Even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced 240,000 federal employees to work remotely, nearly 40% of federal office space across Canada was sitting unused, according to a briefing note to Public Works Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. Blacklock's Reporter says the government now faces a decades-long process to downsize its real estate portfolio, with plans to sell off half of its office buildings nationwide.The April 29 briefing note revealed that the underutilization of office space was already a significant issue, particularly in the national capital region, where over half of the federal government’s office space is located. "Prior to the pandemic, office space was underutilized by approximately 40%," the document stated.Public Works, the country’s largest landlord, manages 65 million square feet of office space. The department is now re-evaluating its approach to efficiently use public funds, especially as the shift to a hybrid work environment and unassigned seating has become the norm. "The shift to a hybrid work environment and unassigned seating by default permits more effective utilization of office space that was simply not possible before," the briefing note titled Hybrid Workplace explained.The pandemic accelerated the move to remote work, with Shared Services Canada, the federal IT department, reporting 240,000 remote internet connections for employees working from home. By 2023, nearly 40% of desk phones in government offices were listed as inactive, according to a Shared Services memo.As of September 9, the Treasury Board mandated that all federal employees return to the office at least three days per week, a decision confirmed by Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon.The government’s long-term plan involves closing half of all federal office buildings, though no specific deadline has been set. "The Department will achieve this reduction by disposing of surplus properties with potential for housing," the briefing note indicated.However, another departmental memo from 2023 suggested that this reduction could take 10 to 25 years, depending on how the real estate market evolves and how quickly the government can modernize and "green" its office portfolio. The memo, titled Optimizing Public Services And Procurement Canada’s Real Estate Portfolio, acknowledged the slow pace of change: "Planning assumptions and investment timelines are being updated to reflect current realities."Despite the slow progress, the government estimates it could save $1.3 billion annually by closing unused offices. "Infrastructure is the second largest expense to the Government of Canada after salary expenses," noted a 2022 evaluation of the federal office portfolio.
