Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada eliminating 3,300 federal jobs, unions say

A federal government building in downtown Ottawa is seen in this Sept. 11, 2024 image. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)

A federal union warns 3,300 positions are being eliminated at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU) issued a statement about the potential job cuts, calling it a “devastating blow to the public services families, businesses and communities in Canada rely on.”

The unions say there are no “clear details” about who will be affected by the job cuts, with more information to be announced in mid-February.

“These massive cuts will hurt families and businesses who rely on these critical public services and make a growing immigration crisis even worse,” Sharon DeSousa, PSAC National President, said in a statement.

“Sweeping public service cuts always hurt Canada’s most vulnerable populations and leave thousands of workers in limbo, unsure if they’ll be out of a job next month.”

According to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, there were 13,092 employees at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in 2024. That’s up from 10,248 in 2022 and 7,800 in 2019.

The union says employees at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada are “essential in processing citizenship, permanent and residency applications, passports, conducting interviews, and ensuring Canada can attract the talent needed to strengthen our economy.”

The 2024 federal budget outlined plans to reduce 5,000 public service jobs through attrition over four years.

The 2023 federal budget included a plan to find $15.4 billion in public sector spending reductions over five years, while the 2023 fall fiscal update in November 2023 included a pledge to “extend and expand” efforts to refocus government spending by $345.6 million in 2025-26, and $691 million a year from 2026-27 onward.

In October, former Treasury Board President Anita Anand sent a letter to federal departments, asking staff to “carefully review” spending to identify operations that would be streamlined or business processes that could be reengineered to provide “better value for money.”

The Treasury Board Secretariat said savings would “only be drawn from operating budgets and through natural attrition, to the greatest extent possible.”

In November, the Canada Revenue Agency announced it was eliminating approximately 600 temporary and contract employees across the country by mid-December. The CRA told CTV News Ottawa it decided to “release” term employees early, in accordance with the terms of the employment contract.

“The newly announced cuts at IRCC are the most significant so far, but more are expected as federal departments are being asked to find savings across the board,” the unions said.

PSAC and the Canada Employment and Immigration Union are urging the government to “collaborate on real solutions,” including replacing outsourcing contracts.

“Last month, immigration processing wait times continued to reach record-breaking backlog levels, and these cuts will only worsen an already dire situation,” Rubina Boucher, national president of the CEIU, said. “Families longing to reunite, businesses grappling with critical labour shortages and a healthcare system desperate for skilled workers will all suffer the consequences of this reckless decision.”

The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) also commented Monday, calling on the government to put any anticipated job cuts on hold until Parliament reconvenes.

“The timing of this decision raises serious questions given the immigration case backlog and broader geopolitical context, particularly the potential for drastic changes to U.S. immigration policy under the Trump administration,” CAPE president Nathan Prier wrote in a letter to Immigration Minister Marc Miller.

“Given the current political and social climate, it would be prudent to put these anticipated workforce reductions on hold, or at the very least to slow them down, until Parliament resumes, and a clearer national direction can be set as we now face a looming crisis in our relationship with the United States.”

There were 367,772 employees in the federal public service in 2024, according to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.