Full-Time Equivalents in the Federal Public Service – 2025-26 Departmental Plans

Over 2006-07 to 2023-24 the federal public service expanded from 335,000[^1] full-time equivalents (FTEs) to 441,000 – an increase of over 105,000 FTEs.

According to the 2025-26 Departmental Plans (DPs),[^2] the number of FTEs is expected to have reached 445,000 in 2024-25. This represents an increase of over 13,000 FTEs compared to last year’s plans. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) accounts for about one third of this increase. Other departments with significant upward revisions to last year’s DPs include Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), Canada Border Services Agency and Indigenous Services Canada.

From 2025-26 onwards, the number of planned FTEs is projected to decline, falling to 415,000 FTEs in 2027-28. That said, this projected decline, even if it materializes, still leaves the number of FTEs well above both the pre-pandemic peak (382,000 in 2019-20) and the higher levels recorded during the pandemic (413,000 in 2021-22). The 2025-26 DPs attribute the projected FTE reductions primarily to the sunsetting of funding provided for various programs and measures as well as some operational efficiency gains. Moreover, current plans do not reflect the impact of spending reviews recently announced by the government[^3] on FTEs or the additional $8.3 billion in defence spending[^4] announced for fiscal year 2025-26.

The latest DPs continue to follow the pattern observed over the past three years, in which the projected profile of FTEs (peaking then declining) is revised upward across the planning horizon in subsequent DPs. Relative to the 2024-25 DPs, the planned number of FTEs from the latest DPs was revised upward by roughly 31,000 for 2025-26 and 25,000 for 2026-27. The most significant upward revisions in planned FTEs were reported from ESDC, with an additional 9,000 FTEs for 2025-26 and 7,000 FTEs for 2026-27 compared to their previous DP projection. Other departments showing notable increases in planned FTEs relative to their previous DP include Public Services and Procurement Canada, National Defence and the CRA.

GC Infobase, Open data, 2022-23 to 2025-26 Departmental Plans and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

GC Infobase, Open data, 2022-23 to 2025-26 Departmental Plans and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

The forecasted number of FTEs for 2024-25 reported in the 2025-26 DPs suggests that the size of the federal public service expanded by about 4,000 FTEs since the previous fiscal year (rather than the decline reported by Canadian media on May 23, 2025). However, FTE counts reported in DPs are annual figures and therefore may fail to capture certain in-year trends.

Monthly data received from the Treasury Board Secretariat on the federal public service population similarly shows that the annual average number of FTEs increased between 2023-24 and 2024-25.[^5] That said, the monthly data also shows a net decrease of over 8,000 FTEs between March 2024 and 2025 (Figure 2). The reduction is mainly driven by a decrease of over 6,000 FTEs by the CRA and nearly 2,000 FTEs by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. In both departments, over 65 per cent of the net decrease in FTEs is due to a decline of term positions, that is employees appointed for a limited period. This reflects a broader government-wide trend, where the number of term FTEs across departments declined by about 7,500 FTEs between March 2024 and 2025. During the same period, there were also decreases of over 1,000 student FTEs and about 2,500 casual FTEs, which were partially offset by an increase of nearly 3,000 indeterminate FTEs.[^6]

It is important to note that the monthly data does not include the Canadian Armed Forces[^7] and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)[^8], which respectively saw a year-over-year increase of about 2,000 and 300 FTEs between 2023-24 and 2024-25. While the in-year decrease in FTEs noted above may be partly offset by increases from National Defence and the RCMP, the monthly data nevertheless shows a downward trend in FTEs through 2024-25 that is not clearly captured in annual DPs figures.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

Monthly totals of FTEs exclude members of the Canadian Armed Forces, regular and civilian members of Royal Canadian Mounted Police as well as employees locally engaged outside of Canada. As a result, the total monthly FTE counts differ from the annual total number of FTEs reported in the 2025-26 Departmental Plans.