Governing the Nation — Benchmark Canada

Pillar three of five

Governing the Nation

Does government deliver?

Administrative state capacity — the machinery of governance and how well it actually serves the people who pay for it. The test is whether citizens can reach it, get an answer, and receive the service they are owed in reasonable time. We weigh that frontline responsiveness, from tax lines to hospital queues, against the cost and growth of the apparatus delivering it.

Pillar verdictWeak8 metrics

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The metrics

CRA contact-centre waitWeak31 min average · slowest of 4 peers · 5% answered within 15-min target Healthcare wait timesWeak28.6 wks GP→treatment 2025 · rank 9 of 9 on surgical waits · 2nd-longest ever Immigration processingWatch935,000 applications in backlog (43%) · 7 of 13 lines met IRCC's 80% target · citizenship 13 mo, visitor extensions 314 days Internal trade barriersWeak~$210B / 7% GDP gain forgone · 9% avg internal tariff-equiv · >40% in health & education Passport processingWatch99% met the 10/20-day standard in 2025-26 (target 90%) · but 70% in 2022-23 & 78% in 2024-25 · “30 days or it's free” guarantee live Apr 2026 Public service sizeWeak+43.0% federal headcount 2014–2024 · rank 1 of 7 G7 growth · 20.7% all-gov share Trademark registrationWeak~7.2 mo wait to examination · slowest of 8 offices · peak ~56 mo Feb 2024 Veterans claim backlogWeak47% of first applications decided within the 16-week standard in 2024-25 (down from 69%) · backlog over 11,000, ~double a year earlier

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A project of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute Led by Senior Fellow Kevin Vuong

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