Government Spent $514B

👩🏻 Top insight from me, Weiting (Co-Founder) about the Government

A group of startup founders gathered publicly available data and asked:

Uhm, the total spend was actually $514B so we actually overspent by ~$54B. But really, who’s counting…?

The high level breakdown is below. You can deep dive at Canadaspends.com.

• $120B Social Security

• $120B Economy and Standard of Living (🏡)

• $100B Transfers to Provinces

• $47B Obligations

• $42B Indigenous Priorities

• $34B Defense

• $23B Safety

• $19B International Affairs

• $7B Other

Let’s take a deeper look at our government workforce

There are 441,000 total government employees across 94 federal organizations. The average government employee made $136,345/year. omg.

Here’s a breakdown of the compensation in salary, pension, bonuses, and other.

Why does it matter?

When I saw this, I loved it so much so I had to share it with you. You deserve to know because whether you’re a renter, housing provider, homeowner, or my two toddlers - you are paying taxes to the government.

There needs to be more transparency as government spending shouldn’t be a black box. We’re now given another chance to choose our government.

There’s a Federal Election called for Thursday, April 28, 2025. There are 343 Member of Parliament (MP) seats up for grabs across Canada. The candidates of each political party across the country have 35 days to convince us to vote for them.

Want to give your thoughts about this Federal Election?

I want to be more informed because I wasn’t in the past.

I’ve taken time out each week to knock on doors and personally call citizens on behalf of some candidates. I want to further understand the government, policies, and workflows - that way I can share with all of you.

Rewind back to some prior results on politics & housing

Back in February, our friends at rentals.ca conducted a poll in advance of Ontario’s Provincial Election about how rental housing impacted readers and members of the community - renters, housing providers, and homeowners took part in it.

Let’s see some results from the Ontario Provincial survey. They are still VERY relevant for this upcoming Federal election. All credit goes to CEO Max Steinman’s team at rentals.ca.

When asked whether housing affordability has changed over the past five years, the vast majority of respondents expressed concerns:

• 85% believe affordability has worsened

• 11% say it has stayed the same

• 4% believe it has improved

This overwhelming consensus suggests that affordability remains a growing challenge for renters in Ontario.

• 19% Inflation and economic instability

• 16% Lack of housing supply

• 14% Wage stagnation compared to rising housing prices

• 14% Government policies or inaction

• 12% High interest rates

• 7% Rising Construction Costs

• 5% Zoning and municipal regulations

• 5% Social and/or demographic factors

• 4% Short-term rental markets (e.g. Airbnb)

These factors align with broader discussions about the challenges facing renters and homebuyers across the country.

That’s it for now.

I love hearing from you so if you’ve got feedback or questions for me, reply back!

I read every single email and try to reply to as many as I can.

Weiting Bollu
Mom, Rental Housing Provider, Rental Housing Advocate, Educator, and Openroom Co-Founder & CEO

💡 "Train hard and focus on what you can control." — James Clear