13 federal departments, agencies spending more than $18 million on return-to-office

OTTAWA — Federal government departments and agencies are set to spend more than $18 million to get their employees to work in the office more often.

Thousands of federal public servants started a new work schedule in July requiring them to be on-site in the office four days a week. Executive public servants returned to the office full-time in May.

In response to an order paper question from NDP MP Heather McPherson, 13 federal organizations said they plan to spend a combined $18,720,150 to reconfigure or acquire office space to accommodate the increased frequency of in-person work.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said it will spend almost $5.7 million, while Fisheries and Oceans Canada said it will spend $4.2 million.

The Canada Border Services Agency estimated its costs at $3.9 million, while the Correctional Service of Canada said it plans to spend $1.37 million.

Some federal organizations said they have no costs associated with return-to-office, or that they were still being assessed. Several referred questions to Public Services and Procurement Canada, which said it was still evaluating the cost.

McPherson told The Canadian Press Wednesday the government clearly has not done the research to back up its claim that it’s cost-effective for workers to be back in the office.

She said it’s likely the total cost will be much larger once responses from other departments and agencies become available.

“They don’t have the information that they would need to make a good, informed decision that protects the rights of workers in this country,” she said. “And yet they’re moving ahead with decisions that are hurting people, that are hurting families, that hurting individual workers in the country.”

Treasury Board Secretary Bill Matthews told a House of Commons committee in May that the government’s decision on public servants’ return to the office was a “philosophical choice.”

“If you look outside the federal government — industry, municipalities, provinces — you will see the trend,” he said. “If you’re looking for a study that says this is a better way to do things, I don’t have one. I would describe this as a philosophical choice of the employer and a belief that teamwork is better.”

The responses to another order paper question asked by McPherson revealed that dozens of federal buildings have reported the presence of pests such as mice, rats, bats and bedbugs since 2020.

McPherson said the government is not respecting the rights of workers by sending them back into “unsafe or unproductive” working conditions.

A lack of office space is delaying public servants’ return in some departments.

Michèle LaRose, a spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Canada, said last week that about 10 per cent of public servants aren’t able to return to the office under the new rules.

“At present, existing office space capacity can accommodate approximately 90 per cent of public servants on-site four days a week (five days for executives), through a combination of assigned and unassigned workstations,” she said. “Based on current information, this proportion is expected to increase to approximately 95 per cent by March 31, 2027.”

LaRose said organizations are implementing the rules based on available space and, in some cases, departments have phased in implementation for certain groups of employees.

LaRose also said that 266 federal co-working sites are being assigned to federal organizations to meet their space requirements and support increased on-site presence.

She said sites are being assigned to the Canada Revenue Agency, National Defence, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Public Services and Procurement Canada.

“As a common service provider, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) will continue to work with organizations to optimize existing office space and provide additional accommodations where needed, as quickly as possible,” LaRose said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press