Business
Feds spend $4.3 million printing out budget
From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Author: Ryan Thorpe
The average cost for each copy of the budget is $110.
Federal documents, including the budget, are routinely made available for free on government websites.
Here’s how the federal government could have saved money printing the budget:
It could have bought 1,000 top of the line, all-in-one printers at retail price.
Then it could have bought 10,000 multi-packs of colour ink.
Along with 106,000 reams of paper.
And then it could have assigned one of the 108,000 new bureaucrats hired under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to print out copies of the budget.
Or it could have bought more than 333,000 USB flash drives and handed out digital copies to anyone who wanted to read it.
And even after this epic office supply shopping spree, Ottawa would have saved a million dollars.
Instead, Ottawa blew $4.3 million on printing the federal budget since 2015.
In fact, the government continues to spend half-a-million dollars a year printing paper copies of the budget, more than a decade after authorizing the transition to digital-only publications, according to documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
“It’s 2024, presumably the government isn’t still using carrier pigeons, so it probably doesn’t need to spend half-a-million dollars printing paper copies of its budget every year,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Not only are taxpayers getting soaked by what’s in the budget, we’re also getting a six-figure tab just to print it out.”
On average, the federal government spends $482,000 annually printing out thousands of copies of its budget, despite the fact the government has been trumpeting its embrace of the digital economy for years.
The costliest year on record was 2023, when the Trudeau government spent $753,160 printing 4,200 copies of the federal budget, according to the records.
That was $443,370 more than the Conservatives spent in 2015, the last year in which the government of former prime minister Stephen Harper tabled a budget.
The least expensive year on record was 2021, when the government spent $215,434 printing copies of its budget.
Cost of printing the federal budget, 2015 to 2024, access-to-information records
|
Year |
Number of copies |
Cost |
|
2015 |
5,911 |
$309,790 |
|
2016 |
5,876 |
$490,334 |
|
2017 |
5,937 |
$553,804 |
|
2018 |
5,561 |
$655,645 |
|
2019 |
4,874 |
$457,793 |
|
2020 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
2021 |
1,599 |
$215,434 |
|
2022 |
3,035 |
$632,273 |
|
2023 |
4,200 |
$753,160 |
|
2024 |
2,225 |
$270,418 |
|
Total |
39,218 |
$4,338,651 |
Given the number of copies the government prints each year, the federal budget would constitute a best seller in the Canadian publishing industry, according to BookNet Canada.
The average cost for each copy of the budget is $110.
In 2012, the Harper government authorized federal departments to transition to online-only publications, estimating the move would save taxpayers $178 million annually.
Federal documents, including the budget, are routinely made available for free on government websites.
“The government proved in 2021 that it could bring printing costs down, so taxpayers expect that to happen every year moving forward,” Terrazzano said. “Printing some physical copies is understandable, but an average tab of half-a-million-dollars is silly.”
Since 2015, the federal government printed 39,218 physical copies of the budget.
According to online calculations, roughly 1,460 standard pine trees would have been cut down to produce that volume of paper.
The Trudeau government is more than 1.8 billion trees short of its promise to plant two billion trees by 2030.
MxM News
Quick Hit:
On the 10-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s iconic campaign launch, the Trump family announced the debut of Trump Mobile, a new wireless company offering American-built smartphones, 5G coverage, and a values-driven alternative to Big Tech carriers.
Key Details:
-
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump introduced Trump Mobile’s flagship service Monday, calling it a “transformational” alternative aimed at “our nation’s hardest-working people.”
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The “47 Plan,” priced at $47.45/month, offers unlimited talk, text, and data, free international calls to U.S. military families, telehealth, roadside assistance, and no credit checks.
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Trump Mobile’s customer support is fully U.S.-based and live 24/7—“not automated,” the company says—while a new American-made “T1 Phone” is slated for release in August.
Diving Deeper:
Marking ten years since President Donald Trump descended the golden escalator to launch his first campaign, the Trump Organization on Monday announced its boldest private sector move yet: Trump Mobile.
Flanked by company executives, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump unveiled the new cellular service, touting it as a patriotic, people-first alternative to legacy providers. “We’re building on the movement to put America first,” Trump Jr. said in a statement. “We will deliver the highest levels of quality and service.”
The cornerstone of Trump Mobile is the 47 Plan. Offered for $47.45/month, the plan includes unlimited data, full 5G coverage across all three major carriers, and a suite of benefits tailored to middle-class families, truckers, veterans, and anyone tired of paying premiums to companies that don’t share their values.
Among the key perks: 24/7 American-based customer service (with “real people,” not bots), comprehensive device protection, roadside assistance through Drive America, and telehealth services including mental health support and prescription delivery. Most notably, the plan includes free international calling to over 100 countries—an effort the Trump family says honors U.S. military families stationed abroad.
“We’re especially proud to offer free long-distance calling to our military members and their families,” said Eric Trump. “Those serving overseas should always be able to stay connected to the people they love back home.”
Unlike traditional providers, Trump Mobile advertises no contracts and no credit checks, appealing to a demographic long underserved by mainstream telecom giants. “Hard-working Americans deserve a wireless service that’s affordable, reflects their values, and delivers reliable quality they can count on,” Eric Trump added.
The company is also preparing to launch the T1 Phone in August—a sleek, gold smartphone “engineered for performance” and “proudly designed and built in the United States.” With that, the Trump Organization is not just entering the mobile market—it’s staking a claim as a direct competitor to Apple and Samsung.
From LifeSiteNews
Canada’s prime minister said it was a ‘great honor’ to host the U.S. president and praised him for saying Canada wants to work with the U.S. ‘hand-in-hand.’
During the second day of the G7 leaders meeting in the Kananaskis area in Alberta, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s world “leadership” despite saying many negative things about him during his election campaign.
While speaking to reporters Monday, Trump hinted that a new trade deal between Canada and the United States was potentially only “weeks” away. This came after a private meeting with Carney before the official G7 talks commenced.
“We’ve developed a very good relationship. And we’re going to be talking about trade and many other things,” Trump told reporters.
Carney was less vocal, however. He used the opportunity to tell reporters he was happy Trump came to his country for the G7 meeting, saying it was a “great honor” to host him.
“This marks the 50th birthday of the G7, and the G7 is nothing without U.S. leadership,” Carney told reporters.
He then spoke about Trump’s “personal leadership” on world issues and praised him for saying Canada wants to work with the U.S. “hand-in-hand.”
Carney ran his election campaign by claiming the Conservative Party would bow to Trump’s demands despite the fact that the party never said such things.
During his federal election campaign, Carney repeatedly took issue with Trump and the U.S. that turned into an anti-American Canadian legacy media frenzy.
However, the reality is, after Carney won the April 28 federal election, Trump praised him, saying, “Canada chose a very talented person.”
Many political pundits have said that Carney owes his win to Trump, as the U.S. president suggested on multiple occasions that he would rather work with Carney than conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
Trump has routinely suggested that Canada become an American state in recent months, often making such statements while talking about or implementing trade tariffs on Canadian goods.
As for Carney, he has said his government plans to launch a “new economy” in Canada that will involve “deepening” ties to the world.
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