Federal union announces strike votes for 120,000 federal public servants

OTTAWA — Canada’s largest federal public service union says 120,000 workers will take part in nationwide strike votes starting next month after contract talks with the federal government broke down.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada says voting will take place from Nov. 16 to Jan. 22.

The union and Treasury Board have been in contract negotiations for a year and a half, and PSAC in May called a government wage offer of less than one per cent per year “insulting.”

PSAC says the government has refused to negotiate on key issues such as wages, job security, remote work and protections against artificial intelligence.

Workers to take part in strike votes include wildland firefighters, passport and benefit officers, fishery officers, federal teachers, librarians and administrative staff.

In 2023, 155,000 federal public servants spent almost two weeks on picket lines across the country before winning wage increases amounting to 12.6 per cent over the agreement’s term, which ran from 2021 to 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press