Did You Know: Canada’s Tax Agency Is Six Times Bigger Than America’s

There’s an uncomfortable truth staring us in the face: we can’t afford the size of government we have today. Not in Manitoba. Not in Canada. And the numbers make that painfully clear.

Take the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). According to its own reports, the CRA employs around 60,000 people in a country of about 40 million. Compare that to the United States, where the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) serves a population over eight times larger—roughly 330 million people—with about 79,000 employees. Even with recent hiring surges funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS manages with far fewer people per capita.

Here’s the math: The CRA employs one for every 667 Canadians, while the IRS employs one for every 4,177 Americans. Thus, per capita, Canada’s tax agency employs six times more people than its U.S. counterpart.

Why? Are Canadians hiding more income than Americans? No. Is our tax system more complicated? Hardly. The U.S. tax code is far more complex. Yet they manage with fewer people.

What we’re witnessing is bloated government growth, unchecked and unquestioned. Ottawa’s public service has expanded by more than 40% since 2015. The CRA is just one example. The bureaucracy has ballooned while the private sector—the part of the economy that creates wealth—struggles under the weight of taxes and red tape.

The numbers don’t lie. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, federal spending on personnel jumped by 31% between 2020 and 2022. That’s $55 billion in salaries and benefits for 409,000 federal employees. In 2015, there were 257,000. That’s an increase of 152,000 public servants in less than a decade.

Where’s the return? Are passports faster? Is the CRA answering calls? Are veterans being served better? The answer is no. Service levels are worse, wait times longer, yet the headcount keeps growing.

This isn’t about partisan politics. It’s simple math. Canada’s federal debt crossed $1.2 trillion. Interest payments alone will hit $46.5 billion in 2025-26—nearly what Ottawa sends to provinces for health care. Decades of reckless spending have consequences.

And it’s not just Ottawa. Manitoba’s civil service has swelled. Layer upon layer of administration grows while private businesses are told to tighten belts.

Let’s be clear: This isn’t about attacking public servants. Many are dedicated people. But the system has grown too large and too top-heavy, and it’s unsustainable.

The solution? Reduce government size, focus on essential services—health care, policing, infrastructure—and stop pouring money into wasteful programs. Governments must live within their means, as do businesses and families.

Some argue that cutting government jobs hurts the economy. But a bloated government hurts more. Every dollar spent propping up an oversized public sector is a dollar not invested in job creation or innovation.

Consider this: Canadians now pay more in taxes than they spend on housing, food, and clothing combined. That’s according to the Fraser Institute. It’s the cost of runaway government expansion.

We need to ask hard questions. Do we need 60,000 CRA employees? Why does Ottawa need 16,000 more public servants this year than last? Why is the City of Winnipeg expanding departments when core services fall behind?

At the same time, we must empower the private sector. Lower taxes, less regulation, and more certainty are necessary. However, this requires reining in government spending.

This isn’t ideology. It’s survival. Endless deficits aren’t sustainable. Interest rates are up. Debt payments are crowding out necessary services. The longer we wait, the worse it gets.

We can control our finances. We can cut the fat and focus government where it matters. Or we can stay the course and leave the next generation with a mess.

It’s time to cut the size of government. Not tomorrow. Now.