What is the Public Service of Canada?

The Public Service of Canada is the non-partisan, professional federal civil service that delivers government programs, provides policy advice to ministers, and operates federal departments and agencies. The Public Service comprises about 360,000 employees as of 2025, the largest single employer in Canada. The Public Service is governed by the Public Service Employment Act, 2003 and the Financial Administration Act, with the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) administering staffing and appointments.

The Public Service operates on three constitutional principles: merit (appointments based on competitive merit-based assessment, not political patronage), non-partisanship (public servants serve any government of any party with equal loyalty and impartiality), and ministerial accountability (the responsible minister is accountable to Parliament for the actions of the department, while public servants serve through the minister and the deputy minister). These principles distinguish the Canadian Public Service from the American spoils system and from public services in some other countries.

The Public Service is led by the Clerk of the Privy Council, who serves as Head of the Public Service and is the senior non-partisan advisor to the Prime Minister. Each federal department is led by a Cabinet minister (political head) and a deputy minister (senior public servant who runs day-to-day operations). About 6,500 federal executives at the Director, Director General, Assistant Deputy Minister, and Deputy Minister levels manage the Public Service. About 6 million Canadians have ever served as federal public servants; about 200,000 retired public servants receive federal pensions.

The Public Service is unionised. About 80 per cent of Public Service employees belong to one of about a dozen federal public-sector unions, the largest being the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC, about 240,000 members) and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC, about 60,000 members). Federal collective bargaining rights are protected by the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act. Compensation includes annual salary, the Public Service Pension Plan (a defined-benefit pension), and various leave and benefit programs. The Public Service is one of Canada's most diverse workforces, with federal targets for representation of women, Indigenous people, racialised minorities, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians.