Liberals and NDP Vote to Approve Annette Ryan as PBO, as Conservatives and Bloc Oppose

Parliamentary Budget Officer nominee Annette Ryan appears before the Standing Committee on Finance in Ottawa on March 23, 2026. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Former FinTRAC deputy director Annette Ryan has been approved as the next Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) in a 164–153 vote with the support of the Liberals and NDP and opposition of the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois. Green Party MP Elizabeth May also voted in favour of Ryan’s appointment.

The Bloc and Tories had previously indicated they would be against Ryan’s nomination, pushing instead for the Liberal government to appoint Jason Jacques, who had served as interim PBO for six months up until March 2 of this year, when Ryan was nominated by the Carney government as his successor.

During the vacancy following the end of Jacques’s term and prior to Ryan’s approval, the PBO was unable to table reports in Parliament.

The PBO is an independent officer of Parliament whose job is to provide non-partisan analysis and insight into federal spending, revenue, deficits, and the price tag on government programs. He or she is appointed by the government to a seven-year term with the option of being legally reappointed for a second seven-year term.

Most recently, Ryan served as deputy director at the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FinTRAC), a federal body in charge of monitoring financial activity for criminal or suspicious behaviour. Prior to her role at FinTRAC, she was an associate deputy minister at Finance Canada and served in a number of other finance-linked roles in the federal government.

Testifying before the House finance committee last month, Ryan emphasized the importance of fiscal oversight and said she would deliver non-partisan analysis to members of Parliament and serve out a full seven-year term. Her nomination received support from former PBO Kevin Page, who served in the role from 2008 to 2013.

In his role as interim PBO, Jacques said federal finances were in poor shape, variously describing the nation’s fiscal situation as “shocking” and “stupefying.” However, following last year’s release of the Liberal budget on Nov. 4, he put out a report assessing federal finances as being sustainable for the long-term.

The Bloc and Conservatives had preferred that Jacques be appointed to the permanent role, suggesting that the government had chosen someone else due to his past sharp criticism of federal spending policies. Jacques continues to be employed as a senior official within the Office of the PBO.

Ryan’s appointment comes as the federal government moves forward on major spending plans, including sizeable expenditures in housing, infrastructure, and defence.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.