Federal budget: Ranks of public service to drop by 5,000 through ‘natural’ attrition

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The population of Canada’s federal public service is expected to decrease by about 5,000 in the next four years as the government looks to find savings through attrition.

The federal budget tabled Tuesday said that, based on historical rates of attrition, the number of full-time equivalent positions was anticipated to drop to around 363,000 from an estimated population of 368,000 as of the end of March.

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“As our country grows and demographics shift, such as millennials recently overtaking baby boomers as the largest age group, the government must adapt to the changing needs of Canadians,” the budget said. “That’s why the government is continuously evaluating demand for services and programs, and adjusting investments accordingly — ensuring Canadians have the support they need, when they need it.”

When speaking to reporters, deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland said the government believes it was important to be careful in the way it spent the money of Canadians.

“They quite rightly expect us to be really thoughtful about what we spend it on,” Freeland said. “That’s why it was really important for me, in this budget, to announce that, over four years, you’re going to see a decline in the size of the public service.”

Last year’s budget and the 2023 Fall Economic Statement announced a total of $15.8 billion in savings over five years, and $4.8 billion ongoing, to be reallocated and used for issues like health care and housing.

While the government has already identified how and where it would find some savings, focusing on travel and consulting, the budget indicated that the second phase of the refocusing government spending initiative would seek to achieve savings “primarily through natural attrition in the federal public service.”

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“Starting on April 1, 2025, federal public service organizations will be required to cover a portion of increased operating costs through their existing resources,” Budget 2024 said.

Chris Aylward, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said in an interview that the job losses were “unfortunate.”

“Minister Anand, when she announced this last year, she said, and I’m quoting her, she said this is not about doing more with less, nor is it about job loss,” Aylward said. “It appears now that we’re talking job loss.”

Aylward said the union would have to wait for the budget implementation bill to see what exactly this announcement meant for members.

“It’s not a big number, for sure, but I mean, it’s a number that we’re going to keep a very close eye on and watch it very carefully,” Aylward said.

According to the Government of Canada website, the population of the federal public service was much smaller in 2015 than it is now, with 257,034 employees working for the government at that time. The population of Canada has also grown significantly since then, however, from 35 million to more than 40 million.

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In a statement following the release of the budget, Institut économique de Montréal’s Renaud Brossard said the “explosion” in the number of public servants was “symptomatic of a government that has lost all control over the growth of its spending.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said in a news conference that he was “concerned” about the loss of 5,000 public-sector employees.

“We have some serious concerns,” Singh said. “I want to hear from the prime minister what his plan is to address those concerns. What is his plan to address the fact that we’re losing what his budget is going to cut, 5,000 public sector employees? How does he ensure that we’re still gonna get good service for Canadians?”

Taking attrition into consideration, the budget said the government would be able to achieve “remaining savings” of $4.2 billion over four years starting in 2025-26 and $1.3 billion ongoing towards the refocusing government spending target.

The document — which included other public-service-related funding such as a whole-of-government cyber security strategy, for recruitment and training for Canada’s foreign service and for continuing work on a potential next-generation pay solution — said the loss of staff would not impact the delivery of benefits to Canadians and would be implemented “in a way that continues to support regional representation and a diverse public service workforce.”

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“Going forward, the government will continue to review spending across departments and on key initiatives to ensure the government operates effectively and efficiently for Canadians,” the budget said. “Ongoing reviews of government spending and programming are an important component of managing public finances in a prudent and responsible manner.”

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