How much does royalty cost Canadians?
This very legitimate question becomes topical again in the context of the coronation of King Charles III. This is especially the case in Quebec, where the monarchy is very unpopular, to say the least.
Essentially, Canadians’ spending on the monarchy is concentrated in the two institutions that represent it in the country, namely the office of the Governor General1 and the offices of the lieutenant governors of each of the provinces.
How much do these institutions cost us and who absorbs the bills? Are these expenses growing?
For the first question, I will not make you languish. According to the most recent figures available, Canadians spend $47 million a year on the monarchy. I calculated this figure by going through the financial statements of the Office of the Governor General1in addition to the public accounts and expenditure budgets of the federal government and the 10 provinces, essentially.
This sum includes everything from the remuneration of the 160 employees of the Governor General’s office, to expenses for premises, for travel, for telecommunications and even for the pensions of former governors general.
Governor General Mary Simon’s gross salary of $350,355 this year (2023-2024) is obviously included.
The $47 million also includes the expenses of each of the offices of the lieutenant governors of the 10 provinces, including their salaries, of $161,600 in 2022.
I say “everything”, but it should be “almost everything”. Certain services provided without charge to the Office of the Governor General “are not recorded as an operating expense by the Office”, indicate the Office’s financial statements.
These free services include those of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (security), the Department of National Defense (logistics and transport), Canadian Heritage (royal visit and state funeral) or Global Affairs Canada (foreign dignitaries).
In all likelihood, a few million dollars would have to be added to account for this free…
But let’s stay on the 47 million or so (46.6 million to be precise), those who are well accounted for. Of this bill, $33.9 million is attributable to the office of the Governor General and $12.7 million to the 10 provincial lieutenant governors.
Who pays the bills? For the most part, it’s the federal government. In addition to assuming the entire budget of the office of the Governor General, Ottawa pays the salaries of the lieutenant-governors of the provinces, in addition to paying them subsidies for the expenses incurred in the exercise of their functions. The pensions of former lieutenant governors are also paid by Ottawa.
In short, of the 47 million, Ottawa assumes 80%, or 37.1 million.
The provinces pay the remaining 20%, related to the operation of the cabinets of the lieutenant-governors, or 9.5 million.
What is interesting in this regard is that the bill varies significantly by province. Ontario spends the most on this function ($2.8 million), followed by British Columbia ($1.4 million) and Nova Scotia ($981,320), according to figures I could get. Quebec is at 4e rank, at $777,700.
The portrait changes considerably when we bring back these monarchical expenditures of the provinces per inhabitant. Quebec falls dead last, at 9 cents per capita, far from Alberta (14 cents) or Ontario (18 cents), but even further from Nova Scotia (95 cents) or the small island Prince Edward Island ($3.35).
Good last in this chapter, is it not representative of our weak historical attachment to the colonizing country?
In Quebec, the expenses of the office of the lieutenant-governor ($777,700) are found in the budget of the ministry of the Executive Council, that is to say the ministry of the prime minister, François Legault. According to the wording in the expenditure budget, this expenditure program “allows the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec to assume the constitutional, ceremonial and community functions assigned to him by law”.
Now, has the Canadian bill for the monarchy increased in recent years? Not much. In fact, the bill has been practically stagnant for 15 years, both in Ottawa and in Quebec.
Ten years ago, the budget for the Governor General’s office was $33.3 million, virtually the same amount as today ($33.9 million).
Oh, there were indeed higher budgets, as in 2021 (40.1 million), but it notably included an unspecified charge related to “claims and litigation”, presumably linked to the toxic climate which prevailed under Julie Payette , as confirmed in a report.
As for the Office of the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, the budget of $777,700 granted by the Government of Quebec has increased by only 3.8% in 10 years, while inflation has climbed by 26.4% 2.
The same goes for the Ottawa grants awarded for expenses incurred by the Lieutenant-Governor in Quebec, which have stagnated at $147,400 since the 2004-2005 fiscal year, 19 years ago.3.
In fact, only the salaries of these royal officers have increased steadily over the past decade, particularly that of the Governor General, who had benefited from a major turnaround between the years 2012 and 2014. The gross salary is thus increased from $134,221 in 2012 to $350,355 today (2023), to which must be added social benefits.
It is therefore 47 million that our monarchical link costs us today, essentially. Some might say that’s relatively little compared to the estimated $170million to crown the king in the UK. The Guardian. Or even with regard to the Canadian federal budget, of 497 billion dollars.
This is to forget that the 47 million have come back every year since 1867 (taking into account inflation, of course). Well, this expense for the king, isn’t it money thrown away?
1. This Office is more accurately called the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General.
2. Essentially, the budget of the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec fell after the departure of the controversial Lise Thibault, in June 2007, and has been stagnant since.