{
  "id": 7606950,
  "title": "Federal public service has lost 23,000 staffers in two years: budget watchdog report",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/federal-public-service-has-lost-23-000-staffers-in-two-years-budget",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-15T18:40:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Winnipeg Free Press",
    "slug": "winnipeg-free-press",
    "url": "https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/2026/09/15/federal-public-service-has-lost-23000-staffers-in-two-years-budget-watchdog-report"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The federal public service has experienced a significant reduction in workforce size over the past two years, according to Canada's parliamentary spending watchdog, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The new online tool released by the agency estimates that there were 344,970 federal employees in the second quarter of this year, representing a 6.5% decrease from two years ago. The departments and agencies that gained the most staff during this period were National Defence, the Communications Security Establishment, Elections Canada, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, and the Canadian Space Agency. Conversely, the departments that lost the most employees included the Canada Revenue Agency, Employment and Social Development Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Health Canada. The parliamentary budget officer, Annette Ryan, created the tool to assist parliamentarians and Canadians in holding the government accountable to its Budget 2025 commitment to reduce the size of the federal public service by 10% by 2028-29.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CityNews",
        "title": "Federal public service has lost 23,000 staffers in two years: budget watchdog report",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/federal-public-service-has-lost-23-000-staffers-in-two-years-budget-7610904",
        "published": "2026-09-15T18:40:56.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}