OECD review of the Canadian Parliamentary Budget Office

Independent fiscal institutions (IFIs) represent a major innovation in public financial management. They are an essential pillar of many countries’ fiscal setup. The 2014 OECD Recommendation on Principles for IFIs includes a provision on the need for IFIs to undergo external evaluations. The logic behind this is simple – independence requires accountability. Just as IFIs help hold governments accountable, they have a special duty to be accountable as well. This Review of the Canadian Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) is part of a broader series of external evaluations of independent fiscal institutions and is the first external review of the PBO. It examines the PBO’s work and impact and assesses its alignment with the OECD Principles for IFIs, providing targeted recommendations to safeguard the PBO's independence, strengthen analytical capacity, and sustain impact in an evolving fiscal context.