OTTAWA — About 10,000 federal public servants have applied for the government’s early retirement program, launched as part of a plan to cut the number of bureaucrats.

In December, the government began sending letters with information on the program to about 68,000 public servants who may have been eligible.

Employees as young as 50 with at least 10 years of employment and at least two years of pensionable service were eligible to apply and, if approved, would be able to retire with an immediate pension based on years of service, without a penalty for leaving early.

The deadline to apply was last week and, as of Tuesday, 10,006 applications had been received.

Rola Salem, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, said in an email this month the decision to retire is a personal one and the department didn’t have a specific target for early retirements.

Mohammad Kamal, spokesperson for Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, says more than 6,855 applicants have met the eligibility criteria and that number will grow as more applications move through the review process.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press