People walk across Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa on April 16.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Starting today, executives in the federal public service are expected to work on-site in the office five days a week.
The Treasury Board announced the change to remote work rules in February and said all other employees will have to be in the office four days a week as of July 6.
The new directive applies only to public servants working in the core departments and agencies under Treasury Board, though some separate agencies, like the Canada Revenue Agency and the National Research Council, have said they intend to follow the same approach.
In downtown Ottawa, businesses are eager to see public servants return to office
Most public servants were told to work remotely when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, 2020, and core federal employees have been working three days in-office since September, 2024, after the standard increased from two days.
Federal unions have fought the government’s back-to-office directives and some have filed unfair labour practice complaints.
The Treasury Board website says there were 9,340 executives working for the federal government as of the end of March 2025, out of 357,965 public servants.