Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Agriculture department officials are addressing research cuts. 27 research scientists will not stay in their current location or be offered an equivalent position elsewhere.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced the closure of the Lacombe Research and Development Centre, a historic agricultural research station established in 1907, affecting more than 1,000 employees across multiple sites as part of federal public service workforce reduction efforts. The closure is expected to significantly impact agricultural research capacity, innovation, and producer support across rural Alberta and Canada, eliminating decades of continuous research data crucial to food security and climate resilience.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is eliminating 665 positions (649 employees and 16 executives) as part of the federal government's Comprehensive Expenditure Review (Budget 2025). This total includes vacant positions, projected attrition, and positions to be eliminated through formal workforce adjustment. Of these, 507 currently filled positions (500 employees and 7 executives) are undergoing formal Workforce Adjustment (WFA) or Career Transition (CT) proceedings — the most direct indicator of employees facing displacement. 1,043 "affected" or "at-risk" status letters have been issued (1,036 to employees, 7 to executives). These notices indicate potential impact and do not necessarily result in departure from the public service. The organization employs 5,690 people in the core public administration as of March 2025. Notifications were issued in Phase 2 of the Government of Canada's workforce reduction process.