The size of the federal public service has reached an historic high this year, up 6.5% year-over-year and 40% higher than 2015, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office. There are now 274,219 people employed by Canada’s federal public service, the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Canada reported on its website. Statistics from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat from 2023 show departments and agencies not included in the PSC numbers, such as contractors and external employees, increased by 39%, for a grand total of 357,247 people, another record — despite a pledge from the Liberals in 2023 to use fewer outside consultants. Treasury Board President Anita Anand announced alleged efforts to cut spending by $15.4 billion over five years. The Trudeau government has added three times more non-advertised jobs than the previous administration under the Stephen Harper Conservative government. Further, more public workers either resigned, changed jobs within public service, or were investigated in 2022/23 than ever before during Trudeau’s time as prime minister. Trudeau’s government hired 71,200 external employees the last fiscal year, a 10% increase year-over-year. Notably, 59.3% were non-advertised positions — before Trudeau, it was 21.7%. The swelling of public service coincides with higher spending, adding a 30.9% increase since 2021/22, according to The Globe and Mail, which pointed out government-wide spending on professional and special services grew by 14.7% in the same time period. The Parliamentary Budget Office said the feds spent $17.5 billion during that time..Certain misconducts are being investigated, such as alleged misconduct involving an information technology contractor at Canada Border Services Agency, which is being investigated by the RCMP, per The Globe and Mail.Director of Domestic Policy at Macdonald-Laurier Institute Aaron Wudrick pointed out if Canadians are shelling out 40% more money, they should expect 40% faster service. “The obvious question from a citizen taxpayer point of view is, ‘We have 40 per cent more people in government, am I getting 40 per cent faster service?’ I don’t think most people feel that value for money,” he said. “It seems to me you either want to retain that expertise outside or inside government and yet they seem to be spending more in both areas.”“There are obviously choices this government has to make,” he continued. “They’ve started to make some signals they will have a bit of fiscal retrenchment. We haven’t seen that play out in terms of hard numbers. I think the budget will be a big signal as to whether they’ll actually change direction or continue on this path."
