Budget pledges to shrink size of public service by 40,000 within three years

OTTAWA - The federal government intends to slash the public service by 10 per cent within the next three years — eliminating up to 40,000 jobs — as it strays from its election promise to cut the number of federal employees solely through attrition.

The cuts come as the government moves to slow the rate of growth in government spending on operating costs from eight per cent to less than one per cent, and make government programs more efficient through measures like the expanded use of artificial intelligence.