Today, Statistics Canada is publishing the 2022 list of entities in the Public Sector Universe (PSU). This year's product presents public sector units from 2008 to 2022.
The nature and range of industries in which the public sector is involved underlines its economic breadth and influence in Canada.
The public sector consists of all resident institutional units controlled by government units, which includes the general government sector and government business enterprises (GBEs), commonly referred to as public corporations. It is comprised of 6,122 active units as of this release.
The PSU is a comprehensive list of institutional units that are included in the coverage of Canadian macroeconomic statistics, including the Canadian Government Finance Statistics (CGFS), which were also released today. This list of reporting entities is an essential input into the compilation and dissemination of detailed and meaningful data from the CGFS. It is also a key element in understanding and reconciling these to fiscal data published by governments.
The distribution of public sector entities can be viewed from sectoral, provincial–territorial, and industrial dimensions.
Size of Canada's public sector remains large
Government activities account for a significant share of the Canadian economy and the CGFS financial aggregates reflect that reality. The size of the general government in Canada is primarily attributable to extensive social protection programs combined with the universal health care and public education systems. These programs and systems explain why the provincial and territorial governments represent the largest government subsector in Canada for most CGFS aggregates.
In 2022, the expenses of the 6,122 public sector units represented 44.5% of nominal gross domestic product (GDP), with general government alone representing 40.2%. Most government operations are financed by taxes and compulsory social contributions paid by individuals and businesses, also referred to as fiscal burden. In 2022, the Canadian general government fiscal burden represented 34.4% of GDP, or $24,364 per capita. Total revenues generated by the general government sector reached $1,157 billion (or 41.1% of GDP) in 2022, 83.7% of which was made up of taxes and social contributions.
Expressed as a percentage of nominal GDP, public sector assets were down significantly in 2022 (from 173.1% to 156.0%) as well as liabilities (from 139.6% to 122.8%). These declines were explained by stronger nominal GDP growth (+11.8%) than growth in assets and liabilities, and a downward revaluation of debt securities at market value, following a sharp rise in policy interest rate (+400-base points). Also, a shrinking of Bank of Canada assets and liabilities was observed in the context of quantitative tightening.
GBEs play an important role in the Canadian economy by providing key goods and services to the community and managing some of the government's strategic assets and liabilities. They are active in various industries, such as utilities (e.g., hydroelectricity), retail trade (e.g., liquor boards and cannabis stores), transportation (e.g., public transit and ports), finance (e.g., deposit insurance), leasing (e.g., convention centres) and recreation (e.g., nature parks).
In 2022, total revenue of all GBEs amounted to $193.2 billion, distributed by industry and subsector as follows:
Table 1: Number of active Canadian public sector units, by sector and jurisdiction, 2022
Note to readers
The 2022 list of entities in the Public Sector Universe is now available. This year's product presents public sector units from 2008 to 2022.
Sector classification decisions of public sector entities are available on the Public Sector Universe Tool.
This is the third year that Statistics Canada has progressively released detailed information on the methodology used for the sector classification of Canadian public sector entities using a standardized template.
The classification criteria are based on internationally recognized standards of macroeconomic statistics and include the concepts of residence, institutional unit, control and market or non-market production. The methodology is thus harmonized with the prescriptions of the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014, developed by the International Monetary Fund, as well as the 2008 System of National Accounts.
For more in-depth information about the institutional coverage of the Canadian public sector and the methodology pertaining to the sector classification of public entities please refer to the paper "Best practices for Defining the Canadian public sector."
Canada's PSU—governments and business enterprises they control—provides information on the thousands of institutional units present throughout Canada, including the legal name of the unit, date of entry into or exit from the public sector, and geographical perspectives. This list of institutional units constitutes the universe from which Statistics Canada presents the measurement of Canadian government finance statistics.
An institutional unit is defined as an economic entity that is capable—in its own right—of owning assets, incurring liabilities, and engaging in economic activities and in transactions with other entities.
Ministries, departments, agencies, boards, commissions, judicial authorities, legislative bodies and other entities that make up a government are not institutional units if they do not have the authority to own assets, incur liabilities or engage in transactions in their own right. In general, all entities funded by appropriations made in accordance with a budget controlled by the legislature are not separate institutional units and are treated as constituting a single institutional unit. Government business enterprises are government controlled, public financial and non-financial corporations engaged in commercial operations involving the sale of goods and services to the public in the marketplace at economically significant prices.
Calculations as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) are based on the nominal GDP at market prices, expenditure-based, estimates for Canada, the provinces and the territories, available in Table 36-10-0222-01.
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Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).