Toronto, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow to do a top-to-bottom city spending review after bureaucrats spent $11 million on unused software licenses.

“Politicians have forced record tax increases on Torontonians for two straight years and yet bureaucrats are blowing millions on unused software programs,” said CTF Ontario Director Jay Goldberg. “It’s crystal clear that the city needs a top-to-bottom spending review to end reckless spending at city hall.”  

The biggest source of software licensing waste was Microsoft 365. Toronto taxpayers were forced to pay for nearly $8 million in unused Microsoft 365 licenses between 2020 and 2024, according to Auditor General Tara Anderson. 

The report also shows that the city purchased 10,000 licenses for Microsoft 365 in 2021 even though the city’s network was only able to handle 6,000 users.

“Nearly 3.5 million Torontonians visited food banks last year and Toronto taxpayers are stretched to the max,” said Goldberg. “Chow needs to review every line item in the city budget before even thinking about asking Torontonians to pay a nickel more.

“If bureaucrats blew millions on unused Microsoft 365 licenses, there’s no telling what kind of other wasteful spending taxpayers are on the hook for.”