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Workforce reductions in the federal public service

On this page, you will find data on workforce reductions in the core public administration (CPA) from the Comprehensive Expenditure Review (CER).

Context

Budget 2025 presented the results of CER, which identified savings across government of $13 billion annually by 2028-2029. Savings will be achieved by restructuring operations and consolidating internal services, adjusting programs to realize efficiencies, and in some cases moving away from programs that are not meeting their objectives.

The majority of departments were asked to meet up to 15 per cent savings over three years, whereas entities such as Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, Indigenous Services, National Defence, Public Safety, Women and Gender Equality, and Federal Research Granting Councils were asked to find 2 per cent savings, recognizing both the essential nature of their mandate and the need to maintain continuity in the delivery of critical services.

Workforce renewal

The government has committed to returning the federal public service population to a more sustainable level of 330,000 from close to 368,000 in 2023-2024. Reductions began in 2024-2025 with a decrease of about 9,800 employees due to the Refocusing Government Spending initiative and attrition. Additional reductions are expected in 2025-2026 because of attrition and funding that has not been renewed (exact figures will be available following the end of the fiscal year). CER will continue this downward trend over the next three years, further decreasing the size of the federal public service by an estimated 16,000 full-time equivalents. The government has also committed to reducing 1,000 executive positions, 650 of which are included in the CER reductions.

Details of the CER reductions are presented in the table below.

The government has committed to managing these reductions through voluntary departures and attrition to the greatest extent possible. In support of this goal, Budget 2025 proposed the introduction of an Early Retirement Initiative. Through this initiative, approximately 68,000 public servants received notifications that they may be eligible to retire with an immediate pension based on years of service, with no penalty for leaving early, subject to criteria to be set by the Treasury Board. Additionally, affected employees are expected to receive support through this process from their manager to ensure that, wherever possible, alternative employment opportunities are provided.

Core public administration reductions from the Comprehensive Expenditure Review

This data was last updated on .

This table provides data on workforce reductions in the CPA, which are being implemented in phases. Information for certain departments is not yet presented as these institutions are still finalizing the implementation of their reductions. This data will be updated on a regular basis as these phases are completed and as additional information becomes available.

Similar data for separate agencies will be available in the coming weeks.

For more information on workforce adjustment or career transition processes in the CPA:

About the data
  • Data is subject to change and may be revised over time.
  • Organizations are added once they have completed notification to their employees.
  • Departments and agencies in the CPA are named in schedules I and IV of the Financial Administration Act. The Treasury Board is the employer of this segment of the federal public service.
  • The total population includes active employees of all employment tenures (indeterminate, term, casual and student). It is important to note that workforce adjustment provisions apply only to indeterminate employees in the CPA while career transition provisions apply to indeterminate executives in the CPA.
  • “Number of positions to be reduced” refers to all positions to be eliminated. This could include attrition, positions already vacated and positions to be eliminated through workforce adjustment or career transition.
  • “Number of positions to be reduced through WFA/CT” refers to positions that are currently filled by an employee or executive and for which a workforce adjustment (WFA) or career transition (CT) process has begun.
  • “Affected” indicates that the services of an indeterminate employee may no longer be required. “At risk” indicates that the services of an indeterminate executive may no longer be required. In many cases, more employees or executives will be notified of affected or at-risk status than will ultimately leave the CPA.
  • The number of letters of affected or at-risk status is an estimate.
  • Numbers for organizations with total populations of more than 500 and for cases where individuals cannot be easily identified are shown; other entities will not be displayed to protect the privacy of impacted individuals.
Table 1
Core public administration organization Total population as of Number of positions to be reduced Number of positions to be reduced through WFA/CT Letters of affected or at-risk status sent
Employees Executives Employees Executives Employees Executives

Table 1 Notes

Table 1 Note 1

Numbers to be confirmed.

Return to table 1 note - referrer

Table 1 Note 2

Instances where individuals could be easily identified are suppressed for privacy reasons.

Return to table 1 note * referrer
Phase 1 (December 1-10, 2025)
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada 1,892 Table 1 note - Table 1 note - Table 1 note - 16 173 13
Department of Finance Canada 963 79 17 38 2 82 2
Natural Resources Canada 6,044 785 22 433 12 678 10
Privy Council Office 1,208 157 22 118 8 221 18
Public Health Agency of Canada 3,372 53 0 0 0 0 0
Public Service Commission of Canada 803 40 0 38 0 42 0
Phase 2 (January 12-30, 2026)
Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada 679 26 2 26 2 39 2
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 5,690 649 16 500 7 1,036 7
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency 579 65 Table 1 note - 41 Table 1 note - 82 Table 1 note -
Canada School of Public Service 597 54 12 16 3 17 3
Canadian Heritage 1,910 165 15 112 8 344 8
Employment and Social Development Canada 42,520 5,313 98 931 39 3,028 47
Environment and Climate Change Canada 8,778 801 37 565 29 998 37
Fisheries and Oceans Canada 8,198 724 43 265 25 507 25
Global Affairs Canada 7,657 780 60 483 60 3,295 406
Health Canada 9,628 1,056 36 1,056 36 2,052 36
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada 11,148 318 10 156 10 406 10
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 6,526 901 45 569 23 1,101 32
Public Safety Canada 1,789 346 31 326 31 589 61
Public Services and Procurement Canada 18,936 1,022 68 722 39 1,114 39
Shared Services Canada 9,183 699 29 448 29 1,290 49
Statistics Canada 7,582 887 13 764 Table 1 note * 3,274 Table 1 note *
Transport Canada 6,666 573 34 439 27 1,520 50
Treasury Board Secretariat 2,374 262 32 183 19 293 27
Total 164,722 15,755 642 8,230 425 22,181 882

Page details

2026-01-30