Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s 2026–27 Departmental Plan: At a glance
This departmental plan details the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s (TSB) priorities, plans, and associated costs for the upcoming three fiscal years.
These plans align with the priorities outlined in the TSB’s Vision, mission, raison d’être and operating context.
Key priorities
The TSB’s identified the following key priorities for 2026–27:
- Conducting high-quality independent investigations into select transportation occurrences to identify the causes and contributing factors and the safety deficiencies evidenced by these occurrences;
- Making recommendations designed to eliminate or reduce such safety deficiencies;
- Reporting publicly on investigations and related findings in a timely manner; and
- Engaging with stakeholders to ensure that safety actions are taken to reduce risks and improve safety.
Comprehensive Expenditure Review
The government is committed to restraining the growth of day-to-day operational spending to make investments that will grow the economy and benefit Canadians.
As part of meeting this commitment, the TSB is planning the following spending reductions:
- 2026–27: $ 690,433
- 2027–28: $ 930,452
- 2028–29: $1,408,865
It is anticipated that these spending reductions will involve a decrease of approximately 5 full-time equivalents by 2028–29.
The TSB will achieve these reductions by doing the following:
- Efficiencies and Streamlining
The figures in this departmental plan reflect these reductions.
Highlights for the TSB in 2026–27
In 2026–27, the TSB will implement its new Strategic Plan and advance its mandate by focusing on three interrelated strategic objectives: timeliness, impact, and excellence. The initiatives below outline key priority actions the TSB plans to advance to strengthen the effectiveness of independent safety investigations and safety communications.
1. Improving investigative timeliness through modernized processes and tools
To respond more quickly to transportation occurrences and meet Canadians’ expectations for timely safety information, the TSB will continue to modernize and simplify its investigative workflows. This will include streamlining end-to-end processes, improving the planning and sequencing of investigative activities, and strengthening oversight of investigation timelines as a defined performance outcome.
The TSB will also continue the responsible use of digital and analytical tools, including data-enabled methods, to support investigators and analysts in managing large volumes of information and focusing on high-value analytical work. These efforts are expected to shorten the time between deployment to an occurrence and the communication of safety information, while maintaining analytical rigour, independence, and credibility.
2. Enhancing the impact of safety communications
In 2026–27, the TSB will continue to modernize its safety communications to ensure that findings and recommendations reach the right audiences, at the right time, and in ways that support action. This will include maintaining the TSB Watchlist on a continuous basis, allowing emerging safety issues to be highlighted promptly and issues to be removed once risks are mitigated.
The TSB will also strengthen engagement with stakeholders and further develop its understanding of how different audiences access, interpret, and respond to safety information. These efforts will support clearer, more accessible communications and improved transparency, helping to increase the likelihood that safety messages lead to meaningful and lasting safety improvements.
3. Strengthening organizational excellence to support a modern investigative environment
To sustain operational efficiency and investigative quality, the TSB will continue to invest in its people, tools, and ways of working. This will include strengthening digital and analytical skills within the workforce, supporting knowledge sharing, and clarifying roles and decision-making processes to improve collaboration across functions.
The organization will also continue to strengthen international collaboration and information sharing to respond to emerging and global transportation risks. Together, these actions will support a resilient and agile organization capable of addressing the growing technical complexity of transportation systems while fostering a respectful, inclusive, and healthy workplace.
In 2026–27, total planned spending (including internal services) for the TSB is $41,516,756, and total planned full-time equivalent staff (including internal services) is 245.
Summary of planned results
The following provides a summary of the results the department plans to achieve in 2026–27 under its main areas of activity, called “core responsibilities.”
Core responsibility 1: Independent safety investigations and communication of risks in the transportation system
In 2026–27, the TSB will continue to advance transportation safety by conducting independent investigations into selected air, marine, rail and pipeline occurrences to identify causes, contributing factors, and underlying safety deficiencies. The TSB assesses its performance through three departmental results:
- Transportation system is safer;
- Regulators and the transportation industry respond to identified safety deficiencies; and
- Occurrence investigations are efficient.
Targets for 2026–27 are set using sector‑specific baselines and reflect the unique challenges within each mode of transportation.
In 2026–27, the TSB will continue prioritizing a broad range of communication tools to disseminate its findings such as investigation reports, Board recommendations and concerns, safety information and advisory letters, and the TSB Watchlist. It will also maintain its efforts to present clear, persuasive, and data‑driven evidence to motivate key stakeholders to take action on identified safety issues.
Planned spending: $33,213,405
Planned human resources: 193
More information about Independent safety investigations and communication of risks in the transportation system can be found in the full plan.
For complete information on the TSB’s total planned spending and human resources, read the Planned spending and human resources section of the full plan.