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Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-15 · by Catherine Morrison The Canadian Press
The federal public service in Canada has seen a decline of over 23,000 employees since the second quarter of 2024, according to data from the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Departments like National Defence and the Canadian Space Agency have increased staffing, while others such as the Canada Revenue Agency and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada have experienced significant reductions. The parliamentary budget officer Annette Ryan released an online tool to assist parliamentarians in assessing these changes against the government's commitment to reduce public service by 10% by 2028-29.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Canada's federal public service has lost more than 23,000 staffers over the last two years, according to a report from the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The new online tool estimates that there are currently 344,970 federal employees, marking a 6.5% decrease from the number recorded in the previous two-year period. Departments like National Defence and the Communications Security Establishment have seen significant staff increases, while agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada experienced notable decreases. The Parliamentary Budget Officer Annette Ryan released this tool to assist parliamentarians and Canadians in holding the government accountable for its commitment to reduce the size of the federal public service by 10% by 2028-29, as outlined in Budget 2025.
Written for “Public Service Staff Decline” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 12125 · logged 2026-09-15
The federal public service has shed more than 23,000 staffers over the last two years, says Canada’s parliamentary spending watchdog.
asserted
watchdog → shed → years
A new online tool released by the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates there were 344,970 federal employees in the second quarter of this year, down 6.5 per cent from two years ago.
asserted
tool → release → year
The departments and agencies that gained the most staff over the last two years were National Defence, the Communications Security Establishment, Elections Canada, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada and the Canadian Space Agency.
asserted
that → gain → years
The departments and agencies that lost the most employees were the Canada Revenue Agency, Employment and Social Development Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada.
asserted
that → lose → Canada
Parliamentary budget officer Annette Ryan said in a news release that her office created the tool to help parliamentarians and Canadians hold the government to account on its Budget 2025 commitment to reduce the size of the federal public service by 10 per cent by 2028-29.
asserted
parliamentarians → say → 2028
“Parliamentarians need reliable and readily available information in order to review changes in government employment levels in order to question ministers about what that means for public services to Canadians,” said Ryan.
asserted
Ryan → need → Canadians
“This tool provides them with objective, timely data that they can use to support their work.”
asserted
they → provide → work
The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer found that 9,809 of the workers lost were term employees.
asserted
9,809 → find → workers
The federal government launched an early retirement program as part of its efforts to cut the number of public servants.
asserted
government → launch → servants
The government received 10,006 applications and, as of this month, more than 9,400 were found to have met the criteria.
asserted
9,400 → receive → criteria
Martin Potvin, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, said in an email that there are no plans to open a second early retirement application window.
asserted
Potvin → say → window
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2026.
asserted
report → publish → Press
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