The President of the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSCC) has revealed that while the federal public service is decreasing in size, certain agencies are set to undergo rapid expansion, presenting a challenge for the commission. Despite the federal government’s plan to eliminate approximately 40,000 public service positions, specific agencies are anticipated to grow swiftly, leading PSCC President Marie-Chantal Girard to emphasize the need for expediting the hiring process within the public service to stay competitive with the private sector.
Girard highlighted that departments like National Defence, the Canada Border Services Agency, and public safety organizations such as the RCMP will be actively recruiting new personnel. The latest statistics released by the PSCC indicate a reduction in the federal public service workforce for the first time in ten years. Following a peak in 2023-2024, the number of federal employees governed by the Public Service Employment Act declined by one percent to 279,707 in the reported period.
The decline was mainly attributed to a significant decrease in external recruitment, as stated in the annual report. Furthermore, the report revealed an increase in the median hiring duration to 221 days, compared to 214 days in the previous cycle, with a target set by PSCC to reduce this timeframe to 167 days.
Girard acknowledged the hiring delays, emphasizing that the stringent criteria for federal public service recruitment, including bilingual language requirements for many roles, contribute to the extended hiring timelines. She expressed intentions to streamline the process by concurrently evaluating different aspects of applications, aiming to expedite the overall recruitment procedure.
These developments come in the wake of the 2025 federal budget release, which outlines plans to reduce the public service workforce by an estimated 16,000 full-time equivalents over the next three years, constituting approximately 4.5% of the current workforce. The report also indicated a consistent proportion of federal public service employees working outside the National Capital Region, remaining steady at 53% for the past five years.