A departmental plan describes a department’s priorities, plans and associated costs for the upcoming three fiscal years.
Key priorities
Our top priorities for 2025–26 are as follows:
- Drive service excellence
- Deliver exemplary and timely programs and services, including commemoration, that support the well-being of our Veterans and their families.
- Enable modernized and digitized service delivery
- Leverage advanced technologies and digital tools to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our service delivery, including our commemoration activities.
- Provide equitable and accessible programs and services
- Provide equitable, accessible, and transparent programs and services tailored to each Veteran’s unique needs, including acts of recognition.
- Build an agile and resilient organization
- Invest in our organization, ensuring clarity on values and strategic direction while fostering an agile, diverse, and highly skilled workforce and a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
Highlights
In 2025–26, our total planned spending (including internal services) is $7,830,735,401 and our total planned full-time equivalent staff (including internal services) is 3,787.1. For complete information on our total planned spending and human resources, read the Planned spending and human resources section of the full plan.
The following provides a summary of our planned achievements for 2025–26 according to our approved Departmental Results Framework. Our Departmental Results Framework consists of our department’s core responsibilities, the results we plan to achieve, and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results.
Core Responsibility 1: Benefits, Services and Support
Planned spending in 2025–26: $7,646,250,664
Planned human resources (full-time equivalents) in 2025–26: 2,788.9
Departmental results:
- Veterans are physically and mentally well
- Veterans and their families are financially secure
- Veterans have a sense of purpose
- Veterans are able to adapt, manage, and cope within post-service life
- Veterans are living in safe and adequate housing
- Veterans are socially supported
- Veterans are satisfied with the services they receive
We will provide Veterans and their families with comprehensive, accessible, and timely support that addresses their diverse needs, with a focus on the needs of women, Indigenous, and underserved Veterans. This includes mental health services like e-therapy and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) support, addressing benefit gaps, and improving systems to streamline processes and reduce processing times. We will improve financial assistance through enhancements to the Income Replacement Benefit, the Veterans Emergency Fund, and modernized VAC systems. Tailored rehabilitation and vocational services will empower Veterans to regain independence and succeed in civilian life, while programs like the National Veterans Employment Strategy and Enhanced Transition Services (ETS) will facilitate meaningful work opportunities.
We are also working to support ageing Veterans across the continuum of care by consulting with provinces and territories to identify opportunities to align and integrate VAC services within the broader spectrum of care. Additionally, through the Veteran and Family Well-being Fund (VFWF), we will support initiatives that focus on underserved Veteran groups, strengthening community engagement through expanded peer support networks, social events, and services designed to enhance well-being. We will continue to engage the Women’s Council as well as build on the 2024 Women Veterans Forum and the 2024 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans Forum to better understand these communities' experiences and improve policies and programs that promote fairness and equality.
To ensure safe and stable living conditions for at-risk members of the Veteran community, we are expanding efforts to combat homelessness and improve home accessibility. At the same time, we are reducing disability benefit processing times, modernizing tools such as My VAC Account, and prioritizing feedback, collaboration, and continuous improvement. These efforts will help ensure that all Veterans, particularly those from underrepresented groups, receive the care, services, and opportunities they need to thrive.
More information about Benefits, Services and Support can be found in the full plan.
Core Responsibility 2: Commemoration
Planned spending in 2025–26: $46,876,121
Planned human resources (full time equivalents) in 2025–26: 89.1
Departmental results:
- Veterans and those who died in service are honoured
- Canadians remember and appreciate Veterans and those who died in service
In 2025, we will mark key anniversaries, including the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the Liberation of the Netherlands, Victory over Japan, the 25th anniversary of Canada’s Unknown Soldier and the 100th of the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial. A special initiative will highlight Canadian military service in the Americas. We will also honour all Veterans, with a focus on diversity, including modern-day, women, Indigenous, racialized, and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans, continuing the work outlined in our 10-year Strategic Plan for Commemoration. Commemorative efforts will also include improving memorial sites, work on the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan, modernizing the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, and funding projects that will honour Veterans.
More information about Commemoration can be found in the full plan.
Core Responsibility 3: Veterans Ombudsperson
Planned spending in 2025–26: $4,863,548
Planned human resources (full time equivalents) in 2025–26: 39.0
Departmental results:
- Veterans and their families have access to a timely review of complaints about the programs, services and support delivered by the Veterans Affairs Portfolio
- Issues about the programs, services and support provided to Veterans and their families by the Veterans Affairs Portfolio identified by the Office of the Veterans Ombudsperson are addressed
The Office of the Veterans Ombudsperson (OVO) will focus on enhancing its complaint resolution processes, improving quality checks for better feedback, and expanding innovative outreach efforts to increase awareness. Outreach efforts include engaging with Veterans and their families through town halls, events, and through social media to help them understand the services that are available and ultimately feel supported. The OVO will continue to address complaints, make recommendations to VAC, and review VAC programs to identify issues and suggest improvements. This year, the OVO will collaborate closely with VAC to update recommendations and ensure fairness in service delivery.
More information about Veterans Ombudsperson can be found in the full plan.