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Population of the federal public service by department

From: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

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About the data

When reading the table below, the following information applies:

  • Source of Information: Pay System as of of each year.
  • The federal public service consists of 2 population segments: the core public administration and separate agencies.
  • Departments and agencies in the core public administration 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.
  • Separate agencies are named in Schedule V of the Act. Separate agencies conduct their own negotiations or set their own classification levels for their employees.
  • Included in this information are:
    • active employees of all employment tenures (indeterminate, term, casual and student)
    • Governor-in-Council appointees
    • deputy Ministers
    • federal Judges
  • Excluded from this information are:
    • inactive employees (i.e., employees on leave without pay)
    • ministers’ exempt staff
    • employees locally engaged outside of Canada
    • RCMP Regular Force Members
    • RCMP Civilian Members
    • Canadian Forces Members
  • Population counts for the following separate agencies are not included because their employee information is not available in the Pay System:
    • Canadian Security Intelligence Service
    • National Capital Commission
    • Canada Investment and Savings
    • Canadian Forces Non-Public Funds
    • Security Intelligence Review Committee (before 2010)
  • Please note that organizations have been created, merged, dissembled and/or renamed over the years. The composition of departments can change from year to year.
Federal public service: annual population by department
Departments and Agencies Year
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Core public administration
Accessibility Standards Canada 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 44
Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada 0 0 0 0 0 349 374 570 548 579 587 628 655
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 6,938 6,958 6,644 5,991 5,291 5,194 5,167 5,234 5,277 5,292 5,531 5,495 5,638
Assisted Human Reproduction Canada 14 17 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency 766 754 677 590 591 604 615 593 586 588 594 626 624
Canada Border Services Agency 14,398 14,387 14,710 14,218 14,096 14,113 14,171 13,707 14,013 14,469 14,971 15,224 15,441
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions 453 456 401 339 348 331 333 336 307 324 320 360 374
Canada Industrial Relations Board 106 102 89 91 88 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Canada School of Public Service 1,017 1,010 915 657 625 646 648 610 599 620 668 647 707
Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal 12 11 10 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Canadian Dairy Commission 64 61 63 59 51 56 60 61 68 65 65 71 70
Canadian Grain Commission 692 655 680 625 413 408 403 435 426 429 430 447 455
Canadian Heritage 2,358 2,066 1,981 1,753 1,821 1,773 1,762 1,759 1,841 1,862 1,889 1,935 2,062
Canadian Human Rights Commission 199 197 209 215 199 204 205 191 206 199 242 252 279
Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat 25 24 21 23 24 23 22 22 21 24 23 22 26
Canadian International Trade Tribunal 82 81 77 73 77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0 75 77 78 81 76 99 109 113
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission 436 423 451 444 435 462 450 462 455 493 534 541 546
Canadian Space Agency 714 766 755 663 621 600 616 655 647 692 686 744 789
Canadian Transportation Agency 255 257 250 244 218 241 239 223 235 272 292 355 291
Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP 56 57 55 60 65 74 71 67 67 76 80 77 81
Competition Bureau Canada 12 10 8 9 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Copyright Board Canada 15 13 14 15 13 17 14 14 16 15 16 16 16
Correctional Service Canada 17,711 18,289 19,012 18,501 18,259 17,639 17,172 17,109 17,146 17,482 17,818 17,904 17,925
Courts Administration Service 636 630 660 623 614 618 668 636 647 715 788 765 758
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada 5,371 5,427 5,409 4,975 4,857 4,684 4,582 4,708 4,931 5,087 5,418 2,072 2,092
Department of Finance Canada 803 805 781 756 751 743 735 747 788 802 833 853 875
Department of Justice Canada 4,992 5,158 5,130 4,725 4,574 4,476 4,461 4,461 4,532 4,659 4,844 4,972 5,070
Elections Canada 547 706 528 495 520 630 634 584 676 777 903 1,261 1,046
Employment and Social Development Canada 26,012 24,661 22,756 20,046 21,097 21,707 22,312 23,729 24,739 25,160 27,115 32,697 35,609
Environment and Climate Change Canada 7,578 7,160 6,762 6,408 6,550 6,595 6,475 6,601 6,836 7,276 7,550 7,616 7,840
Farm Products Council of Canada 15 16 16 16 17 19 19 0 0 0 0 0 0
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario 0 209 225 218 224 218 222 217 235 240 274 316 344
Federal Judges not part of any department 1,085 1,115 1,105 1,100 1,110 1,144 1,141 1,128 1,165 1,198 1,204 1,209 1,190
Fisheries and Oceans Canada 11,159 11,004 10,923 10,294 9,958 9,858 9,901 10,230 11,138 11,911 12,654 13,526 13,537
Global Affairs Canada 6,968 6,901 6,702 6,168 6,027 5,973 5,890 6,061 6,354 6,561 6,860 6,994 7,112
Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission Canada 38 46 40 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Health Canada 10,566 10,403 10,578 9,701 9,341 9,079 9,189 9,327 9,739 10,794 11,223 9,204 9,886
Human Rights Tribunal of Canada 19 23 20 21 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 998 1,078 1,060 1,034 983 954 973 1,031 1,087 1,413 1,742 1,993 2,114
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada 4,752 4,996 5,017 4,850 5,927 6,385 6,587 6,465 6,993 7,864 8,496 8,991 10,248
Impact Assessment Agency of Canada 133 240 240 219 230 229 258 289 278 330 438 460 432
Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission 19 43 47 25 15 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Indigenous Services Canada 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6,670 7,030
Infrastructure Canada 332 373 348 308 288 354 351 329 401 514 617 700 1,043
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 5,769 5,581 5,233 4,773 4,711 4,742 4,776 4,947 5,146 5,459 5,516 5,700 6,094
International Joint Commission 28 30 28 32 31 32 32 32 31 30 34 31 33
Library and Archives Canada 1,148 1,184 1,145 913 1,043 1,026 938 930 927 981 1,000 926 842
Military Grievances External Review Committee 37 37 36 38 37 42 35 39 33 37 41 46 44
Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada 14 14 16 18 14 22 26 25 18 25 28 28 28
NAFTA Secretariat 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
National Defence 27,291 27,394 27,177 24,939 23,146 22,611 22,954 23,178 24,024 25,278 26,047 26,422 26,399
Natural Resources Canada 4,951 4,937 4,659 4,361 4,231 4,149 4,191 4,264 4,358 4,551 4,574 4,685 4,737
Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada 73 70 66 67 58 54 59 59 62 58 66 72 68
Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada 26 27 28 26 26 27 26 24 22 25 26 25 28
Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages 174 164 165 162 171 172 164 155 164 174 173 177 178
Office of the Governor General's Secretary 171 190 166 158 155 156 166 149 148 148 167 158 177
Office of the Prime Minister 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada 23 27 30 31 28 25 26 24 23 25 27 34 31
Offices of the information and Privacy Commissioners of Canada 253 256 273 258 261 282 259 261 256 252 302 323 356
Parole Board of Canada 408 409 428 454 459 467 447 448 453 462 485 479 463
Passport Canada 2,689 2,579 2,696 2,696 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board Canada 59 66 56 53 55 60 69 69 61 74 80 79 77
Privy Council Office 905 921 892 754 751 727 712 799 1,006 1,075 1,011 1,076 1,130
Public Health Agency of Canada 2,800 2,897 2,779 2,163 2,175 2,186 2,223 2,234 2,159 2,379 2,340 3,281 4,254
Public Prosecution Service of Canada 857 887 930 954 969 968 970 990 1,005 991 1,035 1,082 1,118
Public Safety Canada 1,127 1,127 1,113 1,112 1,057 978 1,125 1,149 1,205 1,329 1,269 1,256 1,381
Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal Canada 6 4 7 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Public Service Commission of Canada 1,047 996 975 865 736 738 741 780 809 889 955 878 899
Public Service Staffing Tribunal 37 40 38 32 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Public Services and Procurement Canada 13,739 14,385 13,678 12,144 11,967 12,092 12,061 12,894 13,988 15,721 16,892 17,085 17,178
RCMP External Review Committee 5 4 3 6 5 6 7 6 6 8 10 15 22
Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada 220 210 226 216 219 213 212 216 230 225 237 233 221
Registry of the Specific Claims Tribunal of Canada 6 9 11 10 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Civilian Staff) 6,250 6,147 6,210 5,971 6,065 6,437 6,571 6,801 7,240 7,564 8,022 8,436 8,690
Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 9 6 6
Shared Services Canada 0 0 0 5,299 5,394 5,236 5,157 5,257 5,816 6,528 7,185 7,553 7,948
Statistics Canada 5,558 6,424 5,556 4,530 4,807 4,890 5,717 5,187 5,210 5,405 5,452 6,360 6,364
Transport Canada 5,524 5,553 5,370 4,778 4,771 5,205 5,154 4,782 5,362 5,683 5,877 6,339 6,063
Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada 8 9 10 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Transportation Safety Board of Canada 216 211 216 202 203 213 215 209 210 216 225 231 226
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat 2,097 2,177 2,073 1,860 1,778 1,761 1,728 1,841 1,954 2,125 2,276 2,355 2,378
Veterans Affairs Canada 4,123 4,089 3,839 3,602 3,188 3,174 3,413 2,809 2,800 3,159 3,321 3,799 3,566
Veterans Review and Appeal Board 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 86 85 79 77 93 97
Western Economic Diversification Canada 510 479 419 335 318 297 292 279 302 316 349 394 461
Women and Gender Equality Canada 93 102 98 100 98 92 91 99 121 181 264 329 390
Separate Agencies
Canada Revenue Agency 43,216 41,853 42,668 41,256 40,279 40,059 39,484 40,223 42,152 43,908 45,019 47,426 54,933
Canadian Food Inspection Agency 6,549 6,688 6,580 6,254 6,315 6,009 5,946 6,180 6,249 6,247 6,042 6,539 6,603
Canadian Institutes of Health Research 419 463 424 394 412 432 409 462 470 502 505 539 569
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 852 872 864 856 821 822 851 859 899 903 863 862 858
Canadian Polar Commission 4 5 4 9 11 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Communications Security Establishment 1,752 1,871 1,985 2,075 2,171 2,168 2,162 2,209 2,361 2,549 2,752 2,974 3,018
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada 55 61 68 73 78 84 94 99 115 128 147 161 196
Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada 319 340 376 374 347 355 374 378 372 361 376 401 523
Indian Oil and Gas Canada 77 77 79 84 85 80 85 88 88 87 88 88 85
National Energy Board 357 389 396 409 435 447 469 456 477 479 503 553 556
National Film Board 424 407 425 466 420 394 389 371 399 392 388 389 379
National Research Council Canada 4,502 4,261 3,945 3,525 3,534 3,618 3,780 3,864 3,871 4,058 4,215 4,380 4,301
National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy 29 31 32 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
National Security Intelligence and Review Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 73 67
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Canada 402 428 424 407 409 418 444 442 447 475 511 536 524
Northern Pipeline Agency 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Office of the Auditor General of Canada 652 660 653 611 581 571 588 617 603 601 639 749 655
Office of the Intelligence Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada 542 562 603 638 684 700 667 688 721 769 848 903 942
Parks Canada 4,053 4,127 3,821 2,923 3,175 3,394 3,886 3,976 4,202 4,356 4,519 4,666 4,702
Polar Knowledge Canada 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 27 61 61 72 69 75
Public Service Labour Relations Board 89 88 88 96 91 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Security Intelligence Review Committee 14 15 17 15 16 18 20 22 25 22 20 0 0
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada 206 216 213 199 205 209 210 211 210 244 275 308 304
Statistical Survey Operations 1,845 1,681 2,371 1,601 1,699 1,642 1,701 1,797 1,504 1,485 1,454 2,208 2,318
The Correctional Investigator Canada 26 31 28 33 40 35 37 36 33 41 38 38 37
Total 282,980 282,352 278,092 262,817 257,138 257,034 258,979 262,696 273,571 287,983 300,450 319,601 335,957

Open datasets

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For more information, review the Open Data Licence Agreement, visit the Open Data Portal or browse more datasets.

Available formats

Data file Description
Population of the Federal Public Service by Departmenttable 2 note 2
(XML version – 123 KB)
(CSV version – 59 KB)

These data present population counts by department for all federal public service organizations (all departments and agencies governed by the Financial Administration Act (FAA) Schedules I, IV and V) from to .table 2 note 2
Population of the Federal Public Service by Department and Tenuretable 2 note 2
(XML version – 414 KB)
(CSV version – 224 KB)

These data present population counts by department and tenure for all Parliamentary appropriated organizations from to .table 2 note 2
Population of the Federal Public Service by Department and Provincetable 2 note 1table 2 note 2
(XML version – 822 KB)
(CSV version – 504 KB)

These data present population counts by department and province for all Parliamentary appropriated organizations from to .table 2 note 1table 2 note 2
Population of the Federal Public Service by Department and Age Bandtable 2 note 2
(XML version – 1.8 MB)
(CSV version – 594 KB)

These data present population counts by department and age group for all Parliamentary appropriated organizations from to . Suppressed values are displayed as * and will be read as zero in any tabulation such as pivot tables.table 2 note 2
Population of the Federal Public Service by Department and Executive Leveltable 2 note 2
(XML version – 497 KB)
(CSV version – 278 KB) 		These data present population counts by department and executive level for all Parliamentary appropriated organizations from to .table 2 note 2
Population of the Federal Public Service by Department and Average Agetable 2 note 2
(XML version – 119 KB)
(CSV version – 60 KB) 		These data present population counts by department and average age for all Parliamentary appropriated organizations from to .table 2 note 2
Population of the Federal Public Service by Department and First Official Languagetable 2 note 2
(XML version – 506 KB)
(CSV version – 157 KB) 		These data present population counts by department and first official language for all Parliamentary appropriated organizations from to . Suppressed values are displayed as * and will be read as a zero in any tabulation such as pivot tables.table 2 note 2
Population of the Federal Public Service by Department and Gendertable 2 note 2
(XML version – 266 KB)
(CSV version – 129 KB) 		These data present population counts by department and gender for all Parliamentary appropriated organizations from to . Suppressed values are displayed as * and will be read as a zero in any tabulation such as pivot tables.table 2 note 2

Table 2 Notes

Table 2 Note 1

As of 2016, a portion of the geographic data is not available due to changes in the centralized data systems. This results in an increase in the number of employees being attributed to an unknown region or province / territory.

Return to table 2 note 1 referrer

Table 2 Note 2

While the new organization Accessibility Standards Canada was created on July 11, 2019, the demographic data for that organization became available in 2022.

Return to table 2 note 2 referrer

Glossary of key terms

To assist you with your analysis of federal public service human resources data, we have compiled a glossary of key terms that are used in many of the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer’s (OCHRO) demographic snapshots and reports. This glossary has been developed to help provide a common language across OCHRO’s demographic snapshots and reports.

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