September 25, 2025
RED FM News Desk
The number of students employed in Canada’s federal public service has dropped sharply, falling nearly 20 per cent between March 2024 and March 2025.
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat data shows 9,120 students worked in the public service at the end of March 2024. One year later, that number had fallen to 7,370 — the lowest level since 2017, when 6,281 students were employed.
The steepest decline came at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), where student positions dropped from 1,356 in March 2024 to just 268 a year later. CRA spokesperson Etienne Biram said in an email to The Canadian Press that the agency is adjusting to “financial realities.”
The data excludes employees on leave without pay, ministers’ exempt staff, employees hired abroad, as well as some RCMP, Canadian Forces and agency staff.
Nathan Prier, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, said the cuts to student positions — along with reductions to casual and term employees over recent years — reflect “quiet cuts” across the public service.
He argued the reductions are “driven by ideological austerity that blames public servants for a deficit they didn’t cause.”
Loading ...
