Quebec implements hiring freeze in public service

The office of Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel announced Thursday evening that a recruitment freeze in the public service will take place as of November 1.

The government will fill vacant positions with employees who are already part of the Quebec public service.

“In order to curb the growth in the number of employees in the public service and to respect the budgets allocated for the current year, the government will freeze recruitment in departments and agencies (exclusions will apply) as of November 1, 2024,” Lebel’s office wrote in a statement.

“It should be noted that this is not a hiring freeze, but a measure to avoid integrating new people into the public service,” she adds.

However, this recruitment freeze will not apply to the health, education and higher education network, the hiring of interns and students or seasonal employees with a right of recall.

This announced recruitment freeze is part of a spending crunch by the provincial government, which is forecasting a deficit of $11 billion in 2024-2025.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews.