Budget watchdog nominee promises ‘pointy analysis’ as critics question independence

By Canadian Press on March 23, 2026.

OTTAWA — Ottawa’s choice for the next federal fiscal watchdog promised not to go lightly on the federal government if she is confirmed for the post.

Annette Ryan, a longtime public servant and the current deputy director at Canada’s financial intelligence agency, Fintrac, was named as cabinet’s pick to lead the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer earlier this month.

Ryan’s nomination has to be approved by the House of Commons and the Senate and she faced questions from MPs on the finance committee Monday afternoon.

“I intend to provide you with high-quality, independent and relevant analysis so that you can hold the prime minister, his ministers and senior officials to account,” Ryan told MPs in her opening statement.

Conservative members speaking ahead of the committee appearance Monday said they would vote against Ryan’s nomination because they want Jason Jacques — the former interim PBO whose term expired earlier this month — to take on the permanent role.

Conservative MP Sandra Cobena told reporters on Parliament Hill Monday afternoon that not renewing Jacques’ six-month term was akin to firing the former budget watchdog, who was critical of Liberal finances early in his tenure.

Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs prefaced their questions to the nominee by stating their satisfaction with Jacques in the PBO role. Ryan repeated multiple times throughout the committee her “deep respect” for Jacques and his predecessors in the role.

Questions during the meeting largely focused on whether Ryan could be truly independent in the role.

Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan asked whether Ryan would be comfortable speaking out if she felt she was being pressured to tailor her analysis. She responded by committing to serving parliamentarians — not the party in power.

“I would see you collectively as my boss. I think that the key of that role is to provide you with exactly that pointy analysis,” she said.

Ryan took the step of promising to seek only one term as PBO to avoid any suggestions that she could compromise her analysis in exchange for partisan favours.

Raised in Newfoundland and Labrador and later in Prince Edward Island, Ryan is a Rhodes Scholar with degrees from Acadia University and Oxford University. She has served in a variety of roles across Canada’s public service during her career.

In her opening statement, Ryan ran through a cross-partisan list of ministers she has supported over the course of her career in Ottawa — among them Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Ryan was asked about her relationship with Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose time studying at Oxford overlapped with her own in the early 1990s.

Ryan said that while she and Carney knew each other “as Canadians” at the overseas university, they ran in different social circles.

The two later crossed paths back in Ottawa, she added, when she was the chief economist at Industry Canada and Carney was the governor of the Bank of Canada. She said most of their interactions at this time were through his office, not directly, and they did not have any contact after Carney went back across the pond to head up the Bank of England.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2026.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press