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TL;DR

Over the past two years, Canada’s federal public service lost more than 23,000 workers, including people in immigration, tax, health, and employment departments.

By the second quarter of 2026, the workforce was about 344,970 employees, which is 6.5 percent less than in 2024, according to the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. IRCC was one of the departments with the biggest staff losses.

These job cuts are part of a larger plan to reduce the public service by about 40,000 positions, or 10%, from 2023–24 levels. The 2025 budget set a goal of around 330,000 positions by the end of 2028–29.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s data separates headcount, which means the number of employees, from full-time equivalents (FTEs), which measure total hours worked.

Monthly FTEs dropped from about 367,000 in June 2024 to 342,000 in June 2026. In the past year, about 90% of job cuts were permanent positions. Earlier cuts focused more on term, casual, and student jobs.

In the last two years, the public service lost 9,809 term employees, about 7,880 permanent employees, 3,203 students, and 2,889 casual workers.

The biggest staff cuts happened at the Canada Revenue Agency, Employment and Social Development Canada, IRCC, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Health Canada. National Defence helped balance this by adding about 3,000 civilian FTEs between June 2025 and June 2026.

IRCC’s plan for 2026–27 expects about $155 million in spending cuts this year. By 2028–29, yearly cuts should reach about $285 million, with 318 fewer FTEs.

The department plans to have 11,476 FTEs in 2026–27. It handles temporary resident applications, permanent immigration, citizenship, passports, and settlement services.

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada criticized IRCC’s earlier announcement that 3,300 jobs would be cut. “Workforce adjustments must not come at the expense of the integrity of Canada’s immigration system or the well-being of the employees who serve it,” the union said in January 2025.

That announcement did not give a final list of which jobs would be cut. Federal workforce adjustment numbers also count jobs lost through attrition or left unfilled, so not all notices to employees mean someone has left.

Ottawa also offered an early-retirement program to reduce staff. The program got 10,006 online applications, including 238 from IRCC employees. Approved retirements must happen by January 20, 2027.

Fewer staff does not always mean your immigration application will be delayed. Even before the latest staff cuts, IRCC’s results were mixed: in 2024–25, it met its 60-day goal for 72% of overseas work permits and its 14-day goal for 29% of overseas visitor visas.

If you are planning to work, study, travel, or reunite with family, remember that service standards are benchmarks, not promises. Make sure your application is complete, check your IRCC account for updates, and give yourself extra time before any fixed travel or job dates. Future IRCC data will show if service times change as more staff cuts happen.