Federal Conservatives could shrink public service by not backfilling ‘lower priority vacant positions’

Public service unions are raising concerns about plans to cut 3,00 jobs at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. CTV’s Shaun Vardon reports.

The federal Conservatives suggest selective attrition involving “lower priority” positions could be a way to shrink the federal public service in the future.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre told Radio-Canada on Tuesday that if his party wins the next election, he will cut the number of public servants. Poilievre said Canada needed fewer bureaucrats.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, Stephanie Kusie, the Conservative shadow minister for Treasury Board, said the size of the public service has grown by nearly 50 per cent.

“Each year, more than 17,000 employees leave the public service and one of the available strategies is to simply not backfill certain lower priority vacant positions while ensuring priority positions and key areas are filled,” Kusie said.

“Canadians need a carbon tax election now so they can elect a common sense Conservative government that will ensure taxpayers are getting value for their money and have access to the quality public services they deserve.”

The Conservative statement doesn’t include specifc targets for a reduction to the public service.

According to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, there were 367,772 employees in the federal public service in 2024, up from 257,034 in 2015.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said it wants to see a plan from the federal Conservative Party on their vision for the future of the public service.

“I believe that, right now, we’re in campaign mode and I believe that this is a perspective. But I would love to see an election platform,” Sharon DeSousa, PSAC national president, said in response to Poilievre’s comments earlier this week.

“The population of Canada has grown. All those decisions to open the doors means a larger population and we have to provide the service. What is the plan because just saying you want change isn’t reason enough.”

Earlier this week, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced it would be eliminating 3,300 positions across the country over the next three years.

“This will impact to various degrees every sector and every branch across IRCC, both domestically and internationally, in HQ and in the regions, and at all levels, including up to the executive levels,” the IRCC said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

“We estimate that about 80 per cent of these reductions can be achieved by reducing staffing commitments and our temporary workforce. The remaining 20 per cent of reductions will need to be achieved through the Workforce Adjustment process and will affect indeterminate employees.”

Last fall, the Canada Revenue Agency announced 600 temporary and contract employee positions would be cut.

The 2024 federal budget outlined plans to reduce 5,000 public service jobs through attrition over four years.

The 2023 federal budget included a plan to find $15.4 billion in public sector spending reductions over five years, while the 2023 fall fiscal update in November 2023 included a pledge to “extend and expand” efforts to refocus government spending by $345.6 million in 2025-26, and $691 million a year from 2026-27 onward.

With files from The Canadian Press