Preparing Canada’s Federal Workforce for the Next Era of Public Service

As the Canadian government prepares to resize its federal workforce, the pressure on public servants is intensifying. The government plans to reduce the public workforce by about 40,000 employees to 330,000 by 2029. Yet the volume of work and citizen needs will not decrease. Agencies must find ways to do more with less while ensuring employees have the tools to work effectively, not just harder.

In a Workday report on U.S. government technology usage, federal leaders said 61% of their processes could be at least partially automated. This uncovers a tangible opportunity to improve efficiency, reduce administrative burden, and enhance service delivery. Despite this, only 48% of respondents consider technology modernization a high priority in their departments.

“The government is under pressure to do more with less,” said Edward Charter, Workday, Canada Country Leader. “Workday’s ERP platform helps drive efficiency and streamline operations, especially now as departments face workforce reductions.”

Technology can play a critical role in addressing this prioritization gap and helping agencies operate more effectively under pressure.

One way Workday ERP addresses these challenges is by introducing intuitive self-service for government employees. Instead of routing basic finance requests through multiple administrative layers, employees can now manage their time entries, expense reports, and procurement requests directly from a single platform.

“Self-service is a huge part of modernization,” said Charter. “It allows users to do more on their own and helps public servants focus on strategic, higher-value work rather than repetitive administrative tasks.”

Legacy systems in U.S. federal agencies result in nearly $1 billion annually in lost productivity. This time spent on manual processes significantly impacts mission delivery, employee efficiency, and taxpayer value. Workday’s AI tools now automate tasks such as invoice processing, financial classification, reconciling journal entries, and analysing contracts.

“We’re not handing customers a blank AI toolkit,” noted Charter. “Our users get proven, ready-to-use AI features that integrate directly into their workflows and comply with all relevant regulations.”

Even with workforce reductions, the government will still need to attract top talent. Legacy systems make it difficult to recruit and retain skilled employees. “Modernizing with Workday helps governments attract and retain top talent,” said Rowan Miranda, Managing Director, at Workday.

Workday’s talent development tools further support workforce readiness, helping staff discover learning opportunities beyond their departments, acquire new skills, and discover internal gigs or job openings that match their capabilities.

“This allows public servants to grow, adapt, and continue delivering value even as the workforce evolves,” said Miranda

The result is a more agile, capable workforce able to meet changing federal priorities.

“Modernization isn’t just about automating processes,” said Charter. “It’s about giving employees the tools to work smarter and make better decisions, so they can focus on what truly matters: serving Canadians.”