Public Service Unions Question Carney Government’s Plans for ‘AI’ and Hiring Caps on Federal Workforce

Canada’s public service unions are raising alarms over Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plans to cap the size of the public service and “make government more efficient” through artificial intelligence.

Earlier this month, during his first press conference after the election, Carney promised the “biggest transformation of the economy in a generation,” pledging to balance the federal government’s operating budget by capping the public service and improving public sector productivity.

The Liberal platform spelled out these commitments, claiming, “Artificial Intelligence is the key to unlocking productivity, higher paying jobs, and new prosperity that will benefit everyone.”

“We will be relentless in looking for ways to make government more efficient. The potential of AI to improve services and delivery must be included in that work.”

Carney also appointed former political panel host turned politician Evan Solomon as the country’s first minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation. While Carney’s cabinet includes a minister of AI, it does not include a minister of labour.

Sharon DeSousa, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), said while AI can be a useful tool, she is “very concerned” about how AI could impact the public’s ability to access public services, especially senior citizens.

“When someone is experiencing a crisis in their life, they look to the government for answers, and they want to talk to somebody,” DeSousa told PressProgress. “They don’t want to be stuck in an endless loop of automated prompt responses.”

The Canadian Association of Public Employees (CAPE) also expressed concern about the inclusion of AI in public service work in their statement congratulating Carney, demanding the government guarantee a robust federal workforce by “ensuring that any increase in the use of artificial intelligence to be done responsibly to support federal workers — not replace them with unproven technologies.”

Peter Graefe, associate professor of political science at McMaster University, said introducing AI into the public service raises a number of ethical concerns about how sensitive information would be protected.

“If they were to use AI, in many cases, they would have to use a fenced-in version where the material they’re feeding into it isn’t being used to train AI, because otherwise there’s a risk of loss of confidential information,” explained Graefe.

PSAC and CAPE are two of the largest federal public service unions in Canada. Both will begin bargaining with the federal government this year.

In 2023, 150,000 federal workers at the Treasury Board and Canada Revenue Agency represented by PSAC went on strike after nearly two years of bargaining.

While neither PSAC nor CAPE have released their list of collective bargaining demands yet, DeSousa said policies governing the use of AI, job protections and remote work will be bargaining priorities for PSAC.

“We need to stop with the shortcuts and start thinking long-term about where our vision is and how we plan to implement these public services,” said DeSousa. “That means the new prime minister and his team need to actually consult with the unions and the frontline workers who deliver the services.”

Another of Carney’s related commitments that DeSousa said PSAC is deeply concerned about is the promise to cap the size of the public service. She said limiting the number of public service workers at a time of economic uncertainty is not the right approach.

“With the threat of the tariffs, you’re going to see the private sector, and those specifically who rely on a variety of goods that are being taxed such as aluminum and steel, you’re going to see those sectors take a hit,” DeSousa told PressProgress.

Given the economic uncertainty created by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, DeSousa said there will be more people relying on public services like Employment Insurance in order to make ends meet.

“It’s not just one particular program, it’s a multitude of programs that work together to build the safety net of Canada,” said DeSousa.

In a post-election statement, CAPE called on Carney to reverse “all federal public service cuts and invest in the programs and services that will get ordinary Canadians through” Trump’s tariff war.

Last year, a number of cuts to the public service were announced by the Liberals under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, including a reduction of 5,000 public service workers through natural attrition over four years and cutting over 3,000 jobs from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

According to DeSousa, the Carney government hasn’t told the union when the proposed cap on the public service will take effect. She said she’s seen Carney commit to hiring 1,000 new border security officers, a group of workers represented by PSAC, contradicting his promise to cap the public service.

“Will it mean one department or agency will be capped and another will be scheduled for growth?” asked DeSousa. “We have no information.”

The Liberals weren’t the only party promising to cut the size of the public service and make it more “efficient.” Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives pledged to “streamline” the public service through natural attrition and retirement, promising to replace 2 out of every 3 workers who retire.

“Your tax dollars are precious, but under this bloated Liberal government, inflationary spending keeps going up while services keep getting worse,” the Conservative platform stated. “Let’s cut the fat, not the frontline services Canadians rely on.”

While Poilievre’s Conservatives frequently point to how the federal public service has grown from 257,034 in 2015 to 367,772 workers in 2024, according to the Treasury Board, Graefe notes it is important to keep in mind Stephen Harper’s Conservative government previously eliminated over 25,000 public service jobs.

“I think part of the increase is quite natural, that the government under Harper had shrunk, and at the time people were saying it was shrinking too much and it was a government that was losing capacity,” said Graefe.

Graefe said there are a few other factors explaining why the public service has grown over the past decade. Canada’s population has grown significantly since 2015, necessitating increased staffing to make sure programs can meet demand.

DeSousa said the rollout of pandemic support programs like the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) required more public servants in order to ensure the program was getting money in the pockets of people who needed it most.

DeSousa said the shifts in public service staffing that come with a change in government are very familiar to her as a public servant with decades of experience.

“It’s a cycle that’s been around as long as I’ve been a federal public sector worker, where we see governments come in and they start cutting only to realize that they don’t have enough bodies, and then they start rehiring again.”