A recent Leger poll released by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) indicates that a significant number of Canadians support reducing the size of the federal government workforce.“The poll shows taxpayers know they’re paying for too many federal paper pushers and want Ottawa to shrink the bureaucracy,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Canadians can’t afford to keep bankrolling a bloated federal bureaucracy.”Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office in 2015, the number of federal government employees has increased by 108,793, marking a 42% rise.The Leger poll asked Canadians their views on the current size of the federal bureaucracy, revealing:47% want to reduce the number of federal employees29% want to maintain the current numberSeven percent want to increase the number of federal employees17% are undecidedAmong those who have a clear stance on the issue, 56% of Canadians favor reducing the federal workforce.Breaking down the results by political party affiliations:71% of Conservative voters want to reduce the number of federal employees51% of Bloc Québécois voters want a reduction42% of Green Party voters support a reduction36% of Liberal voters favor reducing the workforce26% of NDP voters want to cut the number of federal employees“Taxpayers paid for tens of thousands of extra bureaucrats, more than one million pay raises, and hundreds of millions in bonuses in recent years, yet the government still can’t deliver good services,” Terrazzano said. “Canadians can’t afford to pay higher taxes and the government is up to its eyeballs in debt, so it’s time for Ottawa to take air out of its ballooning bureaucracy.”The findings highlight growing public sentiment against the expansion of federal government employment and call for measures to streamline operations and reduce costs.
