Unions warn of ‘significant anxiety’ and space constraints as Ottawa faces questions over change to hybrid model
Federal public service unions are pressing the federal government to clarify whether it plans to require tens of thousands of employees to return to the office up to five days a week, amid what they describe as “persistent rumours” of an imminent change to hybrid work rules.
The concern follows a La Presse report citing an internal Treasury Board Secretariat document suggesting Ottawa is considering ordering federal public servants back to the office full time by Jan. 1, 2027.
In response, the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) wrote to Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali about what it called an “imminent announcement” that could require employees to be in the office up to five days a week as early as 2026, according to a CBC report. CAPE president Nathan Prier warned that “these rumours are causing significant anxiety among our members, who are already facing uncertainty from workforce adjustments and unresolved issues from previous RTO directives.”
In 2024, Ottawa released its Direction on prescribed presence in the workplace document, stating that deputy heads must implement a minimum requirement of three days per week in the workplace for all public servants.
Space concerns with RTO
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat told CBC that “the direction on prescribed presence in the workplace … has not changed.” Prier described that shift as “a complete fiasco,” citing “insufficient office space” as one of the problems with the rollout.
CAPE requested a call with Ali by the end of last week and contacted the Treasury Board Secretariat by phone. The association says a senior officer called back on Friday but was “non‑committal about a specific follow‑up or potential meeting.” By Monday, according to CAPE, the secretariat had reached out to the Privy Council Office and the office of Prime Minister Mark Carney about arranging a meeting.
Other unions have raised similar alarms, according to the CBC report. Alex Silas, national vice‑president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), said that if the rumours about expanded office attendance are accurate, they are “definitely worrying.” He told the publication that “the state of buildings right now would not permit for a five‑day, full return to office,” and said PSAC has also requested a meeting with Ali.
‘Nothing has changed’: Treasury Board
Asked on Monday whether a full‑time in‑office directive is under consideration, Ali told reporters he was looking into the matter but that “nothing has changed.” When CBC asked if such a move would be feasible given that some federal office towers have been gutted, Ali said he would return to his team for more information, adding: “I have not seen anything. Nothing [has been] brought forward to me.”
On Sept. 10, 2025, CAPE hosted a debrief of its Return to Office (RTO) petition campaign.
“The employer could save $2 billion a year by getting rid of unnecessary office space which could be put to uses that actually benefit society, like childcare and housing,” the group said in a recent press release.
“And RTO was never about productivity – a report from Statistics Canada showed us that public servants are actually more productive with the flexibility of remote work.
“This means the employer could be saving billions and prioritizing keeping good‑paying Canadian jobs, benefitting from a more productive workforce and reducing our ecological footprint by granting full‑time remote work for those that want it.”
