Carney says back-to-office plan for federal civil servants coming soon

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government’s plan to get public servants to spend more time in the office will come into “sharper view” over the next several weeks.

The issue came up when Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe asked Carney today about the prospect of public sector job cuts during the mayor’s monthly breakfast event with the Ottawa Board of Trade and the Ottawa Business Journal.

Carney says the amount of time public servants will be expected to be in the office in-person will be set at different levels, depending on individual roles and seniority.

Addressing job cuts, Carney says the civil service grew to an unsustainable size in the last decade.

He says many of the staff reductions will come through conventional retirement, early retirement and “other adjustments.”

Unions representing public sector workers said last week that hundreds of their members received notice that their jobs may be cut.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2025.