Statistics Canada is aiming to cut more than 850 jobs – including 12 per cent of its executive ranks – as departments begin rolling out the specific implications of budget plans to shrink the size of the federal public service.
Union leaders have been given a heads up that Statistics Canada and Shared Services Canada will begin to send out the details, officially known as work force adjustment letters, this week, with announcements from other departments to follow.
A spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Canada told The Globe and Mail Tuesday that employees at that department will be receiving messages about affected positions on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Nov. 4 budget introduced a plan to reduce the size of the public service by about 30,000 people over five years, in addition to a recent cut of about 10,000 jobs.
The size of the core public service reached a peak of 367,772 employees in 2024 before falling to 357,965 last year.
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Statistics Canada spokesperson Carter Mann said affected employees will be notified over the next two weeks.
According to Treasury Board data, Statistics Canada had 7,274 employees as of 2025, up from 4,890 when the Liberal Party formed government in 2015. Mr. Mann said part of the increase was because of a 2023 decision to integrate more than a thousand employees from a previously separate agency called Statistical Survey Operations.
“Statistics Canada remains focused on serving Canadians and adapting to future needs as we move through this period of change,” Mr. Mann said in an e-mail.
The most recent data available show there were 99 executive positions at Statscan as of 2025, meaning a 12-per-cent reduction would lead to the elimination of about 12 positions.
The statement from Statscan did not provide any detail as to the impact of the cuts, nor did it specify which divisions would be affected.
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Statscan produces a wide range of data that are regularly used by governments, researchers and economists. Key reports include the national census every five years and regular updates on key metrics such as gross domestic product, employment and inflation.
The agency will be running the 2026 census this year. Through a separate process, it has announced plans to fill approximately 32,000 temporary census jobs across the country between May and July, as is its standard practice. The positions are primarily enumerator jobs to collect survey responses.
Sean O’Reilly, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, said the job cuts are on a scale not seen in decades.
“I think we’re really seeing now that these aren’t just abstract cuts. These are real jobs, real expertise and real services at risk,” he said in an interview.
“Statistics Canada, for decades, has been a key provider of data that underpins all government decision making,” he said, adding that the agency is relied upon by all levels of government, as well as the business community.
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Mr. O’Reilly said cuts at Statscan may not affect Canadians immediately, “but it’s going to affect them in the long run.”
The union has been told that 3,274 employees at Statistics Canada will receive work force adjustment letters.
Receiving a work force adjustment letter means the department has determined that the worker’s position may no longer be required. While the process could lead to a layoff, there are other options.
For instance, the rules allow for scenarios in which the affected worker could swap positions with a non-affected worker who wants to leave the public service.
Some workers may also be eligible for an early-retirement incentive.
Letters were sent last month to around 68,000 public servants to inform them that they may be eligible for the buyout program announced in the budget.
The government’s budget announcement said that $1.5-billion would be made available to fund early-retirement incentives as a way of meeting the staff-reduction targets.
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However, the program is not yet open for applications, as it is subject to legislative approval by Parliament. Its legal authority is part of C-15, the budget bill, which did not become law before the House of Commons rose for the holidays on Dec. 12.
The incentive would waive the penalty for early retirement. Typically, an employee who retires before meeting age requirements faces a permanent pension reduction of 5 per cent for each year of early retirement.
Mr. O’Reilly said the government has not provided enough detail for affected workers to make informed decisions about whether they should accept the buyout incentive.
The federal government is not currently providing a single breakdown of job cuts across all departments. Instead, individual departments are confirming details as information is shared with employees.
A spokesperson for Natural Resources Canada told The Globe Tuesday that approximately 700 employees received letters last month informing them that their position may be affected. The department said it plans to eliminate approximately 400 positions by 2028-29.
Matthieu Perrotin, a spokesperson for Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, said in a statement that information about job reductions will be first shared with employees directly.
“We are committed to approaching this process compassionately and fairly, in consultation with departments and public service workers, and in line with Canada’s obligations as an employer,” he said.
Alex Silas, national executive vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said in a statement that Statscan has not explained what the cuts will mean for programs and services.
“It’s time for the government to be clear about the impacts of these cuts because slashing public service jobs undermines the critical services communities rely on,” he said.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the size of the core public service fell to 357,965 this year. It fell to 357,965 in 2025.