Federal public service shrinks by more than 12,000 workers in 2026

Canada’s federal public service has fallen to about 345,000 employees after more than 12,000 positions were cut in the past fiscal year, according to updated Treasury Board Secretariat figures. The largest decline was in the National Capital Region, where the number of federal workers dropped from about 154,000 to 146,000. Ottawa had the biggest concentration of federal employees, and the workforce there is down by roughly 5 per cent. The reductions follow the federal government’s 2025 budget plan to make the bureaucracy more sustainable. The government has said it aims to reduce the public service by 4.5 per cent, or about 16,000 jobs, over three years, with a longerterm target of around 330,000 employees by the end of the 2029 fiscal year.