Previously, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s 2025 budget pledged to reduce the public service by 4.5% — approximately 16,000 positions — within three years.
In July 2025, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said that the job cuts are causing a lot of pain for workers.
“Workers are feeling overworked, facing deteriorating office conditions, dealing with ongoing discrimination in the workplace, frustrations with the Phoenix pay system and worsening work-life balance, to name a few of the major issues highlighted in the survey results,” said the group.
Rather than cutting jobs, the group said that the federal government must invest in the public services and workers who keep Canada running.
“A strong public service starts with a workforce that’s respected and supported, not run into the ground,” PSAC said. “Cutting or capping the public service will worsen many of the issues highlighted in the survey, such as overwork, stress, burnout, workers’ mental health and their ability to respond to the needs of people in Canada.”