Restructuring to impact 12 per cent of executive ranks: report
As the federal government moves ahead with plans to shrink the public service, Statistics Canada has confirmed it will cut hundreds of jobs over the next two years, including 100 positions this week.
Statistics Canada says it is entering a workforce adjustment period that will ultimately affect about 850 positions and 12 per cent of its executive ranks, says CTV News.
In a statement, spokesperson Carter Mann said employees will soon learn whether they are among those impacted.
“Statistics Canada will be informing affected and surplus employees within the next two weeks. The process will follow the Workforce Adjustment Directive and/or the applicable collective agreement,” said Statistics Canada spokesperson Carter Mann in a statement.
“Statistics Canada remains focused on serving Canadians and adapting to future needs as we move through this period of change.”
An internal memo obtained by CTV News says around 100 staff will be told this week that they are “surplus.” Another 750 reductions are expected to be drawn from a pool of roughly 3,200 employees who will be notified over the next two weeks that their positions are “affected” and may no longer be required.
Shifting workforce after pandemic-era growth
Treasury Board figures show Statistics Canada’s workforce grew significantly over the past several years, rising from 4,890 employees in 2015 to 7,274 in 2025.
According to the internal memo, the agency is turning to voluntary measures — including the Voluntary Departure Program and a proposed Early Retirement Initiative — in an effort to reduce the number of involuntary job losses needed to meet its Comprehensive Expenditure Review target, says CTV News.
In the November 2025 budget, the Liberals laid out a plan to reduce the federal workforce.
“Over the last decade, from 2015 to 2024, the federal public service grew by more than 40 per cent — double the rate of economic growth. After direct program expenses began to fall from their COVID-19 peak in 2020-21, the federal public service continued to expand. These increases are unsustainable. This has left federal finances strained and put the vital services and programs that Canadians rely on at risk.”
The government said savings will be achieved by restructuring operations and consolidating internal services and rightsizing programs to realize efficiencies: “It will also involve workforce adjustments and attrition to return the size of the public service to a more sustainable level.”
“From a peak of almost 368,000 in 2023-24, the public service population is expected to reach roughly 330,000 by the end of 2028-29 — a decline of about 40,000 positions or 10 per cent.”
