More than 600 people at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) will soon be out of work.
A Jan. 20 email from Deputy Minister Lawrence Hanson shared on the Reddit page CanadaPublicServants by user KirkVanHootin indicates employees were receiving notices as of Jan. 22.
AAFC has a total of 5,198 employees, a 2025 minister’s transition book says.
A reduction of 665 people represents about 13 per cent of the ministry’s total workforce.
The cuts in AAFC staffing is part of the prime minister’s goal to reduce overall public service spending.
Prime Minister Carney promised in the 2025 federal budget to reduce spending by 15 per cent over three years and asked ministers to identify savings within their portfolios.
As part of the staffing reduction, multiple research facilities are closing.
Research centres across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, plus others in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, are shuttering operations.