A watchdog on government spending says executives took hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bonuses even though departments barely meet half of their own performance targets each year.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation wonders why most government executives are taking bonuses every year when it says their departments can barely pass their own test.

Franco Terrazzano, the federal director, says bonuses for federal executives cost taxpayers $200-million in 2025. He says 88 per cent of government executives took a bonus last year.

One of the more baffling examples is Canada Post, which lost nearly $1.6-billion in 2025 and took a $1-billion bailout from taxpayers. Despite the losses, the federation says the corporation rubber-stamped $30-million in bonuses that year.

VIA Rail executives, according to Terrazzano, dished out $10-million in bonuses last year with the average per executive being $115,000.

The watchdog is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to change the practice.