Public Service of Canada
The Public Service of Canada is the civilian workforce of the Government of Canada's departments, agencies, and other public bodies.
While the Government of Canada has employed civil servants to support its functions since Confederation in 1867, positions were initially filled through patronage until 1908, when the Laurier government enacted the Public Service Amendment Act, which established the merit-based appointment system which governs hiring within the federal public service today. As of 2020, the Public Service employs 319,601 people, and is Canada's largest single employer.
There are 137 distinct organizations within the Public Service, including 23 ministerial departments, 3 service agencies, 17 departmental corporations, 50 departmental agencies, 12 special operating agencies, and 6 agents of Parliament. While Crown corporations are owned by the federal government, employees are generally not considered to be public servants and are instead employed by the corporation itself. Over 40 per cent of the Public Service of Canada is located in the National Capital Region, many public servants are situated at approximately 1,600 locations throughout Canada.
Public service organizations are divided into the Core Public Administration, defined as organizations listed under schedules I and IV in the Financial Administration Act '', primarily consisting of ministerial departments and departmental agencies such as Global Affairs Canada and the Correctional Service of Canada, and Separate Agencies, which are listed under schedule V of the FAA'', which includes organizations such as the Canada Revenue Agency and Parks Canada.
The clerk of the Privy Council is the head of the Public Service, and is the most senior public servant within the Canadian federal government. Michael Sabia has served as the clerk since July 7, 2025.
History
Pre-Confederation (1841-1867)
Prior to introduction of responsible government in 1848, the Province of Canada, then a British colonial possession lacked an organized civil service. Positions in the colonial administration were then largely filled through patronage, with appointments almost exclusively controlled by the sitting governor, often under the advisement of members of the ruling Family Compact, who would recommend the selection of candidates who were supportive of the ruling elite. As such, government officials would be appointed for life, often leading to instances where members of the same family would occupy a position for several generations.While the introduction of responsible government, which conferred more authority toward the popularly-elected Assembly to oversee appointments to the civil services, successive governments continued the practice of drawing appointees to non-political positions. Unlike the American spoils system, political appointees did not typically resign when a new government was sworn in, which created friction between Cabinet and civil servants as governments changed.
To address the persistence of patronage appointments, Parliament enacted legislation in 1857 to establish a Board of Examiners for the Civil Service. The role of the board would be to examine "candidates for employment in the Civil Service" and "to grant certificates of qualification to those found to possess the moral character and fitness required for service".
Post-Confederation civil service reforms (1867-1908)
Following Canadian Confederation, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald's government sought to improve the quality and rigor of appointments with the passage of the Canada Civil Service Act in 1868. The legislation established a Civil Service Board with limited jurisdictions over civil service examinations, certification, and promotional investigations for civil servants located in Ottawa. Despite its intentions, the legislation failed to completely abolish political patronage in appointments.In 1869, the Royal Commission to Enquire into the Present State and Probable Requirements of the Civil Service was established, publishing three reports which called on the government to organize the civil service into departments, introduce a single job classification system, and require candidates to pass an entrance examination. An additional commission, convened in 1880, resulted in the Civil Service Act, which formalized an examination process overseen by a three-member Board of Civil Service Examiners. This newly-created board tested candidates on their academic knowledge, with successful candidates proceeding to a selection examination.
Eliminating patronage in the civil service (1908-1918)
In 1908, the intensity of scandals and inefficiencies associated with the civil service prompted Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier's government to enact the Civil Service Amendment Act, which embodied a significant step toward an independent, politically neutral, and professional civil service. The CSAA created the Civil Service Commission, a body consisting of two commissioners appointed for an indefinite period, and tasked with enforcing a merit-based appointment process for civil service positions in and around Ottawa.The onset of World War I brought about a significant growth in the population of the civil service to support Canada's war effort. At the same time, this period brought about a resurgence of patronage appointments. Prime Minister Robert Borden's government made eliminating patronage and reforming the civil service as key priorities for his government, culminating in the Civil Service Act, 1918, which in addition to granting the CSC with greater authority to set the organization of departments, position classifications, and recommend pay scales to Cabinet, the legislation set clear restrictions on outside political activity by public servants, including prohibitions on participating on campaigning or handling party funds. Importantly, the legislation applied to both the Inside Service and Outside Service, whereas previous reforms only extended to positions in Ottawa. A further amendment to the legislation enacted in 1919 curtailed Cabinet's ability to directly appoint employees to the civil service.
Cementing a professional civil service (1919-1951)
As the CSC solidified its role as a body responsible for curtailing patronage, and protecting the integrity of the merit-based appointment process, it sought to improve the rigour of its entrance examinations. However, the CSC also began to impose restrictions on employing married women beginning in 1921, with any women holding permanent positions being forced to resign upon marrying. These restrictions would remain in place until 1955.Nevertheless, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's government passed the Civil Service Superannuation Act in 1924, helping to establish a pension system for civil servants and to promote a career civil service.
The Great Depression brought about a significant economic downturn in Canada, culminating in high unemployment and business failures across the country. As a result, government revenue dropped significantly, prompting the federal government, through the Treasury Board to move forward with cutbacks to the operating costs of the civil service. While this did not result in layoffs within the civil service, as the government wanted to avoid deepening the unemployment issue, the Treasury Board temporarily imposed salary cuts and a suspension of promotions and salary raises.
During this period, Prime Minister R. B. Bennett's government, through Orders-in-Council, permanently transferred staffing authority from the CSC to the Treasury Board for civil service positions. Given the Treasury Board's ability to enforce fiscal discipline, and its composition by members of Cabinet, it could more easily resist efforts to increase the size of the civil service, particularly during periods of economic hardship.
With the outbreak of World War II, Canada, as a Commonwealth nation and former British possession, was immediately thrust into the war effort. For the civil service, the War saw provisions of the Civil Service Act replaced by the War Measures Act, which facilitated the appointment of upwards of 54,000 employees, largely on a temporary basis.
Following the end of World War II, personnel numbers within the civil service ballooned with the return of veterans from the homefront, many of whom were able to secure positions through preferential status granted to former service members. By 1949, about 55,000 veterans were appointed through this method.
The civil service also began to introduce developmental classifications, notably the junior administrative assistant position beginning in 1946 to encourage the recruitment and training of university graduates into fully-fledged administrative professionals. Similarly, in 1947, the CSC established a Staff Training Division, responsible for organizing courses to train civil servants on different skills.
''Financial Administration Act'' and push for collective bargaining (1951-1964)
In 1951, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent's government enacted the Financial Administration Act, established the Treasury Board as a formal entity, consisting of the president of the Treasury Board and four other Cabinet members, and the creation of the position of Secretary of the Treasury Board, a senior civil servant who advises the members of the Treasury Board on their decisions. The FAA designated the Treasury Board as the final authority over all matters relating to the management and organization of the public service.The CSC had imposed restrictions on employing married women beginning in 1921, with any women holding permanent positions being forced to resign upon marrying; these restrictions were lifted in 1955.
This period also saw a substantial push among civil servants and emerging staff associations, such as the Civil Service Association of Ottawa, to secure a right to collective bargaining for civil servants. The government was initially resistant to these efforts, asserting that the merit-based appointment system of the civil service eliminated the need for collective bargaining, and that the CSC was already well positioned to look out for the welfare of federal employees.
Coinciding with this movement, the CSC established the Pay Research Bureau, which was tasked with researching pay and conditions of employment across Canada, and recommending appropriate pay rates for civil servants. The St. Laurent government initially established a committee of senior officials to determine the viability of introducing collective bargaining rights, which was resistant to the idea.
The government eventually tasked Arnold Heeney, a former clerk of the Privy Council, and then-president of the CSC, to review the aging Civil Service Act, with the ensuing report recommending granting CSC exclusive authority over recruitment, appointments, and promotions within the civil service. It further recommended that the CSC serve as the intermediary between the government and employees with respect to addressing issues. These proposals did not satisfy the staff associations, who felt that the CSC and the government should not have the final word over pay rates.
In 1963, Prime Minister Lester Pearson's government appointed a Preparatory Committee for Collective Bargaining, to facilitate negotiations between labour unions and the Treasury Board over employment contracts. The Committee recommended streamlining the hundreds of position classifications into five categories to facilitate more effective negotiations between government and unions. This would eventually lead to the creation of what would become the Public Service Staff Relations Board, a dedicated body to handle labour negotiations.