Mandate
As a result of amendments made to the Parliament of Canada Act in 2017, Parliament has given the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) two distinct mandates.
1. When Parliament is not dissolved:
The PBO provides independent economic and financial analysis to the Senate and House of Commons, analyzes the estimates of the government and, if requested, estimates the financial cost of any proposal over which Parliament has jurisdiction.
2. During the 120-day period before a fixed-date general election or when Parliament is dissolved for a general election:
The PBO provides political parties, at their request, with estimates of the financial cost of election campaign proposals they are considering making.
Values: Independence, relevance and non-partisanship
The PBO values transparency
The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) and his office strive to promote greater budget transparency and accountability in Canadian parliamentary democracy.
The PBO is committed to serving Parliament with integrity and professionalism by providing independent, credible and non-partisan economic and financial analysis on a timely basis.
What the PBO does
- Serve parliamentarians by providing independent economic and financial analysis
- Respond to requests from committees or parliamentarians for cost estimates of new legislation and program proposals
- Report on the state of the nation’s finances and the Canadian economy
- Lead an expert staff of non-partisan analysts who help parliamentarians review the raising and spending of public money
- Cost the election campaign proposals of political parties and independent MPs