Government planned to repurpose vacant buildings for other public uses such as housing, but its goals have barely advanced
Despite projecting nearly $4 billion in potential savings by reducing government office use, Canada’s plan to scale back its real estate holdings has barely advanced, with only a 2% reduction recorded over five years, an audit by the federal watchdog shows.
According to a report by Global News and released by Auditor General Karen Hogan, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has made limited progress toward its goal of cutting federal office use in half by 2034. The initiative was designed to align government property needs with hybrid work trends and reduce public spending.
The audit attributes the lack of progress primarily to funding constraints and slow implementation by federal departments. Hogan noted that the government has not acted quickly to adjust to new work arrangements or to repurpose vacant buildings for other public uses, such as housing.
“The federal government has been slow to reduce office space and cut costs to support hybrid work, and to convert surplus properties into affordable housing,” Hogan told Global News. She called on PSPC and tenant departments to take more decisive steps in consolidating workspace and making properties available for redevelopment.
Some departments have begun offering to reduce their physical space. Hogan noted that her own office had volunteered to downsize due to remote work.
“I know from our office I can tell you that we put up our hand and said with hybrid work, we don’t need the space that we have, and we have offered to reduce our workspace,” she added. “I would hope that other deputy heads would do the same in order to support the goal.”
The federal government has also tied the downsizing initiative to housing efforts. In 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $500 million public lands acquisition fund, part of a broader effort to repurpose federal properties.
“Governments across Canada are sitting on surplus, underused public land, like empty office towers, low-rise buildings, there is great potential,” Trudeau said, as cited by Global News.
Government data from 2017 indicated that nearly half of office space was underused. The number of vacant offices grew during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although public servants are now required to work in-office at least three days per week, Hogan said that departments have remained hesitant to vacate their current spaces.
