Premier Doug Ford’s government says it has not signed any new leases or purchased real estate to accommodate 60,000 public sector workers ordered to return to the office five days a week, as unions representing the civil servants say they’re facing a serious space crunch.
The government statement to CBC News comes nearly two months after Ontario’s return to office mandate deadline passed. It has also raised the ire of the unions representing thousands of public servants who they say their members are struggling to work in cramped buildings that don’t have adequate space.
The head of AMAPCEO, which represents some 17,000 professional, administrative and supervisory employees in the Ontario Public Service, says in many instances, workers are sharing desks with colleagues, crowding into shared common areas to work, or are being sent home altogether by managers because there isn’t space.
“Our members are reporting one of two things, they’re either being told, ‘Stay at home. We can’t accommodate you in the office,’” Dave Bulmer said. “Or stricter managers are saying, ‘you have to be in here.’ And there’s eight people in a boardroom working on their laptops.”
WATCH | Ford previously said Ontario is ‘working on’ office space:
Ford says Ontario is ‘working on’ office space as public service workers return full-time
Tens of thousands of provincial government staff in Ontario are now required back in the office full-time. Premier Doug Ford says the province is in the process of figuring out additional office space as the mandate comes into effect.Policy shift announced last summer, surprising workers
In August, Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney announced that the 60,000 employees of the Ontario Public Service, provincial agencies, boards and commissions had to “increase their attendance to four days per week” starting Oct. 20, 2025 and transition to full-time hours in office effective Jan. 5.
It’s a change from a policy that has been in place since April 2022, when provincial government employees were mandated to be in their offices at least three days per week.
AMAPCEO said some civil servants have had work from home or hybrid arrangements dating as far back as 2010.
The province previously said a review of all government offices has been conducted to see if there are any space limitations, and it found “the vast majority” of OPS offices have adequate space for the return. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Infrastructure said this week that the government continues to address any challenges relating to office space.
“At this time, no new leases or purchases have been initiated related to the OPS Return to Office mandate,” Ash Milton said in a statement.
Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney announced last August the public servants would have to return to the office five days a week. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)Unions say hybrid arrangement allowed PCs to cut office space
The unions say the hybrid arrangements allowed the government to cut its office space needs, and costs, during the pandemic. But the Ford government denies it made any such move.
“There was no reduction nor consolidation to office space related to the pandemic,” Milton said.
Despite that, both the WSIB and Ontario Health told CBC News last fall that they were working to meet the province’s directive and increase available space for their workers.
Bulmer expressed skepticism about the government statements, and said any work to increase space will cost the government “tens of millions.” It’s money better spent on health care and education, he said.
In addition to the crowding, around 6,000 requests for individual accommodations are moving at a snail’s pace, and a review process for that, that used to take about 20 days, is now taking months, he said.
“Morale is at an all time low,” Bulmer said. “I don’t say that with any degree of exaggeration or hyperbole … the impact that it’s had on people, it’s real.”
Unions call for transparency around office space plan
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which represents roughly half of the Ontario Public Service workforce, said the government statements don’t “pass the smell test” and called on the government to be transparent about its plans.
“A decision this big doesn’t just happen without analysis, planning, or a paper trail. At best, this looks like a lack of due diligence,” said Amanda Usher, chair of the OPSEU/SEFPO OPS Unified Central Employee Relations Committee.
“At worst, it raises serious questions about transparency and how these decisions are being made.”
Usher said workers are experiencing overcrowded offices, broken furniture and a general lack of planning.
“This isn’t just about workers, this is about public dollars, public services, and whether decisions are being made in a way that people can trust.”
NDP finance critic Jessica Bell said the PC government must be transparent about the office space crunch being experience as a result of its return to office mandate. (CBC News)Opposition calls for transparency
NDP finance critic Jessica Bell said the government didn’t conduct adequate planning to accommodate the workers. She urged the PCs to reverse course on the policy and to consult with workers.
“Now they know for sure that there’s not enough office space available for everyone, and it seems like they just don’t care, because they’re not planning on doing anything to address the problem,” she said.
Bell said the decision will ultimately hurt efficiency, which was at least part of the government’s stated rationale for bringing workers back to the office full-time.
“It’s just downright disrespectful, and it also impacts productivity,” she said.
Despite the government’s insistence, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said, it’s clear there isn’t enough space for workers. He called for the PCs to be more transparent about their plans and urged them to return to the hybrid arrangement with civil servants.
“They’re making an absolute mess out of a dictate coming from the premier, where there’s absolutely no plan on how to deliver it,” he said.