Health Canada

Health Canada announces up to 2,500 job cuts (approximately 15% of its workforce) as part of a federal budget-driven cost-reduction and digital transformation strategy. The layoffs will be phased beginning Fall 2026 and will impact pharmaceutical regulatory teams, epidemiology and surveillance units, and Indigenous health initiatives.

Health Canada is eliminating 1,092 positions (1,056 employees and 36 executives) as part of the federal government's Comprehensive Expenditure Review (Budget 2025). This total includes vacant positions, projected attrition, and positions to be eliminated through formal workforce adjustment. Of these, 1,092 currently filled positions (1,056 employees and 36 executives) are undergoing formal Workforce Adjustment (WFA) or Career Transition (CT) proceedings — the most direct indicator of employees facing displacement. 2,088 "affected" or "at-risk" status letters have been issued (2,052 to employees, 36 to executives). These notices indicate potential impact and do not necessarily result in departure from the public service. The organization employs 9,628 people in the core public administration as of March 2025. Notifications were issued in Phase 2 of the Government of Canada's workforce reduction process.