OTTAWA — Thousands of federal public servants have applied for early retirement since the program was launched late last month.

Mohammad Kamal, spokesperson for the Office of the President of the Treasury Board, says 3,700 federal workers have applied for the program.

The program, which was announced in the fall, is part of the government’s efforts to reduce the number of public servants and allows some federal workers to retire early without a pension penalty.

About 68,000 public servants have received notice that they may be eligible for the program.

While Kamal says public servants have until July 24 to apply, the timeline for accepting or rejecting those applications remains unclear as those decisions are up to individual departments.

The Liberals’ 2025 budget outlined a plan to slash the public service by 10 per cent by the end of the 2028-29 fiscal year and Kamal says the government is hoping to reduce layoffs through the early retirement program.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press