Question Period Note: Office Portfolio Reduction Plan

The Office Portfolio Reduction Plan is on-going and is expected to achieve significant savings over the next ten years.

• Hybrid work and unassigned seating present an opportunity to reduce the office portfolio and generate significant savings for the Government of Canada
  • The Office Portfolio Reduction Plan is currently projected to achieve a reduction of 33% in floor area, with associated operations and maintenance savings of $2.45 billion over 10 years and an additional $514 million in annual recurring savings
  • Public Services and Procurement Canada remains committed to reducing its office portfolio by 50%, and so is pursuing additional optimizations to achieve this target

Public Services and Procurement Canada’s office space serves as the workspace for more than 300,000 federal public servants from over 100 departments and agencies. In the current hybrid work model, employees split their time between working remotely and in the office. With unassigned seating, employees use shared workspaces instead of having a dedicated desk. Combining a hybrid work model with unassigned seating is allowing Public Services and Procurement Canada to reduce the amount of office space required, lowering operating costs and making more efficient use of government buildings.

The initial Office Portfolio Reduction Plan used to develop the Budget 2024 proposal was based on dated staff levels across government and assumed an average of 3-day in office presence. The growth in the number of employees that require office accommodation and the updated Directive on Prescribed Presence in the Workplace (3 to 4-day per week in office presence) has brought projected space savings down to approximately 33% over the ten-year period (34% if reductions already achieved in 2023–2024 are included), with associated operations and maintenance savings of approximately $2.45 billion over the first ten years.

Public Services and Procurement Canada remains committed to the 50% reduction target and is exploring opportunities for further reductions. The department will work with other custodial departments and agencies to explore government-wide space optimization opportunities and undertake a review of the current funding model to ensure that all clients are incentivized to help seek reductions. Securing buy-in from across the public service on the effort required to meet stated reduction targets will be key.

• Public Services and Procurement Canada administers 6.1 million square metres of office facilities and parliamentary office facilities, representing together 22.2% of the total floor area occupied by the Government of Canada
  • Budget 2024 provided Public Services and Procurement Canada with $1.1 billion over 10 years to reduce its office portfolio by 50% over ten years
  • Public Services and Procurement Canada is seeking access to $102 million (Vote 1) in the Main Estimates 2025-26, which is part of the $1.1 billion provided in Budget 2024 to support the implementation of the plan