Canadian Layoff Tracker

Conestoga College completed a layoff round in March 2026 affecting nearly 400 full-time employees, with 181 faculty members and 197 support staff either leaving or transitioning to part-time work. The union president indicated this was devastating for affected employees and suggested additional job cuts may follow.

NorQuest College is reducing its workforce by 100 positions as part of a restructuring to align staffing with current enrolment outlook and financial pressures. The layoffs are expected to be completed by mid-April 2026, with affected employees receiving severance, health, and career support.

El-Met-Parts Inc., a steel fabrication company in Dundas, Ontario, laid off all 31 unionized workers on March 20, 2026, citing financial difficulties related to U.S. steel tariffs. The company filed for creditor protection in November 2025 and has proposed rehiring workers as contractors without union protection or severance.

Okanagan College laid off 12 staff members and offered 34 early retirement packages, totaling 46 positions eliminated, due to a significant drop in international student enrollment following federal restrictions on study permits. The college also cut the Modern Languages in Arts program and suspended a Science in Nursing partnership program with UBC Okanagan.

The head of B.C.'s Agricultural Land Commission announced that job cuts are coming to the independent agency that decides how protected farmland is used in the province. The layoffs come amid a broader debate over the best approach to preserve the province's prime agricultural land.

The Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) is suspending its medical transportation program in Thunder Bay, Ontario as of April 1, 2026, resulting in the layoff of more than 20 First Nation staff members. The program suspension is due to lack of proportional funding from Indigenous Services Canada and the Non-Insured Health Benefits program despite providing approximately 38,000 rides since its launch in April 2024.

The Carney government has implemented budget cuts affecting staff at Global Affairs Canada and Economic and Social Development Canada, with positions responsible for combatting forced labour imports being wound down. The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) has been left without a permanent leader for 10 months, raising concerns about potential staff reductions and organizational dismantling.

OpenText, a Waterloo-based technology company, has reportedly eliminated a significant number of jobs in March 2026 as part of what some employees describe as a recurring annual practice. The layoffs represent approximately 5% of the workforce and are characterized as part of a 'yearly spring cleaning' business optimization effort.

Bruyere hospital announced the elimination of 55 positions (46 personal support workers and 9 registered practical nurses) in response to a budget deficit. The layoffs have prompted over 100 health care workers to rally and urge the Ford government to stop cuts and fund hospital services.

Humber Polytechnic announced involuntary layoffs of faculty and support staff after a voluntary exit package failed to address the college's fiscal gap for 2026–27. The layoffs follow a federal cap on international students, which significantly impacted revenue at Ontario's largest college with 76,000 students.

Ontario hospitals have eliminated approximately 700 front-line nursing and health worker positions since January 2025, primarily as cost-cutting measures to address dire financial straits. More than 100 Ontario hospitals are forecasting year-end deficits despite facing a combined $1.8-billion working capital deficit.

Canada's largest hospital network, University Health Network (UHN), cut 28 registered nurse positions, primarily in a critical kidney care unit (hemodialysis unit). The Ontario Nurses Association warned that these cuts worsen staffing shortages, burnout, and patient safety risks in a province already facing the lowest number of registered nurses per capita in the country.

University of the Fraser Valley laid off 45 faculty and staff positions due to a $20 million deficit caused by a significant decline in international student enrollment. The layoffs included 6 teaching faculty reductions, 4 non-teaching faculty reductions, and 35 staff reductions, along with 3 involuntary workload reductions.

Keyano College in Fort McMurray is preparing for a second year of layoffs due to a projected 40 per cent drop in student enrolment, attributed to federal limits on international students. The college cut or merged 70 positions during the 2024-25 academic year and expects similar cuts in the 2026-27 academic year as enrolment is expected to drop from 2,500 to 1,500 full-time student equivalents.

Starbucks plans to close hundreds of stores across the US, Canada, and Europe. The company will lay off 900 nonretail employees as part of this restructuring.

Algoma Steel is laying off 300 employees beginning Monday, March 24, 2026. The layoffs are partially attributed to tariffs impacting the steelmaking operation in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Federal departments and agencies plan to cut more than 12,000 full-time equivalent positions over the next three years as part of the Carney government's spending review. Specific cuts include 1,793 positions at Public Services and Procurement Canada, 900 jobs at Statistics Canada, and 942 at Health Canada, with additional reductions across multiple other federal agencies.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Society shut down its offices and laid off all remaining staff in November 2025 under previous management. A newly installed board of directors is now attempting to revive the struggling organization, which has accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

JD Power rescinded summer internship offers for approximately 25 Western University students just weeks before they were scheduled to start in May 2026. The company cited the shifting engineering and software landscape driven by AI and automation as reasons for reducing demand for entry-level roles.

The article discusses ongoing labour negotiations between the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Treasury Board for the TC (Translation) group. More than 13,000 PSAC members have received notices that they could lose their jobs due to restructuring and workforce reductions across the federal public service.