Canada Spends Another $40.3 Billion: What Is the Government Spending It On—And Why Was Parliament Left Out?

While Canadians tighten their belts, Ottawa quietly authorized a jaw-dropping sum behind closed doors. This isn’t a conspiracy—it’s official.

On April 1, 2025, the Governor General of Canada authorized $40,343,209,650 in federal spending. That’s over $40 billion, quietly signed off without a single parliamentary vote, public debate, or media spotlight.

It wasn’t a budget announcement. It wasn’t part of the 2025 election campaign. And it sure as hell wasn’t trending on Twitter.

Instead, the authorization was issued under the rarely discussed “Special Warrant” provision, and buried in a government spreadsheet on the Treasury Board website.

Now the question isn’t whether this happened—it’s:

• Why did it happen this way?

• Where is the money going?

• And why is no one talking about it?

What Is a Special Warrant—and Why Should We Care?

Under Canadian law, the Governor General can approve special warrants for spending only when Parliament is not sitting. This mechanism was originally designed to keep government functioning between sessions—not to authorize tens of billions without oversight.

On April 1st, while Parliament was suspended, the Liberal government used this loophole to greenlight $40 billion in spending for the 2024–2025 fiscal year.

This is not illegal—but it raises serious democratic questions:

• Why wasn’t this held for debate once Parliament resumed?

• What “emergency” justified sidestepping the elected legislature?

• And why has there been almost zero coverage from mainstream media?

What Is the $40 Billion Actually For?

The spending breakdown, listed here, spans dozens of departments and agencies. Some items include:

• $178 million to the CBC, Canada’s national broadcaster

• Hundreds of millions to maintain bureaucratic operations across federal departments

• Funding allocations for departments like:

• Canadian Heritage

• Indigenous Services

• National Defence

• Treasury Board Secretariat

• Infrastructure Canada

But the document offers no public justification for the amounts, nor how the totals were calculated. There’s no accompanying press release, speech, or public statement. Just rows of numbers, quietly uploaded to a government site.

And this isn’t Monopoly money. Canada is currently carrying a federal debt of $1.3 trillion. We are running a projected $40 billion deficit this fiscal year. So how does a government justify another $40 billion in discretionary spending?

Where Was Parliament? Where Was the Vote?

The House of Commons wasn’t sitting when this authorization was made—making the special warrant legal, yes, but hardly transparent.

This raises a fundamental question: Why wasn’t this spending introduced in the House after Parliament returned?

Why not:

• Table a bill?

• Allow MPs to debate and vote?

• Open the floor for amendments or scrutiny?

Is the government avoiding accountability because the optics are bad? Because opposition parties would push back? Because the public might start asking how we can afford this when inflation, rent, and taxes are crushing everyday Canadians.

Where Is the Media?

Imagine if a Conservative government quietly spent $40 billion without debate.

Would CBC bury the story below headlines about celebrity TikToks and avocado imports?

The lack of media coverage on this story is staggering. There’s been no prime-time panel, no Globe and Mail op-ed, no top-billed CTV segment breaking it down.

It’s there, in black and white, on the Government of Canada’s own website. And yet, it feels like the loudest voices asking about it are average Canadians online—not the journalists paid to do it.

The Faultline Take

Canadians don’t mind a government spending money when they’re told why.

We’re not anti-support. We’re anti-secrecy. Right now, we’re dealing with:

• Record debt

• Unaffordable housing

• A crumbling healthcare system

• A population burned out from economic stagnation

And in the middle of all that, the government quietly signs off on $40 billion—without a word to the people paying for it. This isn’t accountability. It’s arrogance.

So we’re asking:

• What exactly is this money for?

• Why didn’t Parliament vote on it?

• And how long can a government operate in the shadows before trust runs out?

We’re watching. And we’re not the only ones.