Report shows which region has seen biggest cuts
Canada's federal public service has contracted by more than 12,000 positions in a single fiscal year.
According to Treasury Board Secretariat data reported by CBC News, the federal workforce stood at approximately 345,000 employees as of late March 2026, down from a peak of just under 368,000 in 2024.
The current reductions follow a drop of roughly 10,000 positions in 2025.
Reducing public service by 4.5%
The cuts are being driven by a commitment made in Prime Minister Mark Carney's 2025 budget, which pledged to reduce the public service by 4.5% — approximately 16,000 positions — within three years.
The broader target, also established in 2025, aims to bring the total federal headcount to roughly 330,000 employees by the end of the 2029 fiscal year.
With the workforce now sitting at approximately 345,000, roughly 15,000 more positions remain to be eliminated before the government reaches its stated goal. The government has framed the reductions as a return to sustainable staffing levels, stating the target reflects typical turnover rates, retirements, and voluntary departures.
Budget 2025 cited a decade of rapid expansion as the driver of the restructuring: "Over the last decade, from 2015 to 2024, the federal public service grew by more than 40 per cent — double the rate of economic growth. After direct program expenses began to fall from their COVID-19 peak in 2020–21, the federal public service continued to expand. These increases are unsustainable. This has left federal finances strained and put the vital services and programs that Canadians rely on at risk."
Ottawa-Gatineau region
The Ottawa-Gatineau region absorbed a disproportionate share of the losses. As CBC News reported, the region's federal workforce fell from approximately 154,000 in 2025 to about 146,000 in 2026 — a decline of roughly 8,000 workers, or close to 5% in a single year.
For HR professionals in the National Capital Region, those departures represent a meaningful shift in local talent availability, with mid-career professionals from policy, procurement, and programme management backgrounds now entering the broader labour market.
Unions have consistently raised concerns about the human cost of the restructuring and the impact on front-line services.
"Public services aren't just a budget line — they're a lifeline for communities and families," PSAC national president Sharon DeSousa said. "While the government's planned cuts may appear to save money, make no mistake, we all pay the price through slower services, longer waits and weaker programs."
PIPSC president Sean O'Reilly has warned that the scale of the reductions reaches well beyond administrative overhead. "When governments make changes that are this drastic, Canadians always pay the price. Food inspections slow down. Emergencies take longer to contain. Digital systems grow weaker just as cyberattacks become more frequent," he said. "These are not abstract risks. They are the daily functions that hold the country together."
