Canada’s immigration department cutting roughly 3,300 jobs over 3 years

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced plans to cut about 3,300 jobs, or about a quarter of its workforce, over the next three years.

The federal department emailed employees on Monday about its “budget situation” and the impact on staffing, which IRCC later confirmed with CBC.

The email stated it was unclear who would be impacted by these cuts, but it would reach every sector and branch. Those affected would be notified starting in mid-February. 

“We estimate that about 80 per cent of these reductions can be achieved by eliminating planned staffing, terms, and other temporary staffing commitments. The remaining 20 per cent of reductions will need to be achieved though the WFA (workforce adjustment) process and will affect indeterminate employees,” the email read. 

“Although the affected functions have been identified, the individual positions have not.”

Some term contracts could be terminated early, it said, and those affected would be given at least 30 days notice. 

Why the cuts?

In a statement to CBC, IRCC said the department has expanded rapidly in recent years to address global crises like the pandemic and that growth relied on temporary funding.

Immigration has also buoyed Canada’s economy while pressuring housing, infrastructure and social services.

According to the Treasury Board, IRCC had about 13,100 employees as of the end of March 2024, up from about 7,900 in 2019 and 5,900 in 2014. 

The planned cuts represent about a 25 per cent reduction from those March 2024 levels, back to around where the department was in 2021.

In October, the government announced reduced immigration levels over the next three years.

It will result in a short-term pause in Canada’s population growth, IRCC said, with the goal to focus on long-term growth.

“Staffing within IRCC is being adjusted to align with reduced levels and permanent funding,” the statement read. 

IRCC said it and other departments have been directed to return spending to pre-pandemic levels. Cuts to public service spending have been telegraphed in recent federal budgets, with the federal deficit growing to $61.9 billion as of last month.

At the department level, IRCC said in the email its spending reductions for 2025-2026 start at $237 million and increase to a total reduction of $336 million by 2027-2028, including salary and non-salary spending. 

“We’ve been working under an ever-increasing budget and need to learn to live within a defined – and reduced – budget moving forward,” the email read. 

Union calls it reckless

“The news is absolutely shocking,” said Rubina Boucher, national president of the Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU), in an interview with CBC. 

“We’re afraid of what this means for families and businesses across the country,” she added. 

IRCC employees process documents such as citizenships, permanent resident applications and passports. 

“Families longing to reunite, businesses grappling with critical labour shortages and a healthcare system desperate for skilled workers will all suffer the consequences of this reckless decision,” Boucher said in a joint statement with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).  

Tamara Mosher-Kuczer, founder and senior lawyer at Lighthouse Immigration Law, said she was horrified when she found out about the looming cuts. 

She said some people wait years to get their immigration documents processed and these cutbacks will only further clog the overburdened system. 

“We’re going to see increasing processing times. They’re already really bad … they’re already ridiculous and they’re going to get worse.”