Union head says new federal government needs to regain public servants’ trust

OTTAWA — The head of one of Canada’s largest federal unions says the federal government needs to focus on repairing the relationship between public servants and management.

Nathan Prier, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, said this is a “delicate moment” and that new Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali has his work cut out for him.

Prier said the Trudeau government made several questionable decisions that eroded trust among workers. They included a messy return-to-office rollout that was conducted without consulting employees, he said.

“Trust is pretty broken because of a long pattern of bad-faith consultation and disrespect for evidence-based decision making,” he said.

The previous government’s decision to require that public servants spend more time in the office sparked outrage among some public service unions. Several unions held rallies and filed grievances in response.

Prier said he’d like to see the government grant remote work rights to any employee who asks to work from home.

He said there’s a lingering sense of unease and instability among workers after the former government’s staffing reductions in several departments and agencies, including the Canada Revenue Agency and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

“We hope that (Treasury Board) President Ali can break with his predecessors and focus on strengthening the public service so they can really mount a strong response to the global chaos that we’re currently in,” said Prier, adding the government should focus on reducing spending on outside contractors and reversing employee cuts made before the election.

Prier also said he hopes Ali will push back against “arbitrary austerity measures” and said Prime Minister Mark Carney needs to be more specific about his plans and examine his program needs before making cuts.

Carney has vowed to cap, not cut, the federal public service. He has also promised to launch a “comprehensive” review of government spending with the aim of increasing its productivity.

Evert Lindquist, a professor at the University of Victoria’s school of administration and former editor of Canadian Public Administration, said the public service has been “a bit of a punching bag” over the last few years.

Lindquist said the public service has been criticized for both its size and the quality and delivery of its services. In the last 10 years, the size of the federal public service has grown from 257,034 employees to 357,965.

“It hasn’t been a time to be proud of being a public servant,” Lindquist said, adding he hopes the new government offers a “new sense of urgency and priorities.”

Lindquist said public service restructuring is “long overdue” and while some programs may be eliminated, other areas of the public service will have to concentrate on new priorities.

“I’m confident that two or three years from now, we’re going to say that we have a very different kind of institution,” Lindquist said.

“My optimism is that we’re finally at a moment where the government needs to look these problems squarely in the eye, decide what’s important and begin to move forward.”

Prier said several federal unions, including CAPE, will be back in bargaining soon and that the new Treasury Board president will face a “pretty imminent test of his leadership.”

“Federal workers are furious at the inefficiencies and the political games of the last government and they’re ready to fight for what’s right if need be,” he said. “Minister Ali can avoid a fight by starting an evidence-based dialogue right off the bat and engaging us in good faith.”

Sharon DeSousa, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said the union is going back into contract negotiations with the government in June on behalf of more than 120,000 federal public service workers and will be pushing on issues like remote work.

MP Joël Lightbound will also play a major role in reshaping the public service as minister of government transformation, public works and procurement.

The Canadian Press reached out to Ali and Lightbound for comment but neither were available.

Former clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick said that, since they’re both new ministers, Ali and Lightbound are likely to be “highly dependent” on Treasury Board staff in the early days.

Wernick said the ministers should get outside of Ottawa and visit “as many corners of the public service” as they can, from Coast Guard ships to national parks. He said they should also be speaking with unions and hosting town halls with employees.

Wernick said the relationship between unions and management will never be “absolutely smooth and harmonious” and “there’s always going to be a degree of tension.”

“But it doesn’t have to be dysfunctional or mean or disrespectful,” he said.

Lightbound has been named vice-chair of the new cabinet committee on government transformation and efficiency tasked with improving service delivery and reducing government expenditures.

Prier said his union has warned repeatedly against a “DOGE experiment” in Canada — a reference to the highly controversial “Department of Government Efficiency” set up by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to slash the size of the federal government.

“We’re very supportive of efficiency,” Prier said, noting that CAPE is working with other organizations to build a coalition to lobby against the establishment of a DOGE agency in Canada.

“If we’re serious about getting through the crisis and facing down Trump, we’re going to need a strong response to it. And losing your top talent right at the start of that crisis is the exact wrong approach,” Prier said.

DeSousa said the union expects to be consulted about government transformation.

“Major changes to the way the government operates will inevitably impact public services and the workers who deliver them,” she said, adding that the union wants clarity about Lightbound’s mandate and plans to cap the size of government.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2025.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press