Liberals nominate Fintrac official Annette Ryan as new budget watchdog

OTTAWA — The Liberal government has nominated a senior official from the national financial intelligence agency as Ottawa’s next fiscal watchdog.

Wayne Long, secretary of state for financial institutions, tabled a nomination Monday asking MPs to approve Annette Ryan to take on the currently vacant role of parliamentary budget officer.

The nomination is for a seven-year term.

Ryan has worked in the public service for more than a decade and currently serves as a deputy director at the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, better known as Fintrac.

The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer scrutinizes federal spending decisions and helps to cost out campaign proposals during elections.

Interim PBO Jason Jacques’ term expired on March 2 without a successor in place.

The office is not able to publish new reports or take on new requests from parliamentarians without a parliamentary budget officer.

The appointment of a PBO is made by cabinet after consultation with other recognized party leaders and must be approved by the House of Commons and Senate.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney that he had reservations about the Liberals’ pick for PBO and he wanted Jacques to assume the role on a permanent basis.

Jacques was critical of the Liberal government’s financial plan early in his six-month term. He said at the time the state of the federal debt path was “stupefying” and not sustainable.

Later, in an interview with The Canadian Press, Jacques expressed regret over his choice of words.

Poilievre told reporters on Parliament Hill on Monday that Carney was “trying to muzzle the parliamentary budget office” by not appointing Jacques to the seven-year gig. Poilievre said Jacques was doing an effective job of holding the government to account.

When the Liberals tabled the 2025 fall budget with a $78.3-billion deficit for this fiscal year, Jacques said the plan was broadly sustainable in the long term but also warned that Ottawa had used up some of its ability to absorb future shocks.

He also called for an independent body to keep track of how the government defines capital investments in the new fiscal framework.

The Conservative leader was asked whether his party will approve Ryan’s nomination in the House.

“We’ll look at the new nominee’s record and, once we have, we’ll vote accordingly,” Poilievre said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2026.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press