Food inspection agency to cut more than 1,300 jobs, says union

OTTAWA — The union representing employees at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said staff have been told 1,371 agency jobs will be cut as part of the government’s cost-cutting exercise.

The Agriculture Union said it “categorically denounces” the cuts, arguing they point toward a “looming food safety crisis” in Canada.

The union said the cuts are a “massive blow that cannot be absorbed by an already struggling agency.”

The number of jobs at CFIA has decreased already over the last few years and a cut of another 1,371 positions would amount to more than one-fifth of the workforce.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat data shows the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had 6,380 employees as of March 31, 2025, down from 6,833 employees in 2024 and 6,929 in 2023.

The CFIA has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Milton Dyck, national president of the Agriculture Union, said cuts to food safety cause more people to get sick from preventable food-borne illnesses and more poultry and livestock to die from avian flu and other diseases, undermining the food production industry.

“Fewer CFIA inspectors means fewer frontline workers to catch food that should be recalled,” said Dyck in a news release.

“And food recalls increased by 150 (per cent) over the last decade. You can do math, and it doesn’t look good. Food safety experts have been warning us that CFIA can’t take any more hits, but the government isn’t listening. They are putting short-term savings over the health of our country.”

More than 10,000 federal public servants have received notices this month warning that their jobs may be cut, say the unions representing them.

They include workers in several departments and agencies, like Global Affairs Canada, Transport Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and Health Canada.

Workforce adjustment notices tell employees their jobs may be affected by cuts, though it’s not clear how many of those who received the notices ultimately will be laid off.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada said the government’s pursuit of public service cuts is “reckless” and is calling on Ottawa to issue a staffing plan.

“Setting a blanket goal of budget reductions for departments without an overview of the entire public service is anything but fiscally responsible,” said the union’s president Sharon DeSousa. “PSAC has been calling for a long-term government-wide staffing plan for years.”

DeSousa said the job cuts are going to put Canadians’ safety at risk, noting that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is losing over 20 percent of its workforce.

“On top of years of under-staffing, that means fewer food safety inspectors and slower responses to food-borne illnesses outbreaks,” she said.

DeSousa also pointed to cuts at other departments, including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

The Agriculture Union said earlier this week that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is shutting down seven research farms and centres, including the Nappan Research Farm in Nova Scotia and the Indian Head Research Farm in Saskatchewan, two of the five original research farms established by the Canadian government in 1887.

“This is over a century of public knowledge and expertise being erased,” said DeSousa.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada gathered its members for a rally in downtown Ottawa on Wednesday to denounce public service cuts.

Anne Lavergne, who was at the rally, said she received a letter last week indicating her position at Health Canada is being cut. She said she has about a year to either find another job at her level or go on unemployment insurance.

Lavergne, who has been a public servant for 26 years, said she worked on the cyber security team at Health Canada doing administrative duties.

“They are gutting the wrong people, in my opinion,” she said. “They should be cutting on the real estate budgets, they should be cutting at higher up positions more than they have.”

Ottawa is looking to cut program spending and administration costs by about $60 billion over the next five years through its “comprehensive expenditure review.”

The government plans to cut the number of public service jobs by about 40,000 from a peak of 368,000 in 2023-24.

The plan will see a reduction of 1,000 executive positions over the next two years, and a 20 per cent cut to spending on management and consulting services over three years.

The federal government has sent letters with information on its planned early retirement program to almost 68,000 public servants who may be eligible. The federal budget said the government intends to implement the one-year early retirement program as soon as this month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press