Canadian Layoff Tracker

Island Health has eliminated 117 non-union jobs as part of a cost-cutting exercise under provincial direction, representing approximately 5% of the organization's 2,500 non-contract employees. The cuts are part of a mandate to reduce administrative roles and redirect resources toward front-line patient care, with a target of up to 10% reduction expected to continue for a few more weeks.

Conestoga College eliminated four senior executive positions with a collective annual salary of $1.2 million, including both deans of the School of Interdisciplinary and School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, as well as the senior vice president academic and students. The restructuring also impacted nine other senior positions and comes as the college navigates financial challenges stemming from a 48% decrease in international student enrollment due to federal study permit restrictions.

Fanshawe College is proceeding with a 35% staffing cut in 2025. The layoffs represent a significant reduction in the institution's workforce.

A report predicts that the number of federal public service jobs in Canada could drop by almost 60,000. The article references Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne but does not provide details on implementation timeline or specific reasons for the predicted job losses.

OMERS Ventures, the VC arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, laid off several employees from its U.S. investment team, including senior managing partner Michael Yang, as part of a strategic shift to refocus on Canadian investments. The layoffs reduced the firm's headcount from 19 employees in June to 12 total, with the U.S.-based investment team reduced from two-thirds to half of the firm's investment staff.

Metrolinx laid off more than 40 customer service employees from the GO Contact Centre during the week of July 7, 2025, transferring their functions to HGS Canada, a company headquartered in India. The layoffs occurred days before Metrolinx apologized for using AI in a social media response to customer concerns following a Coldplay concert at Rogers Stadium.

Arbec Forest Products announced a six-week shutdown of its OSB mill in Miramichi, New Brunswick in September, with 29 permanent job eliminations out of 113 affected employees. The closure is due to a market-related inventory adjustment, with the company citing tariff impacts on US exports as the reason for the production pause.

Vancouver, Canada-based Canfor Corp. is closing sawmills in Darlington and Estill, South Carolina, laying off 290 workers. The company cited persistently weak market conditions and sustained financial losses as reasons for the mill closures.

Ridgewood Industries, a furniture manufacturer in Cornwall, Ontario, will close in September 2025 after 55 years in business, resulting in 300 job losses. Parent company Dorel Industries cited the U.S. economy and the need to return to profitability as reasons for the closure of the domestic manufacturing operations.

Bayer's BlueRock Therapeutics is cutting 50 jobs in 2025 with Canadian employees affected. The layoff announcement was published on July 17, 2025.

Burgundy Diamond Mines announced the suspension of open pit operations at Ekati Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories, laying off several hundred employees and contractors, with the Union of Northern Workers confirming approximately 160 of its members were affected. The company continues mining at the Misery underground site while the layoffs are attributed to weak diamond market conditions, reduced demand in China, and competition from lab-grown diamonds.

Canadian EV charger company Flo is closing its Quebec plant and laying off 80 employees across Canada and the U.S. The company cited operational restructuring as the reason for the closure.

Rogers Communications ended its contract with external customer-service firm Foundever, resulting in approximately 900 job losses across Canada as the telecom company shifts to AI-powered chat support. The layoffs affect a mix of short and long-serving staff who were previously outsourced to Foundever for customer service roles.

Conestoga College is laying off at least 190 staff and suspending 82 programs due to a 48% drop in international student enrollment caused by the federal international study permit cap. This is part of a broader crisis affecting Ontario's 24 public colleges, with over 10,000 faculty and staff being laid off or projected to lose their jobs across the province.

The Vancouver Art Gallery is cutting approximately 30% of its staff (34 employees) and reducing programming by 30% to balance its budget. The reductions include 16 voluntary departures and 18 layoffs, with additional job losses possible through a union seniority process affecting all departments.

The Township of Fauquier-Strickland in Northern Ontario announced it will cease all municipal services and lay off five township employees as of August 1, 2025, due to a $2.5-million operating deficit. The municipality of 467 people exhausted its cash reserves and faced the choice between shutting down services or implementing a 190-230 percent property tax increase on residents.

The Nova Scotia Community College is laying off 27 food service workers across its campuses as it outsources operations to private company Aramark Canada. The college cited unsustainable annual losses of approximately $800,000 in its in-house food services operations.

Paccar, a truck manufacturer operating a plant in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, is laying off at least 175 workers effective August 4, 2025. The layoffs are attributed to decreased demand for trucks due to economic uncertainty from U.S. tariffs and follow 250 job losses in December 2024.

Amazon closed its seven warehouses and delivery services in Quebec in January 2025 as part of a cost-saving decision. According to the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, 4,500 affected workers still lack jobs, proper severance, or government assistance.

The City of Windsor eliminated 38 seasonal and part-time caretaker positions at arenas and community centres due to a failed agreement on job protection with CUPE Local 82. The union had negotiated for 19 months seeking a memorandum of understanding to prevent elimination of full-time positions while seasonal employees remain employed.