This post will probably be an unexpected change of pace for The Audit. I just published a new book: Accessing the Machinery of State: A Directory of Canadian Federal Agencies.
This 462-page book is really nothing more than a straightforward directory of 150 federal departments, agencies, and Crown corporations. You won’t find any of the ready-to-eat insights you’ve hopefully come to know and love from regular posts in The Audit. In fact, nearly everything in it is already freely available on the internet.
So then what’s the point? Well for someone who, from time to time, needs a quick introduction to the basic shape and function of Canadian government agencies, this can be a resource that saves time and trouble. You can think of it as a phone book, but with a whole lot more than just phone numbers and addresses.
Here are entries you’ll find for each agency (although some agencies won’t feature content for every section):
Description
2023-24 Expenditures
2025-26 Main Estimates - compare with 2023-24 expenditures for a quick sense of what’s changing over time
2023-24 Spending Results - a brief summary of official agency reports representing the outcomes of actions in pursuit of core responsibilities
Organization Type - options include: Office of Parliament, Agency, Crown corporation, and Department
Year Founded
Enabling Legislation
Mandate
Strategic Priorities
Minister or Portfolio - the official titles of chief executives in charge of each agency
Collaborating Agencies - a kind of mini org chart mapping inter-agency relationships
Key Programs and Services
Funding Sources - options include: Parliamentary appropriations, fees, earned revenues, commercial revenues, cost-recovery, contract policing recoveries, grants and contributions, and statutory assessments
Key Executive Titles - the official titles of a wider range of executives
Official Website Address
Official Contact Address
Latest Reports Address - links to web pages containing each agency’s most recent corporate reports
If you or someone you love could use this kind of desktop reference - and wouldn’t mind supporting The Audit at the same time - pick up a copy today.
If you’re just looking to access the dataset from which the book was generated, you can purchase that on Gumroad.
Consider making this available as a downloadable dataset? For a free of course.