The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) distributed more than $31 million in bonuses during the 2025-26 fiscal year, with 79 executives and over three-quarters of its workforce receiving payments, according to government data analyzed by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).
Bonus Breakdown
The data, obtained through a House of Commons question posed in April by Conservative MP Andrew Scheer (Regina–Qu'Appelle), reveals that CMHC awarded $31,720,451 in total bonuses. Executives received $3,545,057, averaging nearly $45,000 each, while 2,371 non-executive employees shared $28,175,394, averaging about $12,000 per person. The corporation noted that 77.76% of non-executive staff received bonuses but withheld the executive percentage, citing the Privacy Act to protect small-group identities.
CMHC previously disclosed that approximately 99% of its executives took bonuses in 2024-25.
Criticism from Taxpayer Watchdog
The CTF highlighted the contradiction between these bonuses and CMHC's mandate to promote housing affordability and choice. Franco Terrazzano, CTF federal director, stated: “If your organization’s goal is making homes affordable, your C-suite shouldn’t be taking millions in taxpayer-funded bonuses while Canadians can’t afford homes. The housing minister promised to review CMHC bonuses years ago and the CMHC has handed out bigger taxpayer-funded bonuses every year since.”
Ahmed Hussen, federal minister of housing from 2021 to 2023, had previously described CMHC's 2022-2026 corporate plan as “built on an ambitious goal — housing affordability for all.”
Context and Comparisons
Other Crown corporations, such as the Canada Council for the Arts and CBC/Radio-Canada, reported they do not award bonuses. Some organizations said bonus data was not yet available. The CTF has also criticized bonus practices at other entities, including the Alto rail project, which paid $2.8 million in bonuses last year.
