responded to nearly 12 million service requests for various programs made through different service delivery channels.

These channels include In-Person services, eServiceCanada and eSIN.

Clients received prompt, local service when needed. For example:

Through the In-Person service network, we assisted 8.4 million clients by responding to 10.7 million service requests. This network includes Scheduled Outreach, Service Canada Centres (SCC), Service Canada Centres - Passport Services (SCC-PS), and Consolidated sites
70% of assisted clients who visited a Service Canada Centre were served within 25 minutes
94% of eServiceCanada clients received their first call within two business days
96% of Canadians had access to a Service Canada point of service from within 50 kilometers of where they live

The Citizen Service Network responded to nearly 1.3 million requests through the eService Canada and eSIN network, of which 467,043 were for eServiceCanada requests and 832,623 were for eSIN.

Per the new Official Languages Regulations, we are in the process of increasing the number of bilingual Service Canada points of service. This exercise will improve client access to services in the official language of their choice. A directory now indicates where service points are located and whether bilingual services are provided. As of March 31, 2024, there were 151 Service Canada Centres (SCCs), SCC - Passport Service and consolidated sites offering bilingual services. In addition, at unilingual offices, clients can still access service in the official language of their choice through the telephone interpretation service.

Implementing our departmental Accessibility Plan, we worked to identify, remove and prevent barriers for both employees and clients across all service channels. For example, we:

Supported training for front-line employees on accessible client service and accessible tools for client service
Introduced assistive text-to-speech functionality on the public computers in Service Canada Centres
Equipped all in-person offices with microphones that facilitate communication, especially for clients wearing hearing aids

Clients were provided the option to request Video Remote Interpretation (VRI) or Video Relay Services when they submitted an eServiceCanada request or booked an appointment for in-person service. Walk-in clients could also access VRI on-demand for a sign language interpreter without the need for advance scheduling. The feedback received from clients using VRI in fiscal year 2023 to 2024 had an average star rating of 4.6 out of 5.

Our in-person service delivery network consisted of 600 points of service across the country. With the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, Canadians had access to all 249 Scheduled Outreach sites across the country. This increased access for clients who do not live near a SCC. For more details, consult the in-person map of service delivery network.

In support of the Reaching All Canadians initiative, we collaborated with community organizations that have knowledge, connections, and trust with at-risk and hard-to-reach segments of the population. As part of the Service Referral initiative, community organizations identified individuals who faced barriers to service and referred them to Service Canada. We then provided them with assistance in accessing government programs and services. Another initiative, expanded nationally in 2023, is a collaboration with the United Way's 211 telephone service. This initiative helped to connect vulnerable clients calling the 211-telephone service with Service Canada's Outreach Support Centre. Our staff provided them with personalized assistance in accessing benefits and services. As a result of these initiatives:

We provided over 400 community organizations with access to a portal where they can submit referral requests on behalf of their clients
We received 286 service referral requests, and provided 382 service offerings from the launch of that portal in late November 2023 until March 31, 2024
We received 147 warm transfers from the 211-telephone service. A warm transfer is a type of call transfer where a contact centre employee stays on the phone with the client (with their consent) to support smooth transition to another call centre

Through our Community Outreach and Liaison Service (COLS), we continued to expand services provided by Service Canada Centres. This program aims to reach populations facing barriers to accessing services, whether geographical, cultural or others. It provides clients with access to programs, services and benefits by meeting them where they live and/or spend time. It is primarily focused on:

Northern, remote, and on-reserve Indigenous communities and urban Indigenous populations
Underserved populations-those who generally have more barriers to accessing government programs and services
Employers and workers facing labour market adjustments
Communities experiencing emergency situations

This year, through COLS, we conducted 5,937 engagements with community organizations that supported vulnerable populations. Additional outreach included:

3,903 clinics where individuals received direct assistance applying for programs and benefits
3,430 information sessions with clients and community organizations
714 Indigenous communities were engaged and 2,401 calls were received through the Outreach Support Centre from 397 of these communities

By delivering outreach activities in remote communities, COLS extended Service Canada's reach by 1% from 96% of Canadians having access to service within 50 km of where they live to 97%.

The Outreach Support Centre (OSC) further assists Indigenous communities and clients facing barriers to accessing our programs and services. We also provided access to services from other government departments and service providers using established warm-transfer arrangements. It allowed us to provide at-risk and vulnerable individuals and communities access to services through dedicated telephone support. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the OSC received 20,825 calls, of which 97% were answered within the standard of five minutes and completed 25,515 service requests.

Telephone General Enquiries Program

Results achieved 

We continued to deliver the general enquiries telephone program and maintain its pre-pandemic service standards. Those standards include providing accurate information, low wait times to speak with an agent, and equivalent service in either official language.

Our 1 800 O-Canada agents responded to more than 1.8M calls over fiscal year 2023 to 2024. Of those calls, 87% were answered within 18 seconds, meeting the published wait time standard.

Government of Canada Internet Presence

Results achieved 

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, Canada.ca remained available 100% of the time. As the Government of Canada's digital presence, Canada.ca supported over 80 departments and agencies to deliver up-to-date digital content to the public. In fact, Canada.ca connected visitors to government information and services over 850 million times.

Over 615,000 pages were managed using the Canada.ca platform and support to publishers across the Government of Canada was provided
Over 53 million search queries were performed, supporting the public in accessing information and services
Over 574,000 posts were published to official social media accounts through the GC Social Media Management platform
Over 6,600 news products (news releases, media advisories, speeches, statements, etc.) were published via the GC digital newsroom

At the same time, new services were developed to optimize client experience and provided tailored service information. As such, Canada.ca remained a reliable, secure, and trusted source of information for Canadians.

Obtain a passport within Canada in a timely manner

Results achieved 

As part of the Passport Modernization initiative, we continued to improve processes. We also implemented a national workload framework, and new tools and technology. The deployment occurred in waves, starting in July 2023 with completion in August 2024.

We have taken several actions to improve passport services to Canadians. For example, we:

Increased access to passport services across the country by adding 9 Service Canada Centres offering passports within 10 business days. There are now 22 centres offering these services
Expanded the delivery of passport services to scheduled outreach sites to help meet the passport needs of rural and remote communities
Maintained the appointment-booking tool that directs Canadians to the right location for service;
Maintained the online Passport Status checker that allows more Canadians to self-serve the status of their passport application
Applied line management strategies to provide all Canadians in line at Service Canada Centres with a service solution
Collaborated with partners including Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Canada Post Corporation, community partners and Members of Parliament to help deliver passport services to northern communities

In the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year, we received a total of 4,984,089 passport applications. Overall, 92% of these passports were issued within set service standards.

We deployed new passport printing solutions to all local print sites, and to one larger print centre. This resulted in issuing new passport booklets and travel documents to Canadians. These booklets are part of the Electronic Passport Next Generation initiative which is providing Canadians with access to new booklets that are secure and universally trusted travel documents.

Service Delivery Partnership

Results achieved 

We continued to work with federal, provincial, and territorial partners through the Service Delivery Partnerships Program. We managed 93 Service Delivery Partnerships (SDP) with 46 different organizations. This included developing 28 new partnerships and renewing 28 existing ones. For detailed information on these partnerships, refer to the Service Delivery Partnership Disclosure page.

We established a partnership with Health Canada to support the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). Through this partnership, we assisted Health Canada in receiving and processing applications. This included client outreach and validating eligibility for the CDCP program. We distributed just over 4 million invitation letters, processed approximately 1.7 million attestations, and enrolled approximately 660,000 clients into the CDCP.

We also partnered with the Government of Alberta to support the Coal Workforce Transition Program. Through this partnership, we issued payments to eligible recipients. We distributed nearly $2.8 million to workers who involuntarily lost their jobs due to the closure of specified coal-fired power plants or mines. These funds helped them transition to re-employment, retirement, or to relocate.

Lastly, we continued to collaborate with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to support individuals fleeing Ukraine. Under the Canada-Ukraine Transitional Assistance Initiative, we provided information and offered support to applicants. We distributed just over $361 million to assist approximately 143,000 temporary residents fleeing the Ukraine.

Service to Canadians

Results achieved 

We dedicated resources to ensure that client experience is at the core of how we design and deliver our services. We used data and research to understand the journey of our clients when they engage with Service Canada. As well, experts provided advice to enhance client experience. For example, this was key in the successful design and launch of the new Canada Dental Care Plan, in partnership with Health Canada.

We improved client feedback questionnaires to support ongoing service improvement. We introduced exit questionnaires in all Service Canada Centres to allow clients the opportunity to provide feedback on their service experience. Visitors in 87% of SSC have provided feedback, allowing the Department to track wait time issues and line management successes from the client's perspective. It also allowed us to measure the impact of innovations to improve service.

The in-person, 1 800 O-Canada, and eServiceCanada feedback questionnaires were also enhanced to help identify accessibility issues. These provide deeper insights on client experience for specific GBA+ client groups, enabling us to identify service improvements aimed at particular accessibility needs.

Additionally, our Office for Client Satisfaction collected positive and negative client feedback across programs and channels, which also informed our departmental Accessibility Plan and the Accessible Canada Act.

Resources required to achieve results

This section provides a summary of the planned and actual spending and full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to achieve results.

Resource: Gross Spending

Planned: 416,220,770

Actual: 545,781,525

Resource: Net Spending

Planned: 416,220,770

Actual: 545,781,525

Resource: Full-time equivalents

Planned: 3,730

Actual: 4,748

Please refer to ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

The complete financial and human resources information GC InfoBase for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government-wide priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

As part of the department's Accessibility Plan, we worked to identify and address barriers to the in-person service channel. This included:

Identifying gaps via real property accessibility audits
Using outreach approaches that make it easier for individuals with disabilities to access programs and services
Applying accessibility guidelines that meet or exceed current codes and standards by improving interior design standard and upgrading existing spaces
Implementing improvements by equipping all service centres with assistive technologies and implementing accessibility enhancements, including updated interfaces
Enhancing accessibility to passport services to ensure gender-equitable and fair access to all Canadians. To do this, we worked with partners to help deliver passport services to remote northern communities
Working on a plan to track demographics insights on 1 800 O-Canada through feedback questionnaires

Innovation

Due to existing gaps in technology, we did not pilot virtual services in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. We expect to pilot them in fiscal year 2024 to 2025.

We continued to experiment with Optical Character Recognition and Robotic Process automation (OCR/RPA) technologies to improve passport intake and processing. At this time, the technology has not been proven to yield sufficient benefits for the passport environment.

Program inventory

Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments is supported by the following programs:

Citizen Service Network
Government of Canada Internet Presence
Government of Canada Telephone General Enquiries Services
Passport
Service Delivery Partnerships

Additional information related to the program inventory for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Internal services

In this section

Description
Progress on results
Resources required to achieve results
Contracts awarded to Indigenous business

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:

Management and oversight services
Communications services
Legal services
Human resources management services
Financial management services
Information management services
Information technology services
Real property management services
Materiel management services
Acquisition management services

Progress on results

This section presents details on how the department performed to achieve results and meet targets for internal services.

Financial Management Services

The department made significant strides in project management and investment planning. We improved reporting in the Project Management Information System and launched a risk management course for project managers. Additionally, we started a service to track project outcomes from start to finish.

Real Property Management Services

We continued to modernize the workplace, making it more flexible, accessible, and inclusive. This involved modernizing over 5,000 workstations (about 14% of our office space) and updating the Interior Design Standards. The updates incorporated sustainable design elements like motion sensor lighting, repurposed furniture, and refill water stations.

Access to Information

We promoted openness and transparency by:

Consistently processing a wide range of requests within the legislative deadline. More specifically, we achieved an 88.4% compliance rate under the Access to Information Act and a 73.5% compliance rate under the Privacy Act
Modernizing tools, policies and procedures for processing access to information requests, and establishing new common standards to improve service timelines
Improving the client's service experience and outcomes by identifying client service channels to increase responsiveness to client service requests
Proactively disclosing high demand, frequently requested information associated with the Temporary Foreign Worker program
Complying with proactive disclosure requirements in accordance with legislative timeframes, while ensuring accessibility in the process
Building organizational capacity to meet open and transparent government standards by providing comprehensive training to staff processing requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Privacy

We continued to protect the privacy rights of Canadians by:

Implementing a "privacy by design" approach across the department. This involved integrating privacy into the current and emerging activities, including the Benefits Delivery Modernization programme and Service Delivery Partnership projects
Continuing to support the Data Strategy by ensuring that the use of personal information complies with federal privacy law and policies
Continuing to implement policies, processes, and training activities that ensure the responsible collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information

Human Resource Services

We supported a healthy workplace as we implemented the Common Hybrid Work Model. This shows our commitment to modern work demands while prioritizing employees' needs. Management approves flexible work arrangements, considering the duty to accommodate and promoting inclusivity.

We completed 5 of the 31 activities identified in our multi-year Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing Action Plan. We implemented 24 more that are ongoing and will continue in the future, and we will proceed with the last 2 in the future. These activities helped ease the transition to the flexible work environment. They fostered organizational wellness, while empowering employees at all levels to take ownership of their own well-being. They also supported managers in creating a psychologically healthy and safe work environment.

We have made significant progress in diversifying our workforce through key initiatives outlined in our Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. We have exceeded targets for the representation of Indigenous Peoples, visible minorities, and women in our workforce. Meanwhile, we continue to work towards meeting our recruitment goals for persons with disabilities. However, we have increased their representation by 159 individuals during the year.

We implemented mentorship and sponsorship programs for Black and Indigenous executives, and for executives with disabilities, including group mentoring, sponsorship, and coaching.

We organized learning opportunities related to diversity and inclusion, Indigenous awareness and reconciliation, and accessibility. These sessions created safe spaces for meaningful discussions. Additionally, we held national learning events during Indigenous Awareness Week and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Our staff also participated in panel discussions with Indigenous employees to encourage empathy and inclusive practices within the workplace.

Our staff were offered learning activities about accessibility. These included events like "Introduction to Neurodiversity" and workshops promoting inclusive practices through a disability lens, ensuring continuous learning and engagement across the organization.

We improved employees' pay accuracy and timeliness through several strategies. This included further developing human resources and compensation staff, identifying and addressing processing gaps, and executing several transformation projects. These efforts improved managers and employees' access to and experience with human resources and pay information. Furthermore, the system enhancements made have simplified pay-related actions processes, thus increasing the workforce's confidence in human resources and pay.

Information Management Services

Information management (IM) is essential to departmental operations. We launched our Information Strategy 2023 to 2026, which addresses five areas of focus:

Embedding IM into digital operations and digitizing paper assets
Bringing consistency to IM delivery across the department
Designing tailor-made IM processes for employees
Equipping employees with IM knowledge and support
Shifting our collective mindset, behaviours, and outcomes where employees embrace, adopt and practice IM in their daily operations

We launched a secure cloud-based data management environment to increase evidence-based decision-making guiding information management within the department.

We enhanced our management and safeguarding of sensitive information. We developed a directive for using the Sensitive Document Collaboration Service (SDCS) and the Government of Canada Secret Infrastructure (GCSI). Additionally, we deployed the GCSI within our organization and prepared to onboard remaining users by adding GCSI terminals and Secure Remote Access devices.

We also supported the Identity Management and Integrity project to enhance security and trustworthiness. Here's how it works:

Secure sign-on portal: the project introduces a user-friendly sign-on portal. Canadians' identities and eligibility can be verified safely and quickly through this portal
Information sharing: it enables seamless information sharing across service channels
Early detection and prevention: by using controls and tools, the project detects, addresses, and deters suspicious activity early in the benefits lifecycle. This helps prevent errors, fraud, and abuse

Automation being another way to enhance information management, we continued to integrate Robotics Process Automation in support of services to Canadians. Such technology has been used in some processing tasks related to Employment Insurance, pensions, Canada Summer Jobs, passport, temporary foreign workers and access to information. So far, we implemented 30 automated processes and plan to deploy 12 others in the next year. A 2023 costing study demonstrated that each dollar invested in such solutions, generated a 6$ worth of productivity increase.

We have taken measures to enhance security and protect sensitive information within the department. Key measures taken include the following:

Centralized security posture: we strengthened our overall security posture by centralizing security efforts. This approach ensures consistent protection across the organization
Operational agility: in response to the growing volume and sophistication of cyber threats and fraud, we enhanced operational agility. This allows us to adapt quickly and effectively to emerging risks
Security assessments: we completed 71 security assessments. These assessments identify vulnerabilities, assess risks, and contribute to improving our overall security
Phishing simulations: to boost cyber readiness, we conducted 15 phishing simulations. These exercises educate employees and help them recognize and respond to phishing attempts
Application security testing: We implemented tools for application security testing. This ensures that security is considered throughout the development lifecycle

Information Technology Services

We continued to mature our information technology (IT) environment and modernize our public-facing and internal services. We maintained more than 400 business IT applications, including those related to:

Mission critical solutions supporting key services to Canadians (such as Employment Insurance and pensions)
Contact centre operations
Partner solutions and initiatives (such as Passport operations)

Our IT staff supported production activities for all benefit programs. This includes EI, CPP, OAS, Grants and Contributions, alongside programs such as Job Bank, Canada Summer Jobs, Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW), and the Social Insurance Registry. This past fiscal year, they put considerable efforts in supporting the launch and implementation of the Canada Dental Care Plan. In addition to providing the required technical structure, they facilitated the collaboration with various partners involved and ensured the inclusion of accessibility features.

To enhance our organization's cloud capabilities and connectivity, we introduced cloud-focused initiatives such as the Cloud Target Operating Model, that includes six layers:

Process, People, Service Delivery Model, Technology, Performance Insights, and Governance.

We modernized the digital work environment of employees by eliminating obsolete collaboration services and migrating to modern tools. For example, we implemented a new corporate information repository and modern office tools supporting email and automation. As well, we verified, through a pilot project, that the installation of Low Earth Orbit satellites provided better network speed in remote locations. We thus observed such technology could improve the overall client experience.

We dedicated efforts to implementing disability inclusive technologies. We integrated mandatory accessibility audits into the software release management process. Through our IT Accessibility Office, we held 10 accessibility and disability inclusion events and published 26 accessibility and disability inclusion articles.

Additionally, to further the capacity of all our employees to better serve Canadians, we offered 51 instructor-led courses on IT Accessibility. This training gave employees the skills to develop accessible IT content for the Canadians they serve.

We also purchased additional adaptive technology equipment for the departmental loan bank. This increased Employment and Social Development Canada employees' access to adaptive technology that they need.

Security

We continued to focus on prevention, detection, investigation and resolving internal risks to safeguard Canadians' personal information. We dedicated routine analytical efforts to monitor access to that information and detect unauthorized access and activity. We also implemented measures to raise awareness of internal risks amongst all our employees.

To protect the department's information and assets, we created the Information Categorization Tool (ICT), accessible to all employees. We conducted security inspections to identify mishandling of protected or classified information and address concerns reported by employees.

We ensured all contractors working with the department have a valid security clearance and, if needed, are escorted on our premises.

To ensure the safety of both our employees and our clients visiting in-person service centres, we:

Consistently enforced clear guidelines for reporting security incidents across all regions
Implemented robust oversight of security measures, including video surveillance. This ensures consistent guidelines for using and disclosing surveillance footage with internal and external partners
Displayed signs to inform clients and employees about the presence of cameras

We strengthened our emergency management function by completing the Incident Command System (ICS) and the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) courses. These courses provided a standardized management approach to better understand roles and responsibilities for both the physical and virtual workplaces and to improve interventions during emergency situations.

We updated our High-Level Emergency Management Incident Process to align it with Public Safety's Significant Event Information Protocol (SEISP). This establishes a clear and integrated process for communicating accurate and timely information, which enhances employee safety and security. We further developed an all-hazards playbook which outlines response measures, triggers, mitigations, and decision-making processes. These apply to service delivery crises related to cyclical events within the organization as a whole. Furthermore, the department acquired an emergency management application system to facilitate quicker coordination and response to emergencies.

Data Management and insights

The department continued to implement its Data Strategy. Timely data and analysis support decision-making in areas like employment equity and responding to artificial intelligence's potential impacts on the labour market. Continuously improving our management and use of data helps us to better understand our socio-economic context and the needs of Canadians. This enables better insights into hard-to-reach populations and their benefit uptake.

As part of our ongoing Data Literacy program, we developed training and resources to help employees understand and apply new directives and tools. These resources covered topics such as data ethics and artificial intelligence (AI).

Through the responsible and ethical use of data with tools like AI, we are getting benefits into the hands of eligible Canadians faster. We developed and implemented AI and automation projects that helped our employees identify more clients who are eligible. We also streamlined processes so that employees could spend more time focusing on more complex cases.

We established our Data Accountability Framework to clarify accountabilities for data stewarded by the department.

We collaborated with internal and external stakeholders, with a focus on improving data sharing and optimizing the use of current data holdings. For example, we initiated and signed information sharing agreements with federal departments and provinces/territories to support various programs, such as EI. Such collaboration allows us to better inform policy and program decisions and service delivery.

By streamlining processes, reducing approval timelines and leveraging automation, we increased the amount of open data available on the GC Open Government Portal. This accelerated our ability to share valuable information with the public.

Work also advanced on the establishment of an Employment and Social Development Canada-Statistics Canada Joint Data Strategy. This strategy is meant to increase our ability to share and use data to better understand and serve clients, including those most at risk of being underserved.

Evaluation Services

We completed 8 evaluations in collaboration with program officials, providing valuable insights into various programs. Additionally, we initiated 5 other evaluations and conducted supplemental studies that informed the annual 2022 to 2023 EI Monitoring and Assessment Report.

We engaged and collaborated with Indigenous organizations and communities to finalize the evaluation of the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Initiative. Further to this, we carried out evaluation activities to inform the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program. These co-development processes involve a flexible, distinction-based approach that considers the unique needs and priorities of Indigenous Peoples. It reflects our commitment to reconciliation and aligns with Canada's Action Plan on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

We used advanced techniques, including machine learning, to evaluate the impact of programs. These methods improve the measurement of program impacts, help better inform GBA plus analysis, and foster equality, diversity and inclusiveness.

Innovation

Our Innovation Lab has created a strategic plan for 2023 to 2026. This plan emphasizes partnership projects, grassroots innovation, and boosting innovation awareness and capacity. We led 3 partnership projects. One of these projects centered around creating an automatic enrollment model for the Canada Learning Bond (CLB).

We supported and funded 5 employee-led projects with $500,000 in seed funding. These projects allowed employees to explore solutions aimed for improving internal processes, to enhance the efficiency of program operations and service delivery. The projects leveraged automation, AI and other tools. They provided insights into practical applications of innovative methods to support program operations.

Furthermore, our Innovation Lab continued supporting networking and knowledge exchange through 4 internal Innovation Network events, regular network membership engagements, regular updates to its internal website and four "Lab Notes" newsletters.

Resources required to achieve results

This section provides a summary of the planned and actual spending and full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to achieve results.

Resource: Gross Spending

Planned: 1,081,901,580

Actual: 1,399,457,961

Resource: Net Spending

Planned: 385,209,854

Actual: 533,532,396

Resource: Full-time equivalents

Planned: 5,333

Actual: 6,361

Please refer to ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

The complete financial and human resources information GC InfoBase for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Government of Canada departments are to meet a target of awarding at least 5% of the total value of contracts to Indigenous businesses each year. This commitment is to be fully implemented by the end of 2024-25.

Employment and Social Development Canada's result for 2023 to 2024:

As shown in this section, Employment and Social Development Canada awarded 6.97 % of the total value of all contracts to Indigenous businesses for the fiscal year.

Contracting performance indicators: Total value of contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses^{Footnote 2} (A)

2023 to 2024 results: $517,973,518.66

Contracting performance indicators: Total value of contracts awarded to Indigenous and non‑Indigenous businesses^{Footnote 3} (B)

2023 to 2024 results: $36,102,514.14

Contracting performance indicators: Value of exceptions approved by deputy head (C)

2023 to 2024 results: $0.00

Contracting performance indicators: Proportion of contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses [A / (B−C) × 100]

2023 to 2024 results: 6.97%

Footnote 1

For the purposes of measuring performance against the minimum 5% target for FY 2023-24, the data in this section is based on how Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) defines "Indigenous business", which is one that is owned and operated by Elders, band and tribal councils; registered in the Indigenous Business Directory; or registered on a modern treaty beneficiary business list

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Includes contract amendments with Indigenous businesses and contracts that were entered into with Indigenous businesses by means of acquisition cards above $10,000.00 ($10K) and may include subcontracts with Indigenous businesses

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Includes contract amendments and contracts that were entered into by means of acquisition cards above $10K

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Building on the momentum from last year, we carried out further improvements to encourage contracts with Indigenous businesses. These included:

A quarterly monitoring process to track progress throughout the year
An obligation for all purchases submitted to an internal review committee to show whether Indigenous businesses were considered as part of the procurement strategy. This helped our internal governance
An internal process to make sure that Indigenous businesses were invited to submit bids when making purchases. This was done through the Centralized Professional Services System (as capacity allowed). Given the high volume of professional services contracts, this resulted in a marked increase to contracts awarded

Thus, we were able to exceed the anticipated target of 5%. In fact, Indigenous businesses accounted for 6.97% of all our contracting activity.

Overall Risks and Mitigation Strategies

To help ensure that Canadians receive high quality, timely, efficient and accessible delivery of government programs and services, the department considered key risks. If key risks occur, there would be a significant effect on the timeliness and quality of the programs and services the department delivered to the public. Those key risks and their mitigation strategies are briefly described next.

Information technology (IT) systems

We continued to address the risk of system failure and aging technology through our multi-year technical debt remediation, benefit program modernization and network modernization initiatives.

Cybersecurity

To enhance security and protect sensitive information, we are creating a Cyber Incident Response Plan and a Vulnerability Management Plan. These plans align with the Government of Canada's guidance, policies, and industry best practices. Additionally, we are revising our cybersecurity strategies to address maturity gaps and stay current with the evolving risk landscape.

We are dedicated to enhancing security by investing in tools for customized phishing simulations. Additionally, we have developed awareness and training content for all employees to safeguard information. These efforts generate data that allows us to tailor content to specific functional areas within ESDC, further clarifying roles and responsibilities.

Data for decision making

As part of our risk management plans, we launched the Enterprise Information Sharing Agreement Stewardship Network. The stewards will contribute to the modernization of Information Sharing Agreements and promote best practices.

Workforce Management and Employee Wellness

The Centre of Expertise for Optimizing Employee Potential led the Duty to Accommodate (DTA) Program. The Centre addressed employee wellness and workforce management risks through training, stakeholder engagement, and outreach (including information sessions, podcasts and blog posts).

Service disruptions

We are currently auditing the effectiveness of existing business continuity plans. The audit results will be available in fiscal year 2024 to 2025. Additionally, the Benefits Delivery Modernization Programme prioritizes business continuity to ensure uninterrupted service to Canadians.

Planning and priority setting

Our Service Performance Measurement Centre of Expertise conducted innovative pilot projects to measure service performance. We also developed periodic reports and dashboards to inform senior management.

Spending and human resources

In this section

Spending
Funding
Financial statement and financial statements highlights
Human resources

Spending

This section presents an overview of the department's actual and planned expenditures from 2021-22 to 2026-27.

Actual spending for fiscal year 2023 to 2024

For fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department's expenditures on programs and services total $184.2 billion. Of that amount, $166.0 billion directly benefits Canadians through statutory transfer payment programs. These include Employment Insurance, the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, the Canada Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprentice Loans, the Canada Education Savings Program, the Canada Disability Savings Program and other smaller transfer payments. Voted grants and contributions expenditures total $9.8 billion and gross operating expenditures total $5.8 billion.

Chart of detailed view of actual expenditures for fiscal year 2023 to 2024: description follows — **Figure 3: detailed view of actual expenditures for fiscal year 2023 to 2024:**

Budgetary

Net operating costs of $2,947.7 million [note: This amount includes $1,566.7 million in net voted operating expenditures, $492.5 million in contributions to employee benefit plans, $453.2 million for delivery service to the public on behalf of partners under the Department of Employment and Social Development Act, $212.5 million in debt write-offs, $85.0 million in statutory administrative fees related to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and the Apprentice Loans, $121.5 million in pandemic benefits, $14.4 million in net expenditures for Federal Workers' Compensation and $1.9 million for other items.]

Add recoveries in relation to:

Canada Pension Plan: $549.2 million
Employment Insurance Operating Account: $2,252.4 million
Government Employee Compensation Act: $1.2 million
Total - recoveries: $2,802.8 million

Gross operating costs: $5,750.5 million

Voted Grants and Contributions: $9,823.6 million

Total gross expenditures: $15,574.1 million

Other - EI and CPP charges and recoveries: $2,557.4 million

Statutory Transfer Payments

Grants and Contributions:

Old Age Security: $57,444.9 million

Guaranteed Income Supplement: $18,030.9 million

Allowance: $608.7 million

Other statutory payments include:

Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprentice Loans: $4,056.2 million
Canada Education Savings Grant: $1,056.8 million
Canada Disability Savings Program: $683.7 million
Canada Learning Bond: $176.0 million
Wage Earner protection Program: $60.4 million
Additional support for Canadian seniors: $-0.1 million
Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit: $-2.5 million
Universal Child Care: $-4.4 million
Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit: $-7.6 million
Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit: $-19.9 million
Canada Recovery Benefit: $-185.2 million
Benefit enhancement measures for the Employment Insurance Operating Account: $-225.8 million
Total - Other statutory payments: $5,587.6 million

Sub-total - Statutory Grants and Contributions: $81,672.1 million

Canada Pension Plan Benefits: 60,827.7 million

Employment Insurance Benefits:

Part I: $20,991.3 million
Part II: $2,524.1 million
Total - EI Benefits: $23,515.4 million

Other Specified Purpose Accounts: $10.9 million [note: This amount includes payments related to the Government Annuities Account and the Civil Service Insurance Fund]

Total - Statutory transfer payments: $166,026.1 million

ESDC's Financial Framework

The department has a complex financial structure, with various funding mechanisms used to deliver its mandate. The department is funded by 4 main sources of funds:

Appropriated funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund
The Employment Insurance (EI) Operating Account
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
Other government departments and Crown corporations

Planned expenditures related to the EI Operating Account and the CPP, as well as planned expenditures that are recovered from Crown corporations and other government departments for the administration of the Government Employee Compensation Act, are excluded from ESDC's Main and Supplementary Estimates and net planned spending because they are not voted by Parliament.

EI and CPP benefits and related administrative costs are charged against revenues earmarked in separate specified purpose accounts.

The EI program provides financial support and other assistance to eligible workers and is entirely funded by contributions from employees and employers
The CPP is an income security plan which is funded by the contributions of employees, employers, and self-employed persons and by the revenue earned on plan investments. It provides partial income protection in the case of the retirement, disability or death of a contributor to virtually all employed and self-employed persons in Canada, excluding Quebec, which operates its own comprehensive pension plan

Administrative costs incurred by the department in the delivery of programs related to EI and CPP are charged to their respective specified purpose accounts and reported as revenues netted against expenditures under the department.

The Department of Employment and Social Development Act was amended in June 2018 to broaden the department's mandate to include service delivery to the public with a view to improve services to Canadians. The department has the legislative authority to deliver services to the public for partners on a cost-recovery basis as well as to deliver select services for the Government of Canada, such as passport services.

These items are included in the department's gross planned spending to provide readers with the full cost to government of the department's programs and services and present a complete picture of the resources managed by ESDC to deliver its mandate.

The sources of funds, including specified purpose accounts, for each of the Department's core responsibilities are as follows:

Core Responsibility 1: Social Development

Consolidated Revenue Fund

Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

Consolidated Revenue Fund
CPP (in gross spending only for CPP benefits and related administrative costs)

Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

Consolidated Revenue Fund
EI Operating Account (in gross spending only for EI benefits and related administrative costs)

Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

Consolidated Revenue Fund
Crown corporations and other departments (in gross spending only for the administration of the Government Employee Compensation Act)

Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments

Consolidated Revenue Fund
Revenues from partners using legislative cost-recovery authority to deliver programs and services on their behalf

Internal Services

Consolidated Revenue Fund
CPP (in gross spending only for CPP administrative costs)
EI Operating Account (in gross spending only for EI administrative costs)

Analysis of actual spending

This section reconciles how much money Employment and Social Development Canada spent in fiscal year 2023 to 2024, from actual gross spending to actual net spending (dollars).

Total actual spending

Actual gross spending for 2023 to 2024: $184,157,621,096

Less: actual gross spending in specified purpose accounts for 2023 to 2024: $86,911,436,982

Less: actual revenues netted against expenditures for 2023 to 2024: $2,802,803,400

Actual net spending for 2023 to 2024: $94,443,380,714

Please refer to the ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

The department is responsible for the direct delivery of programs such as the Old Age Security (OAS), the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Employment Insurance (EI) and other statutory transfer payments. These programs can be affected by variances in the average number of beneficiaries and variances in the average benefit rates. This is the case for the Old Age Security pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement (OAS/GIS) and for the CPP. For EI, spending can be influenced by many factors such as the number of eligible individuals establishing claims for EI benefits. This number varies with the economy, the benefit rates and the implementation of new initiatives.

In the fiscal year 2023 to 2024, OAS/GIS and CPP payments following their usual trend. Compared to the previous fiscal year, OAS/GIS spending increased by $6.6 billion and the CPP benefits increased by $4.9 billion, due to aging population and changes in average monthly benefits. EI Benefits also increased by $1.6 billion, mainly due to increase in regular benefits attributable to an unemployment rise and an increase in average weekly benefits.

Budgetary performance summary

The following sections shows information on spending for each of Employment and Social Development Canada 's core responsibilities and for its internal services for the past three fiscal years. This first section shows the gross amounts, while the second section shows the net amounts. Please refer to the ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

This section present how much money Employment and Social Development Canada spent over the past three years to carry out its core responsibilities and for internal services, in dollars.

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 1: Social Development

2023-24 planned spending^{Footnote 1}: $6,905,105,617

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $6,905,605,548

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $4,463,385,712

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $6,463,358,293

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $6,884,431,661

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

2023-24 planned spending^{Footnote 1}: $140,587,342,781

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $138,718,298,903

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $116,883,878,441

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $127,532,814,815

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $138,642,211,774

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

2023-24 planned spending^{Footnote 1}: $33,117,307,286

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $34,433,197,476

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $67,279,306,958

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $32,666,489,864

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $33,930,132,694

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

2023-24 planned spending^{Footnote 1}: $182,949,731

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $201,122,976

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $158,283,303

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $156,557,151

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $198,251,624

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments

2023-24 planned spending^{Footnote 1}: $416,220,770

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $548,449,965

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $283,787,168

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $460,979,539

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $545,781,525

Core responsibilities and internal services:Subtotal

2023-24 planned spending^{Footnote 1}: $181,208,926,185

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $180,806,674,868

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $189,068,641,582

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $167,280,199,662

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $180,200,809,278

Core responsibilities and internal services: Internal services

2023-24 planned spending^{Footnote 1}: $1,081,901,580

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $1,454,877,491

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $1,310,935,981

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $1,362,786,014

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $1,399,457,961

Core responsibilities and internal services: Other Costs^{Footnote 2}^{Footnote 3}

2023-24 planned spending^{Footnote 1}: $2,395,793,472

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $2,556,783,190

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $2,153,540,530

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $2,321,914,283

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $2,557,353,857

Core responsibilities and internal services:Total

2023-24 planned spending^{Footnote 1}: $184,686,621,237

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $184,818,335,549

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $192,533,118,093

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $170,964,899,959

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $184,157,621,096

Notes

Footnote 1

Planned spending for fiscal year 2023 to 2024 is presented as per ESDC's 2023 to 2024 Departmental Plan (with the exception of ‘'Other Costs'' and the ‘'Total'', as described in Note 3), since planned expenditures related to the EI Operating Account and the CPP, as well as planned expenditures that are recovered from Crown corporations and other government departments for the administration of the Government Employee Compensation Act, are excluded from the Main Estimates

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Other costs include administrative costs of other government departments charged to the EI Operation Account and the CPP. It also includes EI doubtful accounts and recoveries from other government departments

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

The methodology to calculate ‘'Other costs'' has been modified in the Departmental Plan 2024 to 2025 and in the Departmental Result Report 2023 to 2024, to align with Financial Statements and Public accounts presentation. Comparatives from the fiscal year 2021 to 2022 and the fiscal year 2022 to 2023, as well as the planned spending for the fiscal year 2023 to 2024 have been reclassified to conform to the current year's presentation

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Actual three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services - Net (dollars)

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 1: Social Development

2023-24 Main Estimates: $6,905,105,617

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $6,905,605,548

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $4,463,385,712

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $6,463,358,293

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $6,884,431,661

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

2023-24 Main Estimates: $77,990,394,891

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $77,490,898,616

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $63,494,075,466

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $71,252,425,079

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $77,425,657,291

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

2023-24 Main Estimates: $8,273,330,075

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $9,160,448,193

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $26,940,441,609

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $9,316,562,627

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $8,856,955,550

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

2023-24 Main Estimates: $182,049,731

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $199,322,976

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $157,383,303

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $155,343,293

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $197,022,291

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments

2023-24 Main Estimates: $416,220,770

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $548,449,965

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $283,787,168

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $460,979,539

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $545,781,525

Core responsibilities and internal services:Subtotal

2023-24 Main Estimates: $93,767,101,084

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $94,304,725,298

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $95,339,073,258

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $87,648,668,831

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $93,909,848,318

Core responsibilities and internal services: Internal services

2023-24 Main Estimates: $385,209,854

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $560,143,320

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $445,791,056

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $503,568,500

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $533,532,396

Core responsibilities and internal services:Total

2023-24 Main Estimates: $94,152,310,938

2023-24 total authorities available for use: $94,864,868,618

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2021-22: $95,784,864,314

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2022-23: $88,152,237,331

Actual spending over three years (authorities used) 2023-24: $94,443,380,714

Analysis of the past three years of spending

Although voted grants and contributions expenditures, CPP and OAS spending increased in the past three years, this is offset by a significant decrease attributable to the EI benefits and the conclusion of COVID-19 temporary support measures such as Canada Recovery Benefits. As a result, the overall actual gross expenditures of $184.2 billion in fiscal year 2023 to 2024 is $8.4 billion lower compared to the fiscal year 2021 to 2022.

The most significant decreases are for statutory payments related to EI benefits and COVID-19 measures; the EI benefits spending decreased by $15.5 billion, and the Canada Recovery Benefits spending decreased by $17.4 billion ($13.2 billion for the Canada Recovery Benefit, $2.3 billion for the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit, $1.0 billion for the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and $0.9 billion for the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit). A decrease of $1.7 B is also attributable to the one-time payment to seniors (OAS 75+) pursuant to the Budget Implementation Act.

Offsetting these reductions, the OAS/GIS spending increased by $15.3 billion and the CPP benefits increased by $7.8 billion over the past three years. The increase in OAS/GIS benefits, also including Allowances, is explained by an increase in the maximum monthly OAS pension benefits resulting from a 10% increase in the OAS for seniors aged 75 and over starting in July 2022; to a rise in the average monthly benefit amount, as a result of quarterly indexation; and a net increase in the number of beneficiaries. For CPP, the increase is mainly attributable to an increased number of beneficiaries due to the aging population and changes in average monthly benefits.

In addition, the Vote 5 Grants and contributions spending increased by $5.0 billion over the past three years. It is mainly explained by an increase of $5.2 billion for Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system in partnership with provinces, territories and Indigenous governments.

These expenditures are offset by a decrease of $2.7 billion attributable to a reduction of statutory payments related to the Canada-wide early learning and child care system, as Budget 2021 granted one year of statutory funding for this initiative.

Finally, the department increased its gross operating expenditures by $0.7 billion to support departmental priorities and new initiatives.

More financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC InfoBase.

This sectionpresent how much money Employment and Social Development Canada's plans to spend over the next three years to carry out its core responsibilities and for internal services. This first section shows the gross amounts, while the second section shows the net amounts. Please refer to the ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

Planned three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services - Gross (dollars)

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 1: Social Development

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $7,930,989,184

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $9,377,645,337

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $9,428,664,273

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $148,006,897,563

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $156,578,774,962

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $165,501,730,249

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $33,754,261,064

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $31,598,604,402

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $30,675,281,403

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $198,483,987

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $190,777,225

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $189,723,899

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $599,204,881

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $369,803,052

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $369,422,692

Core responsibilities and internal services:Subtotal

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $190,489,836,679

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $198,115,604,978

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $206,164,822,516

Core responsibilities and internal services: Internal services

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $1,167,648,689

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $1,049,796,117

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $1,025,308,164

Core responsibilities and internal services: Other Costs^{Footnote 1}

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $2,589,012,358

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $2,707,036,627

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $2,844,405,523

Core responsibilities and internal services:Total

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $194,246,497,726

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $201,872,437,722

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $210,034,536,203

Planned three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services - Net (dollars)

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 1: Social Development

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $7,930,989,184

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $9,377,645,337

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $9,428,664,273

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $82,359,460,288

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $87,239,542,616

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $92,350,409,262

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $7,230,578,580

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $6,511,062,502

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $6,296,630,185

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $197,583,987

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $189,877,225

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $188,823,899

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $599,204,881

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $369,803,052

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $369,422,692

Core responsibilities and internal services:Subtotal

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $98,317,816,920

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $103,687,930,732

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $108,633,950,311

Core responsibilities and internal services: Internal services

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $414,403,173

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $334,234,047

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $323,416,592

Core responsibilities and internal services:Total

2024 to 2025 planned spending: $98,732,220,093

2025 to 2026 planned spending: $104,022,164,779

2026 to 2027 planned spending: $108,957,366,903

Analysis of the next three years of spending

The department expects an overall increase of $15.8 billion in gross spending from fiscal year 2024 to 2025 to fiscal year 2026 to 2027. This can be explained mainly by yearly increases to CPP and OAS benefits.

To summarize the overall funding increase over the planning years:

Planned OAS benefits, including Guaranteed Income Supplement and Allowances, are expected to reach $91.4 billion in fiscal year 2026 to 2027, which represents an increase of $10.3 billion from the 2024 to 2025 planned spending of $81.1 billion. This variance is mainly explained by an increased number of beneficiaries due to the aging population and an increase in benefits, resulting from the indexation
Planned CPP benefits are estimated at $72.9 billion in fiscal year 2026 to 2027, an increase of $7.6 billion from the 2024 to 2025 planned spending of $65.3 billion, mainly attributed to inflation assumptions. It is also associated with a higher number of beneficiaries due to the aging population
An increase of $0.9 billion to voted grants and contributions, mainly related to Early Learning and Child Care transfer payments, due to investments intended to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system with provinces and territories

As offset to these increases are some decreases from fiscal year 2024 to 2025 to fiscal year 2026 to 2027 that contribute to the variance. This includes the following:

EI benefits are expected to decrease by $1.8 billion from fiscal year 2024 to 2025 to the fiscal year 2026 to 2027, based on the latest update of the premium and benefit model
A decrease of $0.6 billion to other statutory planned spending mainly explained by the sunsetting in the fiscal year 2024 to 2025, of the service delivery of the Canadian Dental Care Plan on behalf of Health Canada as well as to a decrease to Pandemic Benefits and.to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program mainly due to the permanent elimination of interests on Canada Student Loans
A decrease of $0.4 billion in net operating planned spending mostly due to the sunsetting of temporary funding for OAS workload and Benefits Delivery Modernization. The variance is also due to the sunsetting of administrative and integrity costs related to COVID-19 measures and temporary resources for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program's compliance regime as well as for rebasing Labour Market Impact Assessment processing
A net decrease of $0.2 billion for the CPP and EI administration costs
More detailed financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase

Budgetary actual gross and net actual spending summary

The following section reconciles gross actual spending with net actual spending for the fiscal year 2023 to 2024 for each of Employment and Social Development Canada's core responsibilities and for internal services.

2023 to 2024 budgetary gross and net actual spending summary on core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 1: Social Development

Actual gross spending for 2023 to 2024: $6,884,431,661

Less: actual gross spending in specified purpose accounts for 2023 to 2024: $0

Less: actual revenues netted against expenditures for 2023 to 2024: $0

Actual net spending for 2023 to 2024: $6,884,431,661

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

Actual gross spending for 2023 to 2024: $138,642,211,774

Less: actual gross spending in specified purpose accounts for 2023 to 2024: $60,827,738,314

Less: actual revenues netted against expenditures for 2023 to 2024: $388,816,169

Actual net spending for 2023 to 2024: $77,425,657,291

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

Actual gross spending for 2023 to 2024: $33,930,132,694

Less: actual gross spending in specified purpose accounts for 2023 to 2024: $23,526,344,811

Less: actual revenues netted against expenditures for 2023 to 2024: $1,546,832,333

Actual net spending for 2023 to 2024: $8,856,955,550

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

Actual gross spending for 2023 to 2024: $198,251,624

Less: actual gross spending in specified purpose accounts for 2023 to 2024: $0

Less: actual revenues netted against expenditures for 2023 to 2024: $1,229,333

Actual net spending for 2023 to 2024: $197,022,291

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments

Actual gross spending for 2023 to 2024: $545,781,525

Less: actual gross spending in specified purpose accounts for 2023 to 2024: $0

Less: actual revenues netted against expenditures for 2023 to 2024: $0

Actual net spending for 2023 to 2024: $545,781,525

Core responsibilities and internal services:Subtotal

Actual gross spending for 2023 to 2024: $180,200,809,278

Less: actual gross spending in specified purpose accounts for 2023 to 2024: $84,354,083,125

Less: actual revenues netted against expenditures for 2023 to 2024: $1,936,877,835

Actual net spending for 2023 to 2024: $93,909,848,318

Core responsibilities and internal services: Internal services

Actual gross spending for 2023 to 2024: $1,399,457,961

Less: actual gross spending in specified purpose accounts for 2023 to 2024: $0

Less: actual revenues netted against expenditures for 2023 to 2024: $865,925,565

Actual net spending for 2023 to 2024: $533,532,396

Core responsibilities and internal services: Other Costs^{Footnote 1}

Actual gross spending for 2023 to 2024: $2,557,353,957

Less: actual gross spending in specified purpose accounts for 2023 to 2024: $2,557,353,857

Less: actual revenues netted against expenditures for 2023 to 2024: $0

Actual net spending for 2023 to 2024: $0

Core responsibilities and internal services:Total

Actual gross spending for 2023 to 2024: $184,157,621,096

Less: actual gross spending in specified purpose accounts for 2023 to 2024: $86,911,437,082

Less: actual revenues netted against expenditures for 2023 to 2024: $2,802,803,400

Actual net spending for 2023 to 2024: $94,443,380,714

Analysis of budgetary actual gross and net planned spending summary

The variance between ESDC's budgetary gross and net actual spending in the fiscal year 2023 to 2024 is explained by actual gross spending of $60.8 billion and $23.5 billion accounted in CPP and EI specified purpose accounts, respectively; by $2.6 billion of other costs, mostly related to administrative costs of other government departments charged to the EI operating account and the Canada Pension Plan; and by $2.8 billion of actual revenues netted against the ESDC's expenditures for administrative costs incurred by the department in the delivery of programs related to EI and CPP.

Please refer to ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending. 

Information on the alignment of Employment and Social Development Canada's spending with Government of Canada's spending and activities is available on GC InfoBase.

Funding

This section provides an overview of the department's voted and statutory funding for its core responsibilities and for internal services. For further information on funding authorities, consult the Government of Canada budgets and expenditures.

Year	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27
Statutory	$89,589,886,338	$76,489,375,962	$82,840,593,310	$87,249,864,095	$91,834,301,637	$97,026,048,205
Voted^{Table footnote 1}	$6,194,977,976	$11,662,861,369	$11,602,787,404	$11,482,355,998	$12,187,863,142	$11,931,318,698
Total	$95,784,864,314	$88,152,237,331	$94,443,380,714	$98,732,220,093	$104,022,164,779	$108,957,366,903
Note Footnote 1 Voted expenditures include debt write-offs in the fiscal years 2021 to 2022, 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 Return to footnote 1 referrer

Analysis of statutory and voted funding over a six-year period

ESDC's statutory funding is expected to increase by $7.4 billion over the six-year period starting in fiscal year 2021 to 2022 and ending in fiscal year 2026 to 2027.

This increase is mainly due to OAS/GIS statutory payments, which are expected to increase by $30.2 billion over this six-year period, due to the aging population and changes in average monthly benefits, in line with indexation
The increase is offset by a decrease of $20.1 billion due to the conclusion of COVID-19 temporary support measures such as Canada Recovery Benefits, One-time payments to seniors (OAS 75+) pursuant to the Budget Implementation Act and the measure doubling Canada Student Grants
It is also offset by a decrease of $2.7 billion in statutory funding attributable to a reduction of statutory payments related to the Canada-wide early learning and child care system, as Budget 2021 granted one year of statutory funding

Voted expenditures are expected to increase by $5.7 billion over the six-year period starting in fiscal year 2021 to 2022 and ending in fiscal year 2026 to 2027. The increase is mostly related to Early Learning and Child Care investments intended to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system in partnership with provinces, territories and Indigenous governments.

For further information on Employment and Social Development Canada's departmental voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada.

Financial statement and financial statements highlights

The financial highlights are intended to serve as a general overview of Employment and Social Development Canada's (ESDC's) financial position and operations.

The following condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with the Government's accounting policies, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards and are therefore different from reporting on the use of authorities, reflected in the rest of this report. Reconciliation between authorities used and the net cost of operations is set out in Note 3 of the Department's consolidated financial statements.

These consolidated financial statements include the transactions of the Employment Insurance Operating Account, a sub-entity under the control of ESDC. The accounts of this sub-entity have been consolidated with those of ESDC and all inter-organizational balances and transactions have been eliminated. The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is excluded from ESDC's reporting entity because it is managed by both the Government of Canada and the provinces. Changes to the Canada Pension Plan require the agreement of at least two-thirds of the provinces, representing at least two-thirds of the population of all the provinces.

Financial statement highlights

ESDC's complete consolidated financial statements (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2024, are available online.

This section summarizes the expenses and revenues for 2023 to 2024 which net to the cost of operations before government funding and transfers.

Financial information: Total expenses

2023 to 2024 actual results: $124,783,863,036

2023 to 2024 planned results: $120,839,217,538

Difference (actual results minus planned): $3,944,645,498

Financial information: Total revenues

2023 to 2024 actual results: $32,017,183,654

2023 to 2024 planned results: $ 28,762,236,594

Difference (actual results minus planned): $3,254,947,060

Financial information: Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers

2023 to 2024 actual results: $92,766,679,382

2023 to 2024 planned results: $92,076,980,944

Difference (actual results minus planned): $689,698,438

The 2023 to 2024 planned results information is provided in ESDC's Consolidated Future-Oriented Statement of Operations.

This section summarizes actual expenses and revenues which net to the cost of operations before government funding and transfers.

Financial information: Total expenses

2023 to 2024 actual results: $124,783,863,036

2022 to 2023 actual results: $110,672,569,146

Difference (2023 to 2024 minus 2022 to 2023): $14,111,293,890

Financial information: Total revenues

2023 to 2024 actual results: $32,017,183,654

2022 to 2023 actual results: $27,963,471,038

Difference (2023 to 2024 minus 2022 to 2023): $4,053,712,616

Financial information: Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers

2023 to 2024 actual results: $92,766,679,382

2022 to 2023 actual results: $82,709,098,108

Difference (2023 to 2024 minus 2022 to 2023): $10,057,581,274

This section provides a brief snapshot of the department's assets (what it owns) and liabilities (what it owes), which helps to indicate its ability to carry out programs and services, in dollars.

Financial information: Total net financial assets

2023 to 2024: $33,225,829,136

2022 to 2023: $32,909,154,161

Difference (2023 to 2024 minus 2022 to 2023): $316,674,975

Financial information: Total net liabilities

2023 to 2024: $5,445,064,267

2022 to 2023: $4,555,451,208

Difference (2023 to 2024 minus 2022 to 2023): $889,613,059

Financial information: Department net financial asset

2023 to 2024: $27,780,764,869

2022 to 2023: $28,353,702,953

Difference (2023 to 2024 minus 2022 to 2023): $(572,938,084)

Financial information: Total non-financial assets

2023 to 2024: $675,907,898

2022 to 2023: $585,140,301

Difference (2023 to 2024 minus 2022 to 2023): $90,767,597

Financial information: Department net financial position

2023 to 2024: $28,456,672,767

2022 to 2023: $28,938,843,254

Difference (2023 to 2024 minus 2022 to 2023): $(482,170,487)

Human resources

This section presents an overview of the department's actual and planned human resources from fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2026 to 2027. 

This section shows a summary of human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for Employment and Social Development Canada's core responsibilities and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years.

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 1: Social Development

2021 to 2022 actual FTEs: 622

2022 to 2023 actual FTEs: 638

2023 to 2024 actual FTEs: 562

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

2021 to 2022 actual FTEs: 6,829

2022 to 2023 actual FTEs: 7,276

2023 to 2024 actual FTEs: 7,608

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

2021 to 2022 actual FTEs: 15,930

2022 to 2023 actual FTEs: 17,216

2023 to 2024 actual FTEs: 16,529

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

2021 to 2022 actual FTEs: 853

2022 to 2023 actual FTEs: 872

2023 to 2024 actual FTEs: 807

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments

2021 to 2022 actual FTEs: 2,236

2022 to 2023 actual FTEs: 4,382

2023 to 2024 actual FTEs: 4,748

Core responsibilities and internal services:Subtotal

2021 to 2022 actual FTEs: 26,470

2022 to 2023 actual FTEs: 30,384

2023 to 2024 actual FTEs: 30,254

Core responsibilities and internal services: Internal services

2021 to 2022 actual FTEs: 5,943

2022 to 2023 actual FTEs: 6,575

2023 to 2024 actual FTEs: 6,361

Core responsibilities and internal services:Total

2021 to 2022 actual FTEs: 32,413

2022 to 2023 actual FTEs: 36,959

2023 to 2024 actual FTEs: 36,615

Analysis of human resources over the last three years

The overall increase of 4,202 full-time equivalents (FTEs) from fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2023 to 2024 is mainly explained by the following:

Under Social Development and under Working Conditions and Workplace Relations, a total decrease of 106 FTEs mainly related to Reaching Home under Social Development, which has been transferred to Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (formerly Office of Infrastructure of Canada) during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, as well as other initiatives under the Labour program.
Under Pensions and Benefits, an increase of 779 FTEs mostly as a result of temporary resources provided to address OAS and CPP workload capacity and Benefits Delivery Modernization.
Under Learning, Skills Development and Employment, an increase of 599 FTEs mainly due to temporary resources provided to address the EI processing and call centre workload as well as the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program.
Under Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments, an increase of 2,512 FTEs mainly as a result of passport activities following an increase of passport applications in 2023 related to the first 10-year passports introduced in 2013 expiring in 2023 and a new 2-year service delivery partnership with Health Canada for the new Canadian Dental Care Plan.
Under Internal services, an increase of 418 FTEs due to funding related to corporate costs for various initiatives.

This section shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for each of Employment and Social Development Canada's core responsibilities and for its internal services planned for the next three fiscal years.

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 1: Social Development

2024 to 2025 planned FTEs: 529

2025 to 2026 planned FTEs: 474

2026 to 2027 planned FTEs: 435

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

2024 to 2025 planned FTEs: 7,522

2025 to 2026 planned FTEs: 6,281

2026 to 2027 planned FTEs: 4,772

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

2024 to 2025 planned FTEs: 15,054

2025 to 2026 planned FTEs: 9,841

2026 to 2027 planned FTEs: 9,745

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

2024 to 2025 planned FTEs: 856

2025 to 2026 planned FTEs: 830

2026 to 2027 planned FTEs: 825

Core responsibilities and internal services: Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments

2024 to 2025 planned FTEs: 4,932

2025 to 2026 planned FTEs: 2,727

2026 to 2027 planned FTEs: 2,733

Core responsibilities and internal services:Subtotal

2024 to 2025 planned FTEs: 28,893

2025 to 2026 planned FTEs: 20,153

2026 to 2027 planned FTEs: 18,510

Core responsibilities and internal services: Internal services

2024 to 2025 planned FTEs: 5,517

2025 to 2026 planned FTEs: 4,902

2026 to 2027 planned FTEs: 4,714

Core responsibilities and internal services:Total

2024 to 2025 planned FTEs: 34,410

2025 to 2026 planned FTEs: 25,055

2026 to 2027 planned FTEs: 23,224

Analysis of human resources for the next three years

The overall decrease of 11,186 full-time equivalents (FTEs) from fiscal year 2024 to 2025 to fiscal year 2026 to 2027 is mainly explained by the following:

Under Social Development and Working Conditions and under Workplace Relations, a total decrease of 125 FTEs due to the sunsetting of temporary resources associated with social development initiatives such as Early Learning and Child Care, as well as other initiatives under the Labour program
Under Pensions and Benefits, a decrease of 2,750 FTEs as a result of a reduction in temporary resources provided to address OAS and CPP workload capacity and Benefits Delivery Modernization
Under Learning, Skills Development and Employment, a decrease of 5,309 FTEs mainly due to the sunsetting of temporary resources provided to address the EI processing and call centre workload, for Benefits Delivery Modernization, as well as the integrity of the Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit. It is also due to the sunsetting of resources for grant and contribution programs such as Youth Employment and Skills Strategy and Canada Summer Jobs, as well as the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Under Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments, a decrease of 2,199 FTEs as a result of passport activities returning to normal following an increase of passport applications in 2023 because of the first 10-year passports introduced in 2013 expiring in 2023. It is also attributable to the sunsetting of funding, in the fiscal year 2024 to 2025, of the service delivery partnership of the Canadian Dental Care Plan with Health Canada
Under Internal services, a decrease of 803 FTEs mainly related to reductions in permanent funding and to the sunsetting of temporary funding for the corporate costs associated with various initiatives such as the service delivery of the Canadian Dental Care Plan on behalf of Health Canada, OAS, CPP and EI processing and call centre workload

Corporate information

Departmental profile

Appropriate minister(s):

The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor

The Honourable Jenna Sudds

The Honourable Steven MacKinnon

The Honourable Kamal Khera

The Honourable Terry Beech

The Honourable Marci Ien

Institutional head:

Paul Thompson, Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development

Ministerial portfolio:

Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages

Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Minister of Labour and Seniors

Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities

Minister of Citizens' Services

Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth

Enabling instrument(s):

Department of Employment and Social Development Act (S.C. 2005, c. 34); additional information on acts and regulations can be found on the Employment and Social Development Canada website.

Year of incorporation / commencement:

2005

Other:

For more information on the department's role, please visit the Employment and Social Development Canada website.

Departmental contact information

Mailing address

Portage IV
140 Promenade du Portage
Gatineau, QC K1A 0J9

Telephone: 1-800-622-6232

TTY: 1-800-622-6232

Email: NC-SPR-PSR-CPMD-DPMG-GD@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Website: www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development.html

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on Employment and Social Development Canada's website:

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

Definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, departments or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité)

A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments' immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department's core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department's actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

fulltime equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full personyear charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the fulltime equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person's collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

An analytical tool used to assess support the development of responsive and inclusive how different groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and policies, programs, and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2022-23 Departmental Results Report, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government's agenda in the November 23, 2021, Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fight harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation; and fighting for a secure, just and equitable world.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more federal departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What a department did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the department intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of a department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how a department intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all the department's programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department's core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to a department, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single department, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the department's influence.

Indigenous business (entreprise autochtones)

For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses and the Government of Canada's commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses, a department that meets the definition and requirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that a department, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.

Page details

Date modified:: 2025-06-11

Employment and Social Development Canada’s 2023 to 2024 Departmental results report

On this page:

From the Ministers

Service Excellence Highlights

Service Canada Regional Service Delivery

Western Canada and Territories

Ontario Region

Québec Region

Atlantic Region

Results - what we achieved

Core responsibilities and internal services

Core responsibility 1: Social Development

In this section

Description

Progress on results

Details on results

Resources required to achieve results

Related government-wide priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals

Innovation

Program inventory

Core responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

In this section

Description

Progress on results

Details on results

Resources required to achieve results

Related government-wide priorities

Program inventory

Core responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

In this section

Description

Progress on results

Details on results

Resources required to achieve results

Related government-wide priorities

Program inventory

Core responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

In this section

Description

Progress on results

Details on results

Resources required to achieve results

Related government-wide priorities

Program inventory

Core responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Gov't Departments

In this section

Description

Progress on results

Details on results

Resources required to achieve results

Related government-wide priorities

Program inventory

Internal services

In this section

Description

Progress on results

Resources required to achieve results

Contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Overall Risks and Mitigation Strategies

Spending and human resources

In this section

Spending

ESDC's Financial Framework

Funding

Financial statement and financial statements highlights

Financial statement highlights

Human resources

Analysis of human resources over the last three years

Analysis of human resources for the next three years

Corporate information

Departmental profile

Departmental contact information

Supplementary information tables

Federal tax expenditures

Definitions

Page details