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Or sign-in if you have an account.The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's headquarters located at 90 Elgin St. in Ottawa. Photo by TONY CALDWELL /PostmediaFor the second year in a row, the federal public service has recorded a decrease in the number of jobs, reversing a decade-long trend of increases to the public payroll.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorAccording to numbers released this week by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, there were 345,282 federal public servants at the end of March 2026, down from 357,965 the previous March. This represents a drop of 12,683 positions, or just over 3.5 per cent.The decrease follows a similar reduction from the previous year. In March 2024, the government employed 367,772 federal public servants. The combined drop amounts to 22,490 workers, or a 6.1 per cent decrease over two years.Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe biggest reduction was at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which shed 3,725 workers over the year to stand at 48,774 this past March, a seven per cent dip.Canada’s population also fell slightly between March of 2025 and March of 2026, by just over 132,000 people to 41.47 million. This means that the percentage of Canadians who are employed by the public service declined to 0.83 per cent from 0.86 per cent.Not all departments faced the same drop, and some actually added positions within the year.The Department of National Defence, for instance, had 31,838 employees last March, an increase of 2,717 or just over nine per cent from the previous March. The Communications Security Establishment saw a similar hike to 4,029 from 3,686.Correctional Service Canada and the RCMP, meanwhile, remained almost flat in the number of employees.When Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government released its first budget last November, it said the federal public service would see “a decline of about 40,000” jobs by the end of the 2028-29 fiscal year. That included jobs that had been shed since the size of the public service peaked in 2023-24. The plan is to bring numbers down further, to about 330,000 by 2028-29.There has been some pushback to the plan. The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) put out a statement in March warning that cuts to its workforce at the CRA would weaken the government’s ability to enforce tax laws and recover lost revenue.“These are the people who make sure everyone pays their fair share,” PIPSC president Sean O’Reilly said at the time. “Cutting them doesn’t save money. It costs money.”Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.