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Manitoba’s NDP government has hired 694 new employees since being elected in October, costing taxpayers about $40 million annually, according to documents released by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
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“Taxpayers are struggling while the Manitoba government continues to hire more and more bureaucrats at taxpayer expense,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie director in a press release on Thursday. “The government can’t claim fiscal responsibility while forking over millions of dollars to pay for new hires.”
From October 2023 to March 2024, the Manitoba government hired 694 new employees, at an annual cost of $39.8 million according to the documents.
The new hires include 109 clerks and 53 administrative secretaries.
The CTF reports that the average government employee earns 8.5% more than those who work in the private sector and that they retire 2.1 years earlier than average Manitobans.
Employee compensation is the largest line item of the government’s budget. In 2022, the government spent $9.2 billion on employee salaries, making up 42% of total government spending.
By the end of the year, Manitoba’s provincial debt will be $35.4 billion. That’s a $1.9-billion increase compared to last year. This debt will cost taxpayers $2.3 billion in interest payments this year.
“Taxpayers can’t afford this government’s ballooning wage bill,” Haubrich said. “Premier Wab Kinew needs to halt the hiring spree and stop wasting taxpayers’ dollars on more bureaucrat salaries.”
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