Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon says federal public service job losses will be “minimal,” despite the Liberal government’s plan to significantly reduce the size of the federal workforce over the coming years.
Speaking a day after the federal budget passed its confidence vote, MacKinnon said he expects involuntary departures to remain limited. “I believe the impact on people — involuntary departures — will be minimal, and that is certainly a desirable thing,” he said, adding that the government values the contributions of public servants and relies on them to do essential work.
The federal budget, introduced on November 4 by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and marking the first fiscal plan under Prime Minister Mark Carney, includes a reduction of approximately 40,000 public service positions by 2028–29. The plan would bring the workforce from its March 2024 peak of 367,772 employees down to 330,000 through a combination of job cuts, attrition, and early retirements.
Treasury Board figures show that roughly 10,000 positions have already been eliminated between 2024 and 2025, leaving about 30,000 more reductions required over the next five years.
MacKinnon said it is impossible to predict how many current employees might ultimately lose their jobs, noting that natural attrition is difficult to forecast. He also pointed to a voluntary retirement package that could accelerate departures and help minimize layoffs.
He emphasized that the government’s spending review was not designed with the goal of forcing people out of work. “We would find it regrettable if job cuts were widespread. I believe it will be minimal,” he said. “We’ve approached this with a scalpel and not a hacksaw. We’re going to make sure we have a robust public service that can help us deliver on this budget and on our priorities.”
The government aims to secure $60 billion in operating savings over five years, including $9 billion in 2026–27, $10 billion in 2027–28, and $13 billion in 2028–29.
Although Carney pledged during the election campaign to cap — not cut — the public service, he later acknowledged that “adjustments” would be necessary and could be achieved largely through attrition. However, fiscal experts have raised questions about whether attrition alone can meet the government’s ambitious savings and workforce targets.
