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A Leger poll for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation reveals Canadians desire federal bureaucracy cuts, believing service growth hasn't matched bureaucratic expansion.

“The poll shows Canadians know they’re paying for too many federal paper pushers and want the government to shrink its bureaucracy,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “The poll also shows Canadians don’t think they’re getting value from Ottawa’s ballooning bureaucracy.

“It’s clear that adding more bureaucrats does not mean better services.”

Between 2016 and 2023, the federal government added 98,986 employees, bringing the total number of federal bureaucrats to 357,965, according to data from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Since 2016, the federal bureaucracy's cost to taxpayers surged 77%, from $40.2 billion to $71.2 billion last year, as per the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Despite this, federal departments consistently achieve less than 50% of annual performance targets.

The Leger poll reveals 66% of decided Canadians favour reducing the federal bureaucracy's size and cost. Since 2016, 50% believe federal services have worsened, 23% say they are the same, and 11% say they are better.

“The government ballooned the cost of its bureaucracy and added tens of thousands of extra bureaucrats, but Canadians aren’t getting better services,” Terrazzano said. 

More than half (54%) of Canadians want to reduce the size and cost of the federal bureaucracy, 24% want to maintain it, and only 4% want to increase it, with 17% unsure.

“Prime Minister Mark Carney should listen to Canadians and cut the size and cost of government bureaucracy.”

The federal government plans to follow suit, reducing the public service by upwards of 57,000 jobs over the next four years, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

During the election, Prime Minister Carney promised to cap public sector jobs and enhance productivity. Subsequently, his finance minister instructed cabinet to identify departmental cuts totalling $25 billion (15%) by 2028/29, a figure nearly double the Liberal Party's initial campaign pledge.

Recent job cuts at the Canada Revenue Agency, Employment and Social Development, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada foreshadow tens of thousands of impending job cuts across these three federal bodies alone.

“The last thing Canadians need is a bloated government full of highly paid paper pushers,” Terrazzano wrote in a May 30 media release. The average annual compensation for full-time federal bureaucrats, including pay, pension, and other benefits, is $125,300.

David MacDonald, a senior economist with the Centre, told CTV News that job cuts in the National Capital Region will be an estimated 24,000 by 2028, excluding the Department of National Defence, the Canada Border Services Agency, and the RCMP.

Others exempt from the proposed cuts include “agents of Parliament,” the Courts Administration Service and the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Macdonald's report indicates that ministers have discretion in implementing the cuts, which will initially impact all term and casual employment, predominantly affecting younger workers. 

These measures are reportedly a result of substantial increases in military spending and middle-class tax cuts.

Last year, 10,000 public sector jobs were cut, with a potential 7,000 more this year. PBO Yves Giroux expects a definitive answer in the Liberal government's fall budget.