Canada’s federal government eliminated nearly 10,000 jobs over the past year, marking the first reduction in the public service workforce since 2015 and reversing a decade of rapid expansion under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The workforce dropped to 357,965 employees in March 2025 from 367,772 the previous year, a 2.6% decrease, according to Treasury Board data released Friday. The cuts represent a significant policy shift for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government after years of what critics called unsustainable growth.
The Canada Revenue Agency absorbed the largest share of job losses, shedding more than 6,000 positions. Federal agencies accounted for 72% of total cuts, while core government departments represented 28%. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada lost 1,944 employees, leaving it with 11,148 workers.
Several departments bucked the trend, with National Defence adding 381 employees, Global Affairs Canada gaining 218 positions, and Natural Resources Canada hiring 293 additional workers.
“With every position eliminated, processing delays grow longer, calls go unanswered,” said Marc Brière, national president of the Union of Taxation Employees.
The reductions follow unprecedented growth during Trudeau’s tenure from 2015 to 2024, when the federal workforce expanded 40% — from approximately 257,000 to over 367,000 employees. Government payroll costs reached $65 billion in 2023-24, with the average full-time employee costing $136,345.
Read: Canadian Federal Civil Service Grows 43% Under Trudeau
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has argued for more aggressive cuts, arguing the bureaucracy became bloated under Liberal rule. Carney has emphasized modernization through artificial intelligence rather than wholesale layoffs, positioning his approach as reform rather than destruction.
The cuts come as Canada faces a projected $50.1-billion federal deficit and potential trade pressures from the United States. The government has committed to finding billions in savings over the coming years, primarily through attrition rather than direct layoffs.
Government officials defend the cuts as necessary corrections after years of rapid hiring that failed to improve service delivery despite massive spending increases. The Treasury Board has released an AI strategy for 2025-2027, indicating plans to automate routine processes while allowing employees to focus on more complex work.
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One Response
“Government officials defend the cuts as necessary corrections after years of rapid hiring that failed to improve service delivery despite massive spending increases.”
Why7 do these things keep happening? Same with military procurement, never ending costly delays.