The number of federal public servants dropped by nearly 10,000 people this spring, the first time the size of the federal government has shrunk in 10 years. Statistics released by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat show 357,965 people worked for the federal government as of March 31, down from 367,772 people in 2024. The data shows the number of public servants in the “core public administration” dropped to 279,396 in 2025 from 282,152 in 2024, while the size of all the “separate agencies,” which includes Canada Revenue Agency, Parks Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, dropped from 85,620 people in 2024 to 78,569 in 2025. The last time the size of the federal public service didn’t grow was in 2015, when the number of employees dropped to 257,034 from 257,138 in 2014. The public service workforce expanded from 257,034 employees in 2015 to 300,450 in 2020 and 367,772 employees in 2024. The 2024 federal budget said the federal government was looking to eliminate 5,000 public service jobs through attrition over the next four years and looked to save $4.2 billion. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney released his mandate letter to Canada’s Ministry, outlining seven priorities. The seventh priority on the list was, “Spending less on government operations so that Canadians can invest more in the people and businesses that will build the strongest economy in the G7.” The Liberal Party platform released during the federal election campaign said the party is committed to “capping, not cutting public service employment.” The party promised a “comprehensive review of government spending in order to increase the federal government’s productivity.” Size of federal public service drops by 9,800 jobs The largest reduction in the federal workforce over the past year was at the Canada Revenue Agency, with 6,656 fewer employees at the agency this year. Statistics show there were 52,449 employees at CRA as of March 31, down from 59,155 employees in March 2024. Last November, the Canada Revenue Agency said it was cutting nearly 600 positions. In March, the CRA told 450 term employees their contracts would not be renewed at the end of the month. Earlier this month, the Union of Taxation Employees said the contracts for more than 1,000 term workers would not be renewed by the CRA. According to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat data, the number of employees at Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada dropped by 1,944 employees between 2024 and 2025, 608 fewer people work at Shared Services Canada, and the size of the workforce at the Canada Food Inspection Agency has shrunk by 453 employees. Health Canada’s workforce dropped by 559 employees between 2024 and 2025, while 879 fewer people work at the Public Health Agency of Canada. The size of several federal departments did increase between March 31, 2024, and March 31, 2025. The workforce at National Defence increased by 381 employees, 293 more people worked at Natural Resources Canada and Global Affairs added 218 employees. The number of people working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police increased from 10,309 in 2024 to 11,220 in 2025.
