2017–18 Departmental Results Report

Analysis of trends in spending and human resources

Elections Canada's financial framework

Elections Canada's unique dual-funding mechanism and planning practices are a function of its mandate. The agency is funded in part by an annual appropriation that covers the salaries of its indeterminate positions and is not affected by the electoral cycle. The agency also has a statutory authority that allows it to draw directly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for all other expenses. The statutory authority ensures that Elections Canada has access to the funds required for elections that may occur at any time, and reflects Elections Canada's independence from the Government.

Under Canada's parliamentary system, general elections are scheduled to take place on fixed dates but can still be called in advance, particularly during a minority government. By-elections, which take place whenever seats in the House of Commons become vacant, are also unpredictable as Elections Canada has no control over their frequency and timing. Legislative changes and market forces for procured goods and services can also significantly impact a general election. For these reasons, Elections Canada's Departmental Plans do not include estimates related to by-elections, and include spending related to the conduct of general elections only in the year preceding a fixed-date general election.

Actual expenditures

Budgetary performance summary for Programs and Internal Services (dollars)

Programs and Internal Services	2017–18 Main Estimates	2017–18 Planned spending	2018–19 Planned spending	2019–20 Planned spending	2017–18 Total authorities available for use	2017–18 Actual spending (authorities used)	2016–17 Actual spending (authorities used)	2015–16 Actual spending (authorities used)
Electoral Administration and OversightFootnote xx	N/A	N/A	94,074,700	72,489,231	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Electoral Operations	53,556,884	53,556,884	N/A	N/A	62,461,984	62,296,091	47,152,229	331,586,802
Regulation of Electoral Activities	11,219,651	11,219,651	N/A	N/A	15,259,810	15,196,088	12,698,073	116,777,324
Electoral Engagement	9,279,980	9,279,980	N/A	N/A	10,836,390	10,793,892	8,835,883	8,244,303
Subtotal	74,056,515	74,056,515	94,074,700	72,489,231	88,558,184	88,286,071	68,686,185	456,608,429
Internal Services	38,151,475	38,151,475	41,137,302	39,123,079	43,326,216	43,199,650	33,745,539	29,797,925
Total	112,207,990	112,207,990	135,212,002	111,612,310	131,884,400	131,485,721	102,431,724	486,406,354

The agency's spending pattern is a result of the election cycle and is typical for the agency. In the years following an election (e.g. 2016–17), expenditures drop sharply, returning to their usual level as election activities wind down. The peak of expenditures for the conduct of the 42nd general election was in 2015–16. In addition, during 2016–17 Elections Canada initiated a process to modernize electoral services and to renew its critical assets; the majority of these expenditures will be incurred in 2018–19 and will diminish in 2019–20. The agency has established a multi-year budget for modernization and asset renewal initiatives. However, funding for these initiatives is provided in phases as they move through the agency's standard procurement and project life-cycle. For these reasons, actual spending may vary from planned spending over a period. These variations affect only the statutory portion of the funding.

For 2017–18, the overall variance between actual spending and main estimates is largely attributable to the conduct of 11 by-elections, the initiation of preparations for the 43rd general election, and retroactive payments from signed collective agreements.

Due to the election cycle, the annual percentage of Internal Services over total expenditures varies significantly. Over the last four years, it fluctuated between 6% and 33%, with an average of 16%.

Starting in 2018–19, the agency will increase its field operations as it prepares to conduct the 2019 general election. These planned expenditures do not include at this time the delivery portion of that election. In this regard, proposed legislative changes currently before Parliament could have material impact on the conduct of the next general election and its cost. An estimate of the cost of the 43rd general election will be included in the agency's 2019–20 Departmental Plan.

Actual human resources

Human resources summary for Programs and Internal Services (full-time equivalents)

Programs and Internal Services	2015–16 Actual full time equivalents	2016–17 Actual full time equivalents	2017–18 Planned full time equivalents	2017–18 Actual full time equivalents	2018–19 Planned full time equivalents	2019–20 Planned full time equivalents
Electoral Administration and OversightFootnote xx	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	419	402
Electoral Operations	444	262	257	277	N/A	N/A
Regulation of Electoral Activities	81	87	75	79	N/A	N/A
Electoral Engagement	68	71	67	72	N/A	N/A
Subtotal	593	420	399	428	-	-
Internal Services	131	143	152	178	202	204
Total	724	563	551	606	621	606

The fluctuation in full-time equivalents is a result of the election cycle, largely explained by the same reasons stated in the Budgetary Performance Summary.

Expenditures by vote

For information on Elections Canada's organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada.^{Footnote xxi}

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of Elections Canada's spending with the Government of Canada's spending and activities is available in the GC InfoBase.^{Footnote xxii}

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

Elections Canada's audited financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2018, are available on the Elections Canada website.^{Footnote xxiii} They include the Statement of Management Responsibility Including Internal Control over Financial Reporting as well as the annex for fiscal year 2017–18.

These financial statements have been prepared using Government of Canada accounting policies, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards. This method of accounting, known as the accrual basis of accounting, differs from the method used to present the figures in the previous sections; those figures are based on authorities voted by Parliament on a modified cash basis.

Financial statements highlights

The financial highlights presented in this section are drawn from Elections Canada's financial statements. The tables below and management variance explanations were not part of the financial audit.

Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2018 (dollars)

Financial information	2017–18 Planned results	2017–18 Actual	2016–17 Actual	Difference (2017–18 actual minus 2017–18 planned)	Difference (2017–18 actual minus 2016–17 actual)
Total expenses	116,744,000	138,263,000	115,875,000	21,519,000	22,388,000
Total revenues	–	–	–	–	–
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	116,744,000	138,263,000	115,875,000	21,519,000	22,388,000

The increase of $22.4 million in total expenses in 2017–18 over 2016–17 is mainly due to the conduct of 11 by-elections, the preparation for the 2019 general election, the impact of implementing the new collective agreements in 2017–18, and the investments into asset renewal and electoral services modernization projects. Likewise, the additional expenditures of $21.5 million over the 2017–18 planned expenditures are mainly due to the same reasons. Since the frequency and timing of by-elections are unknown, they are not included in the agency's planned results.

Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) as of March 31, 2018 (dollars)

Financial Information	2017–18	2016–17	Difference (2017–18 minus 2016–17)
Total net liabilities	24,921,000	20,833,000	4,088,000
Total net financial assets	20,732,000	20,832,000	(100,000)
Agency net debt	(4,189,000)	(1,000)	(4,188,000)
Total non-financial assets	30,895,000	26,357,000	4,538,000
Departmental net financial position	26,706,000	26,356,000	350,000

Total net liabilities for 2017–18 are at $24.9 million, an increase of $4.1 million (20%) from 2016–17. This increase is largely explained by an increase in the year-end accrued liabilities for various information technology services. The year-over-year increase in the agency net debt and total non-financial assets is due to an increase in tangible capital assets of $4.3 million for asset renewal projects.

• Previous
• Table of Contents
• Next