According to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), around 10 percent of unionized federal public servants are still unable to return to the office four days a week due to insufficient space.
As of July 6, federal workers have been generally required to report to the office for at least four days a week.
This directive, known informally as RTO4 and announced in February, has raised the in-office attendance requirement (along with the associated traffic and economic activity) from the previous three days a week that had been in effect since September 2024.
Since May, executives have been mandated to be in the office five days a week.
PSPC, which oversees the offices of nearly a hundred government departments, aims to reduce the percentage of employees unable to meet this requirement from 10 percent to five percent by the end of March 2027.
“PSPC will continue to collaborate with organizations to optimize current office spaces and supply additional locations as needed, as quickly as possible,” stated PSPC spokesperson Michèle LaRose in French.
Mohammad Kamal, the director of communications for the Treasury Board president, informed Radio-Canada, “Given the scale and complexity of the federal real estate portfolio, space requirements will continue to change.”
As of late March, the federal public service employed over 345,000 individuals, which translates to roughly 34,000 employees who are unable to meet the government’s return-to-office expectations.
Departmental Examples
For now, public servants from Statistics Canada, Global Affairs Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and the Immigration and Refugee Board are still reporting to the office three days a week.
Statistics Canada anticipates having sufficient office space to accommodate its employees in the National Capital Region for four days a week beginning in mid-November. However, no timeline has been established for staff based in Montreal, Sherbrooke, Que., Toronto, and Vancouver.
Statistics Canada employees will continue to go to the office three days a week for the time being. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Global Affairs Canada, which had already delayed the return to four days a week, reported that approximately 55 percent of its employees in the National Capital Region will maintain a three-day in-office schedule.
The agency is uncertain about when these employees will be able to switch to a four-day office presence but noted that regional offices have adequate space to fulfill the requirement.
IRCC aims to accommodate all of its National Capital Region staff four days a week starting in mid-October; however, the majority of employees located in other cities will still need to work in the office three days a week.
By January 2027, PSPC is striving for 90 percent of its employees to be physically present for four days a week.
Both Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) have confirmed that they are adhering to the office presence requirements.
Update on Assigned Seating
In May, the federal government announced plans to reintroduce assigned seating for the majority of its public servants.
However, PSPC mentioned that the arrangement for four days a week in-office attendance is currently being facilitated “through assigned or unassigned workstations.”
Out of the 11 ministries and agencies surveyed by Radio-Canada, only Statistics Canada and GAC confirmed that most of their employees would have assigned seating.
“For a public servant searching for an office at the beginning of the day, it’s a waste of time, and that’s time they could be using to serve Canadians,” remarked Sean O’Reilly, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.
“Whether spaces are assigned or not, this does not justify the enforced return to the office,” stated Sharon DeSousa, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
In a written statement, DeSousa expressed that the policy enforcing a return to the office four days a week is inconsistent and does not enhance services for Canadians.