Treasury board president “looking into” potential changes to return to office rules

OTTAWA — Treasury Board president Shafqat Ali on Monday denied having any knowledge about discussions to potentially order public servants to return to the office full time in 2027.

Ali was responding to questions from reporters after the Canadian Association of Professional Employees president Nathan Prier wrote to Ali to ask about rumours of the impending change.

“I’m hearing from news outlets, so I’m not aware of that,” Ali said, before question period on Parliament Hill.

He said he was looking into the matter but “nothing has changed.”

La Presse reported that the federal government is considering implementing a policy to have public servants work in office five days a week by January 2027, with executives possibly returning full time even sooner.

Canadian Association of Professional Employees president Nathan Prier told Ali in the letter that the union wants clarification on the rumours about an imminent new return-to-office directive.

“Coming so soon after staffing cuts announced in Budget 2025, these rumours are causing significant anxiety among our members, who are already facing uncertainty from workforce adjustments and unresolved issues from previous RTO directives,” Prier said.

Remote work rules have been an ongoing issue in the public service since COVID-19 forced most federal workers to work remotely in 2020. After public health restrictions began to ease, the federal government moved in 2023 to have workers return two to three days a week.

The current rule, in place since September 2024, require that public servants work a minimum of three days a week in-office, with executives in office four days each week.

Rola Salem, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, said in an email that the policy on required days in office has not changed.

“We have no further information to share,” Salem said.

She did not answer a question about whether discussions are taking place.

Prier said in the letter the union would be concerned and disappointed if the government is preparing another major policy shift without seeking union and worker input.

Prier calls the last return-to-office rollout a “complete fiasco” and he expects bargaining agents to be informed before any decision is confirmed or announced.

Public Service Alliance of Canada national president Sharon DeSousa said the leaked Treasury Board document outlining plans to move to a five-day in-office mandate for all federal public service workers “should never make it out of the presentation it was drafted in.”

“This plan lacks imagination and is completely out of touch with what’s best for workers and taxpayers,” DeSousa said in an email. “It seems Prime Minister Carney would rather spend more on office space while cutting jobs and gutting public services people depend on.”

DeSousa said the current model has been a “disaster” since the start as offices don’t have enough desks and shared workspaces are “booked solid.”

“It’s not too late for the government to walk this plan back,” DeSousa said. “We’ve been in touch with Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali’s office to meet immediately on this.”

Former Treasury Board president Mona Fortier said in 2022 that hybrid work was “here to stay.”

Martin Potvin, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, said in January the government’s approach to hybrid work is driven by its commitment to “most effectively serve Canadians” and was in line with its commitment to reduce its office footprint.

In August, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced thousands of Ontario civil servants will return to the office full time by January.

Ford applauded the City of Ottawa’s decision to require its employees to work five days a week in the office starting in the new year. He said the federal government needs to “follow suit” and urged all other regions across Ontario” to do the same.

“It’s time to bring people back to work, that they can be mentored, they can collaborate. It’s a lot easier looking at someone in the eye than sitting over a telephone or a computer screen,” Ford said.

Asked after Monday’s cabinet shuffle to comment on potential changes to return to office rules, Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Sabia said “no, not today.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2025.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press