INTRODUCTION
This backgrounder compares and contrasts provincial public administration expenditure patterns across Canada with a special focus on Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Statistics Canada defines public administration in the following way: “This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in activities of a governmental nature, that is, the enactment and judicial interpretation of laws and their pursuant regulations, and the administration of programs based on them.”
1. NUMBER OF PROVINCIAL AND MUNICIPAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION EMPLOYEES
The following chart illustrates the ratio of total population in each province to public employees.
Ratio of Total Population to Public Administration Employees (1999)
| Province | Federal | Provincial | Local | People per Federal Employee / Canadian Average | People per Provincial Employee / Canadian Average | People per Municipal Employee / Canadian Average |
| Provincial Average | 121.2 | 115.4 | 135.4 | – | – | – |
| Newfoundland | 102.2 | 69.0 | 190.3 | 118.6% | 167.3% | 71.2% |
| Prince Edward Island | 56.1 | 46.4 | 258.8 | 216.0% | 248.7% | 52.3% |
| Nova Scotia | 81.9 | 93.7 | 144.3 | 147.9% | 123.2% | 93.8% |
| New Brunswick | 98.4 | 82.0 | 123.0 | 123.2% | 140.7% | 110.0% |
| Quebec | 168.0 | 120.6 | 106.9 | 72.1% | 95.7% | 126.7% |
| Ontario | 114.2 | 212.9 | 130.8 | 106.1% | 54.2% | 103.5% |
| Manitoba | 110.3 | 106.1 | 85.7 | 109.9% | 108.8% | 158.0% |
| Saskatchewan | 145.6 | 123.8 | 76.2 | 83.7% | 93.2% | 177.7% |
| Alberta | 184.7 | 114.3 | 93.3 | 65.6% | 101.0% | 145.1% |
| British Columbia | 105.2 | 185.3 | 144.9 | 80.7% | 62.3% | 93.4% |
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, Matrices 4285-4456 and 1996 Census.
These statistics show:
- Provinces with larger populations employ fewer public servants per capita than provinces with smaller populations.
- Ontario and British Columbia employ the smallest number of provincial civil servants per capita, while the four Atlantic provinces (Newfoundland, PEI, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) employ the largest.
- The smaller number of municipal employees in the Atlantic Provinces may account for the larger number of provincial ones.
- The three Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta) employ the largest number of municipal public servants per capita.
- Manitoba employs significantly more provincial civil servants per capita than Saskatchewan.
- Saskatchewan employs only slightly more municipal public servants per capita than Manitoba despite having many more rural municipalities.
- Manitoba and New Brunswick are the only provinces that employ more civil servants at all three levels (federal, provincial and municipal) than the provincial average.
Manitoba has proportionately larger government employment in comparison to other provinces, particularly its sister province, Saskatchewan. Manitoba, on a per capita basis, maintains significantly more civil servants on its provincial payroll than Saskatchewan despite employing only slightly fewer municipal ones.
2. SALARIES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION EMPLOYEES
The chart below compares salaries paid to public employees in different provinces.
Average Annual Salaries of Public Administration Employees (1999)
| Province | Federal | Provincial | Muncipal | All Industries | Fed Pay Premium | Provincial Pay Premium | Municipal Pay Premium |
| Provincial Average | 40,577 | 36,198 | 33,095 | 29,282 | 38.6% | 23.6% | 13.0% |
| Newfoundland | 39,622 | 24,847 | 34,416 | 28,296 | 40.0% | -12.2% | 21.6% |
| Prince Edward Island | 36,774 | 29,888 | 32,370 | 24,983 | 47.2% | 19.6% | 29.6% |
| Nova Scotia | 42,183 | 34,136 | 24,817 | 26,939 | 56.6% | 26.7% | -7.9% |
| New Brunswick | 39,222 | 36,604 | 26,646 | 27,674 | 41.7% | 32.3% | -3.7% |
| Quebec | 41,600 | 38,165 | 33,798 | 29,710 | 40.0% | 28.5% | – |
| Ontario | 43,532 | 44,109 | 35,527 | 33,881 | 28.5% | 30.2% | 4.9% |
| Manitoba | 37,696 | 39,281 | 37,031 | 28,281 | 33.3% | 38.9% | 30.9% |
| Saskatchewan | 41,267 | 38,414 | 30,801 | 28,225 | 46.2% | 36.1% | 9.1% |
| Alberta | 40,959 | 33,762 | 36,372 | 32,343 | 26.6% | 4.4% | 12.5% |
| British Columbia | 42,712 | 42,775 | 39,172 | 32,487 | 31.5% | 31.7% | 20.6% |
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, Matrices 4285-4456 and 1996 Census.
- Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island spend a larger proportion of their budgets on provincial public salaries than all other provinces. This is probably because these provinces employ fewer municipal civil servants per capita.
- Next to the Maritimes, Manitoba spends the largest proportion of its budget (5.8%) on government salaries.
- Saskatchewan spends 1.1% less of its budget on provincial government salaries than Manitoba despite the similar demographics, economies and geographical locations of the two provinces.
- Alberta spends approximately the same proportion of its budget on provincial government salaries as Saskatchewan.
CONCLUSION
There are substantial differences in public administration spending between the provinces. Per capita, the Atlantic provinces employ a larger than average number of provincial civil servants and the fewest municipal ones. In contrast, the Prairie provinces, possibly due to their geography, employ a larger number of municipal civil servants and fewer provincial ones.
Most of Saskatchewan’s numbers are fairly close to the provincial averages. In contrast, Manitoba employs an above-average number of both provincial and municipal civil servants per capita, pays them more compared to other workers than any other province, and spends an above-average portion or percentage of its budget on provincial salaries.
