Canadian public service could face 57,000 job losses amid budget squeeze, according to think tank
The Canadian federal government could face over 57,000 job losses between 2024 and 2028, according to analysis by a leading think tank.
The report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, published on 24 July, highlighted that Francois-Philippe Champagne, the finance minister in Canada’s newly-elected government, had sent letters to multiple ministers asking them to identify cuts to programme spending at their departments of 15% by 2028-29, as part of planning for an upcoming comprehensive expenditure review.
In its analysis, the think tank projected what headcount reductions would be if this 15% reduction was reflected in a 15% cut in staffing budgets. If this happened, according to the report, departments outside the protected departments – those protected are the Department of Defence, the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency, the Supreme Court and the Parliamentary Budget Office – would see a cumulative total of 57,000 full time equivalent job losses between 2024 and 2028.
Read more: Canada PM Mark Carney appoints government ‘built to deliver change’
Canadian public service already shrinking
The analysis comes after figures from the Canadian government’s Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat revealed that the federal public service headcount has shrunk in 2025 for the first time in a decade.
According to the figures, the population of the federal public service fell from 367,772 in 2024 to 357,965 in 2025. This comes after the government in 2023 set out plans to save up to C$15.4bn (US$11.5bn at the time) over five years, leading to headcount reductions.
Further details of the government’s spending plans are likely to be revealed in a budget in the autumn, when prime minister Mark Carney said the government would set out “comprehensive, effective, ambitious, prudent” spending plans.
Responding to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Barb Couperus, spokesperson for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, told CTV that ministers have been tasked with reviewing spending across their portfolios to identify programmes that are “meeting their objectives, are core to the federal mandate and complement – rather than duplicate – services offered by other federal departments or levels of government”.
She added: “This review reflects a return to core responsibilities, with a clear focus on fiscal discipline, quality service delivery, and long-term economic growth.”
Read more: Canada to hit defence spending target ‘half a decade ahead of schedule’, PM says
Michael Sabia named clerk of the Privy Council
As departments begin to develop their plans for the comprehensive expenditure review, there has been a change in the senior leadership at the top of the Canadian public service.
Michael Sabia has taken on the role of clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet, the most senior role in the public service, after being approached for the role by prime minister Carney.
In a statement to public servants as he took on the role, Sabia said that the public service has a “compelling opportunity” to “make decisions that will put Canada’s economy on a more resilient path; that will make us a more prosperous and fairer country; and that can strengthen our national unity in the face of an increasingly divided world”.
The public service has an indispensable role to play in achieving this, he said, and he urged public servants to focus on the government priorities, as set out by Carney; simplify internal processes in government that “have become quite complicated”; and increase personal accountability.
The seven priorities for the Canadian government, set out by prime minister Mark Carney,:
- Establishing a new economic and security relationship with the United States and strengthening our collaboration with reliable trading partners and allies around the world.
- Building one Canadian economy by removing barriers to interprovincial trade and identifying and expediting nation-building projects that will connect and transform our country.
- Bringing down costs for Canadians and helping them to get ahead.
- Making housing more affordable by unleashing the power of public-private cooperation, catalysing a modern housing industry, and creating new careers in the skilled trades.
- Protecting Canadian sovereignty and keeping Canadians safe by strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces, securing our borders, and reinforcing law enforcement.
- Attracting the best talent in the world to help build our economy, while returning our overall immigration rates to sustainable levels.
- Spending less on government operations so that Canadians can invest more in the people and businesses that will build the strongest economy in the G7.
Sabia said that successful organisations have both clear formal accountabilities, and people that act in a personally accountable way.
“Helping to build those accountabilities and a culture of personal accountability will be key priorities for me,” he said.
“In my experience, leadership is a lot about listening. Listening to the open and honest debates we need. In these uncertain times, when the standard operating procedures just don’t work anymore, rigorous debate is the best path to the best decisions. In this, our diversity is a continuing source of strength. With diversity comes the differing perspectives that make those debates even more worthwhile.”
Sabia replaces John Hannaford, who served as clerk from June 2023. Hannaford had joined the federal public service in 1995 before going on to hold a number of senior posts.
As clerk, he led a programme to renew the public service’s values and ethics, and was a contributor to Global Government Forum’s Making Government Work report, which reveals five pillars of a modern civil service.
Hannaford had been appointed to the King’s Privy Council for Canada prior to his retirement.
About Richard Johnstone
Related Posts
