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Plain-language guide

Canada's Federal Record, Explained

What the government spent, who does the talking in Parliament, and why some votes count for more.

v1.0 KnowDrive Canada store3,080 records retrieved 2026-08-29 2026-08-29
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The Government of Canada publishes a great deal about itself. It publishes every contract it signs, every grant it gives out, every word said in the House of Commons, and the shape of every electoral district.

This guide explains what those records show when you read all of them together. Every number in it was counted from the government's own published records.

The figures here describe records published for calendar 2025 and the first session of the 45th Parliament. They were counted on 29 August 2026.

Section 1

A few very large contracts hold most of the money

The government disclosed 59,637 contracts in 2025, worth $34.5 billion in total. That money is far more concentrated than most people expect.

Contracts Share of all contract dollars
The single largest 31%
The largest 4 54%
The largest 10 62%
The largest 100 72%

Three of the four largest contracts are shipbuilding.

  • Irving Shipbuilding, $10.8 billion, for National Defence
  • Chantier Davie Canada, $3.6 billion, for Fisheries and Oceans
  • Vancouver Shipyards, $3.5 billion, for Fisheries and Oceans
  • IBM Canada, $814 million, for Shared Services Canada

Those four contracts together are more than half of all the money.

The ordinary contract is very small by comparison. The middle contract in the whole list is worth $24,999.

These values are the full price of a contract over its entire life. The Irving contract pays for ships that take many years to build. It is not money that left the treasury in 2025.

Section 2

Many contracts end up costing more than they started

The records keep both the first price of a contract and its price today. That makes it possible to see how often the price went up.

6,129 contracts ended up above their starting price. Together they began at $12.3 billion and reached $17.4 billion. That is an increase of 42%.

Some individual increases are very large. One National Defence contract for building work with MCW Custom Energy Solutions began at $690,000 and now stands at $216 million. That is 313 times the starting price. The government's own note on the record says the contract was competitively sourced and contains one or more amendments.

Section 3

Most contracts are competed for, and the pattern is surprising

A contract is non-competitive when the government awards it without asking other suppliers to bid.

Across the whole year, 19,247 of 59,637 contracts were non-competitive. That is 32% of contracts, but only 13% of the dollars. Non-competitive contracts are usually small ones.

The pattern across departments is the opposite of what people usually assume.

Department Share of contracts that were non-competitive
Canadian Food Inspection Agency 69%
National Research Council 67%
Health Canada 67%
Environment and Climate Change Canada 66%
Fisheries and Oceans Canada 47%
Public Services and Procurement Canada 29%
Canada Border Services Agency 20%
National Defence 9%

National Defence signs by far the most contracts of any department, 19,780 of them, and it competes more of them than anyone else. The departments that go without competition most often are science, health and regulatory bodies. Those departments often buy specialised research work or laboratory equipment that only one supplier makes.

Section 4

Where the grant money goes

Grants and contributions work differently from contracts. There were 105,493 agreements worth $68.5 billion, and the money is spread much more widely. The largest 100 agreements are only 29% of the total. The middle agreement is worth $27,000.

Here is the money by the province of the group receiving it.

Province Grant money
Ontario $17.5 billion
Quebec $10.7 billion
Saskatchewan $10.3 billion
British Columbia $7.0 billion
Alberta $6.9 billion
Manitoba $5.7 billion

Saskatchewan is third, ahead of British Columbia and Alberta, which have far more people. The records explain why. $9.4 billion of Saskatchewan's $10.3 billion, or 91% of it, comes from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and from Indigenous Services Canada. These are settlements of specific land claims with First Nations. The largest single agreements go to Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, James Smith Band and Cumberland House Cree Nation.

Section 5

Some votes count for five times as much as others

Canada has 343 electoral districts. Each one elects one member of Parliament. The districts are supposed to hold roughly the same number of people, and they do not.

District People
Labrador 26,655
Nunavut 36,860
Egmont 37,755
... ...
Niagara South 132,500
Chatham-Kent—Leamington 134,225
Kingston and the Islands 134,415

The average district holds 107,848 people. Labrador holds a quarter of that.

One vote in Labrador carries about five times the weight of one vote in Kingston and the Islands.

Every federal district, shaded by population

Hover or tap a district for its numbers. Use the buttons to zoom, drag to move, or pick a district from the list.

Abbotsford—South LangleyAbitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—EeyouAbitibi—TémiscamingueAcadie—AnnapolisAcadie—BathurstAhuntsic-CartiervilleAirdrie—CochraneAjaxAlfred-PellanAlgonquin—Renfrew—PembrokeArgenteuil—La Petite-NationAurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond HillAvalonBarrie South—InnisfilBarrie—Springwater—Oro-MedonteBattle River—CrowfootBattlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow LakeBay of QuinteBeaches—East YorkBeauceBeauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—HuntingdonBeauport—LimoilouBeauséjourBellechasse—Les Etchemins—LévisBeloeil—ChamblyBerthier—MaskinongéBourassaBow RiverBowmanville—Oshawa NorthBrampton CentreBrampton EastBrampton North—CaledonBrampton SouthBrampton WestBrampton—Chinguacousy ParkBrandon—SourisBrantford—Brant South—Six NationsBrome—MissisquoiBrossard—Saint-LambertBruce—Grey—Owen SoundBurlingtonBurlington North—Milton WestBurnaby CentralBurnaby North—SeymourBécancour—Nicolet—Saurel—AlnôbakCalgary CentreCalgary ConfederationCalgary CrowfootCalgary EastCalgary HeritageCalgary McKnightCalgary MidnaporeCalgary Nose HillCalgary ShepardCalgary Signal HillCalgary SkyviewCambridgeCape Breton—Canso—AntigonishCape SpearCardiganCariboo—Prince GeorgeCarletonCarlton Trail—Eagle CreekCentral NewfoundlandCentral NovaCharlesbourg—Haute-Saint-CharlesCharlottetownChatham-Kent—LeamingtonChicoutimi—Le FjordChilliwack—HopeChurchill—Keewatinook AskiChâteauguay—Les Jardins-de-NapiervilleCloverdale—Langley CityColumbia—Kootenay—Southern RockiesCompton—StansteadCoquitlam—Port CoquitlamCourtenay—AlberniCowichan—Malahat—LangfordCumberland—ColchesterCôte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—NitassinanCôte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—TémiscouataDartmouth—Cole HarbourDavenportDeltaDesnethé—Missinippi—Churchill RiverDon Valley NorthDon Valley WestDorval—Lachine—LaSalleDrummondDufferin—CaledonEdmonton CentreEdmonton GatewayEdmonton GriesbachEdmonton ManningEdmonton NorthwestEdmonton RiverbendEdmonton SoutheastEdmonton StrathconaEdmonton WestEglinton—LawrenceEgmontElgin—St. Thomas—London SouthElmwood—TransconaEsquimalt—Saanich—SookeEssexEtobicoke CentreEtobicoke NorthEtobicoke—LakeshoreFlamborough—Glanbrook—Brant NorthFleetwood—Port KellsFoothillsFort McMurray—Cold LakeFredericton—OromoctoFundy RoyalGaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—ListugujGatineauGrande PrairieGuelphHaldimand—NorfolkHaliburton—Kawartha LakesHalifaxHalifax WestHamilton CentreHamilton East—Stoney CreekHamilton MountainHamilton West—Ancaster—DundasHastings—Lennox and Addington—TyendinagaHochelaga—Rosemont-EstHonoré-MercierHull—AylmerHumber River—Black CreekHuron—BruceJoliette—ManawanJonquièreKamloops—Shuswap—Central RockiesKamloops—Thompson—NicolaKanataKapuskasing—Timmins—MushkegowukKelownaKenora—KiiwetinoongKildonan—St. PaulKingston and the IslandsKings—HantsKing—VaughanKitchener CentreKitchener South—HespelerKitchener—ConestogaLa Pointe-de-l'ÎleLa Prairie—AtatekenLaSalle—Émard—VerdunLabradorLac-Saint-JeanLac-Saint-LouisLakelandLanark—FrontenacLangley Township—Fraser HeightsLaurentides—LabelleLaurier—Sainte-MarieLaval—Les ÎlesLeduc—WetaskiwinLeeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau LakesLes Pays-d'en-HautLethbridgeLondon CentreLondon WestLondon—FanshaweLong Range MountainsLongueuil—Charles-LeMoyneLongueuil—Saint-HubertLouis-HébertLouis-Saint-Laurent—AkiawenhrahkLévis—LotbinièreMadawaska—RestigoucheMalpequeMarc-Aurèle-FortinMarkham—StouffvilleMarkham—ThornhillMarkham—UnionvilleMedicine Hat—Cardston—WarnerMiddlesex—LondonMilton East—Halton Hills SouthMirabelMiramichi—Grand LakeMission—Matsqui—AbbotsfordMississauga CentreMississauga East—CooksvilleMississauga—Erin MillsMississauga—LakeshoreMississauga—MaltonMississauga—StreetsvilleMoncton—DieppeMont-Saint-Bruno—L’AcadieMontcalmMontmorency—CharlevoixMoose Jaw—Lake Centre—LaniganMount RoyalMégantic—L’Érable—LotbinièreNanaimo—LadysmithNepeanNew Tecumseth—GwillimburyNew Westminster—Burnaby—MaillardvilleNewmarket—AuroraNiagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-LakeNiagara SouthNiagara WestNipissing—TimiskamingNorth Island—Powell RiverNorth Vancouver—CapilanoNorthumberland—ClarkeNorthwest TerritoriesNotre-Dame-de-Grâce—WestmountNunavutOakville EastOakville WestOkanagan Lake West—South KelownaOrléansOshawaOttawa CentreOttawa SouthOttawa West—NepeanOttawa—Vanier—GloucesterOutremontOxfordPapineauParklandParry Sound—MuskokaPeace River—WestlockPerth—WellingtonPeterboroughPickering—BrooklinPierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—VerchèresPierrefonds—DollardPitt Meadows—Maple RidgePonoka—DidsburyPontiac—Kitigan ZibiPort Moody—CoquitlamPortage—LisgarPortneuf—Jacques-CartierPrescott—Russell—CumberlandPrince AlbertPrince George—Peace River—Northern RockiesProvencherQuébec CentreRed DeerRegina—LewvanRegina—Qu'AppelleRegina—WascanaRepentignyRichmond Centre—MarpoleRichmond East—StevestonRichmond Hill SouthRichmond—ArthabaskaRiding MountainRimouski—La MatapédiaRivière-des-Mille-ÎlesRivière-du-NordRosemont—La Petite-PatrieSaanich—Gulf IslandsSackville—Bedford—PrestonSaint John—KennebecasisSaint John—St. CroixSaint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—ActonSaint-JeanSaint-LaurentSaint-Léonard—Saint-MichelSaint-Maurice—ChamplainSarnia—Lambton—BkejwanongSaskatoon SouthSaskatoon WestSaskatoon—UniversitySault Ste. Marie—AlgomaScarborough Centre—Don Valley EastScarborough NorthScarborough SouthwestScarborough—AgincourtScarborough—Guildwood—Rouge ParkScarborough—WoburnSelkirk—Interlake—EastmanSheffordSherbrookeSherwood Park—Fort SaskatchewanSimcoe NorthSimcoe—GreySimilkameen—South Okanagan—West KootenaySkeena—Bulkley ValleySouris—Moose MountainSouth Shore—St. MargaretsSouth Surrey—White RockSpadina—HarbourfrontSt. Albert—Sturgeon RiverSt. Boniface—St. VitalSt. CatharinesSt. John's EastStormont—Dundas—GlengarrySudburySudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel BeltSurrey CentreSurrey NewtonSwift Current—Grasslands—KindersleySydney—Glace BayTaiaiako'n—Parkdale—High ParkTerra Nova—The PeninsulasTerrebonneThornhillThunder Bay—Rainy RiverThunder Bay—Superior NorthThérèse-De BlainvilleTobique—MactaquacToronto CentreToronto—DanforthToronto—St. Paul'sTrois-RivièresUniversity—RosedaleVancouver CentreVancouver EastVancouver Fraserview—South BurnabyVancouver GranvilleVancouver KingswayVancouver QuadraVaudreuilVaughan—WoodbridgeVernon—Lake Country—MonasheeVictoriaVille-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-SoeursVimyWaterlooWellington—Halton Hills NorthWest Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky CountryWhitbyWillowdaleWindsor WestWindsor—Tecumseh—LakeshoreWinnipeg CentreWinnipeg NorthWinnipeg SouthWinnipeg South CentreWinnipeg WestYellowheadYork CentreYork South—Weston—EtobicokeYorkton—MelvilleYork—DurhamYukon
Fewer people, each vote counts for more More people, each vote counts for less

Population is the 2021 count transposed onto the current boundaries. Districts cover water as well as land, and the northern districts are drawn to the North Pole, so the far north is much larger here than its population.

The map shades every district by how many people it holds. The pale districts are the ones where a vote counts for more. Use the list to find your own.

This is not caused by the three territories, which are each guaranteed a seat by law. Labrador is part of Newfoundland and Labrador, an ordinary province. Take the territories out and the gap stays the same.

The five largest districts are all in Ontario.

Section 6

The districts are very different sizes

The largest district is Nunavut, at 4,856,690 square kilometres. The smallest is Toronto Centre, at 6.4 square kilometres. The largest is about 758,000 times the size of the smallest.

The ten largest districts together cover 77% of all district land and water.

Two facts about these boundaries surprise people, and both come from the official map rather than from any calculation.

  • Districts cover water as well as land. Two districts on opposite sides of a stretch of sea can share a real border. Nanaimo—Ladysmith and West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country share 65 kilometres of border down the middle of the Strait of Georgia.
  • The northern districts are drawn all the way to the North Pole. This is why the 343 areas add up to about 14.2 million square kilometres, while Canada itself is 9,984,670 square kilometres. Most of Nunavut's area as drawn is ocean.
Section 7

Not everyone votes at the same rate

Estimated turnout in the 2021 election, measured on today's district boundaries, ranged widely.

District Turnout
Lowest Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River 33.0%
Middle 63.4%
Highest Souris—Moose Mountain 76.1%

The three districts with the lowest turnout are large northern districts with large Indigenous populations: Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River in Saskatchewan, Nunavut, and Churchill—Keewatinook Aski in Manitoba.

Rejected ballots follow their own pattern. Across the country 1.02% of ballots were rejected. The three districts with the highest rate are all in Quebec, at up to 2.9%.

Section 8

One member does a twentieth of the talking

The House of Commons publishes every word spoken in it. The first session of the 45th Parliament covers 72 sittings and 4,218,223 words, which is roughly 8,400 printed pages.

That talking is shared out very unevenly.

Kevin Lamoureux spoke 215,793 words on 1,204 occasions. That is 5.4% of everything said by members of Parliament, and about four times as much as the next most talkative member.

The second most talkative member is Elizabeth May, with 54,456 words. She is the only Green member in the House. One seat out of 343 produced 1.4% of all the words spoken.

Party Seats Share of words spoken
Conservative 139 47.7%
Liberal 171 34.5%
Bloc Québécois 21 13.6%
New Democratic Party 5 2.8%
Green Party 1 1.4%

The Liberals hold the most seats and the Conservatives do the most talking. That is normal. An opposition uses debating time to question the government, and a government uses its time to answer.

Section 9

Most bills never become law

The first session of the 45th Parliament has 95 bills. Fourteen of them have received royal assent, which is the final step that turns a bill into law.

Where a bill comes from matters far more than anything else.

Kind of bill Number Became law
Government bills 24 11 (46%)
Every other bill 71 3 (4%)

None of the 30 private members' bills from the House of Commons became law. The three non-government bills that passed all started in the Senate.

Nineteen bills sit at a status called "Outside the Order of Precedence". That means they were introduced and have never been scheduled for debate.

Section 10

What happened to the New Democrats

Comparing two elections is difficult, because the district boundaries changed between them. The 2021 election was fought on a map with 338 districts. The current map has 343.

Elections Canada solves this by transposing the vote. It takes the ballots actually cast in 2021 and redistributes them onto today's boundaries, to estimate what each of today's districts would have done. That makes 2021 and today comparable.

On that basis:

  • 61 of 337 seats changed party. The other 276 stayed.
  • The Liberals lost 16 seats to the Conservatives and won 14 back, which almost cancels out.
  • The Liberals gained 11 seats from the Bloc Québécois and 8 from the New Democrats.
  • The New Democrats led in 23 districts on the 2021 map. They hold 5 today. Of the 18 they lost, 10 went Conservative and 8 went Liberal.

The Liberal gains came from the Bloc and the New Democrats rather than from the Conservatives.

These transposed figures are estimates. They are not actual results. No candidate ever stood in these districts as they are drawn now. Turnout and first place in section 8 and this section are estimates for the same reason.

Section 11

Where this information comes from

Every figure in this guide was counted from records published by the body responsible for them. Nothing here comes from a news report or a summary.

Subject Source Terms
Contracts and grants Government of Canada proactive disclosure Open Government Licence
Debates and committees House of Commons official record House of Commons
Members and districts House of Commons House of Commons
Bills LEGISinfo House of Commons
Vote transposition Elections Canada Open Government Licence
District boundaries Elections Canada Open Government Licence

Three limits are worth stating plainly.

  • Contract values cover the whole life of a contract. They are not one year of spending.
  • The 2021 election figures are transposed estimates.
  • District areas include water, so they are not land areas.
Section 12

Reading the records yourself

The full records sit behind this guide: every contract, every grant, every word of debate, and every district. They are free to read.

Start an account at KnowDrive.ai. Every account includes the public data stores, and the Public KnowDrive Store is readable by every user.

An account gives you four things:

  • the full official records, rather than a summary of them
  • search across all of them, in everyday language
  • a way to check any number in this guide against the record it came from
  • all of it at no cost

The records used to write this guide are the same records the account opens. Read them yourself.

Built from the official records of the House of Commons, Elections Canada and Government of Canada proactive disclosure, held in the KnowDrive Canada store. The government's own published wording always wins. Records get revised. Check the date on this page.