Program directory · Public Service Commission of Canada

Legislation, regulation and oversight

Department: Public Service Commission of Canada
Program code: BWB05 (PSC)
Core responsibility: Public Service Staffing and Non-partisanship
In Departmental Plans: 2026-27 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan

What it does

This program exists to ensure that staffing activities of departments and agencies are based on merit and non-partisanship and support the achievement of a workforce that is representative of the Canadian population it serves. It monitors compliance with the public service staffing framework and, identifies areas for improvement.

It does so through legislation, regulations and monitoring. It performs audits and investigations and publishes research and studies. It is also responsible to report annually to Parliament on the state of federal public service staffing.

The program also exists to balance the rights of public servants to engage in political activities with the responsibility to maintain political impartiality and assesses public servants' requests for permission to become candidates for elected office.

Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.

History and lineage

First appears in the Departmental Plans in 2026-27. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).

Bars: spending by fiscal year (dark: actual; light: actual restated on the 2017-18 program structure; outlined: the latest plan's forecast; grey: related programs). Bands: each program in the lineage over the years it has data.

Program	Relation	Years with data	Actual spending over those years
Legislation, regulation and oversight	This program	2026-27 – 2028-29	—

No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.

Significant changes in scope and budget

Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.

No significant changes detected.

Success criteria

The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.

Historical: targets against results

No results reported yet.

Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets

Among departments and agencies that underwent a Public Service Commission audit, percentage of deputy heads who indicate that the audit will enable the improvement of organizational staffing practices

Expected result: Effective and efficient oversight of staffing

Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.

Report year	Target	Due	Result	Status
2026-27	≥ 80%	2027	—	Planned

Percentage of applicants who self-declared as Indigenous people

Expected result: A diverse public service

Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.

Report year	Target	Due	Result	Status
2026-27	≥ 4.1%	2027	—	Planned

Percentage of applicants who self-declared as persons with disabilities

Expected result: A diverse public service

Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.

Report year	Target	Due	Result	Status
2026-27	≥ 12%	2027	—	Planned

Percentage of hiring managers who felt pressured to select a particular candidate by individuals from outside the government and/or elected officials or political staffers

Expected result: The public service is, and is seen to be, non-partisan

Report year	Target	Due	Result	Status
2026-27	TBD	2027	—	Planned

Percentage of organizations that reported the audit will enable improvements in their staffing practices

Expected result: Effective and efficient oversight of staffing

Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.

Report year	Target	Due	Result	Status
2026-27	≥ 80%	2027	—	Planned

Future goals: targets due after 2026-27

Percentage of employees who perceive staffing in their work unit as fair

Expected result: Confidence in the staffing system

Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.

Report year	Target	Due	Result	Status
2026-27	≥ 70%	2028	—	Planned

Percentage of hiring managers who believe that appointees meet the performance expectations of the position

Expected result: Confidence in the staffing system

Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.

Report year	Target	Due	Result	Status
2026-27	≥ 90%	2028	—	Planned

Percentage of hiring managers who indicate they can address their staffing needs as quickly as required

Expected result: Efficient public service staffing

Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.

Report year	Target	Due	Result	Status
2026-27	≥ 50%	2028	—	Planned

Percentage of public servants who perceive that employees in their work unit are able to perform their duties in a politically impartial manner

Expected result: The public service is, and is seen to be, non-partisan

Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.

Report year	Target	Due	Result	Status
2026-27	≥ 95%	2028	—	Planned

Spending and employees: planned against actual

Spending

Outlined bar: planned in that year's Departmental Plan (dashed: the latest plan, for years not yet reported). Filled bar: actual.

Show the numbers

Fiscal year	Planned	Actual
2026-27	$32.8M	—
2027-28	$32.6M*	—
2028-29	$32.6M*	—

Employees (FTEs)

Outlined bar: planned in that year's Departmental Plan (dashed: the latest plan, for years not yet reported). Filled bar: actual.

Show the numbers

Fiscal year	Planned	Actual
2026-27	210	—
2027-28	201*	—
2028-29	201*	—

Planned spending, plan by plan

Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans

Plan	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29
2026-27 plan	$32,813,955	$32,611,345	$32,621,413
Actual

Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.