Federal IT contracting cost more than in-house services, PBO report shows

The federal government spent more on contracted information technology services in four federal departments in 2022-23 than it would have if the work had been done by public servants, the parliamentary budget officer found in a new analysis.A report from the PBO published Thursday said the federal government spent $18.6-billion on professional and special services in 2022-23, with $2.6-billion of that money going to IT.The departments and agencies spending the most on IT were the Canada Border Services Agency ($287-million), the Department of National Defence ($346-million), Employment and Social Development Canada ($268-million), Public Services and Procurement Canada ($230-million) and Shared Services Canada ($256-million).