Santé Québec launches 26 projects to reduce its number of executives

Santé Québec is taking steps to reduce the number of executives within its organization.

The Crown corporation has identified 26 reorganization projects in various administrative sectors, some of which are already underway, while others will be launched in early 2026.

Within two years, Santé Québec expects to save tens of millions of dollars, Vincent Lehouillier, vice-president of talent, culture and engagement at Santé Québec, explained in an interview with The Canadian Press.

He did not specify the exact savings that will be achieved with the projects, explaining that they are at different stages of progress. He specified that each project had a financial recovery target, which should total tens of millions of dollars by the end.

“There will still be an impact on services to the public if the transition is poorly planned. So, gradually, over the next 18 to 24 months, a large portion of these 26 projects will be implemented,” said Lehouillier.

He acknowledged that in some administrative sectors of Santé Québec, there may be duplication of positions. In this context, some positions could be eliminated or reorganized, among other things, by inviting people “to take on challenges in other sectors.”

Employees with job security

Santé Québec’s first strategy is to proceed by attrition and then, in a second phase, to reorganize the administrative sectors.

“Our budgetary challenge is that our managers still have permanent positions. We can eliminate positions, but eliminating a position does not necessarily lead to short- or medium-term savings for us. The savings come over time, so attrition is our first option,” explained Lehouillier.

“If we have more managers than we need, we can move them to sectors where there may be a greater need,” he added.

He gave an example of a project.

In human resources, just over 400 people work in benefits and compensation at Santé Québec. These employees ensure that the working conditions of nurses and patient attendants comply with collective agreements.

“This is an example of a function where we said to ourselves, along with the institutions, that since our collective agreements are the same from one institution to another, wouldn’t it make sense to eventually consolidate this and be able to, in the long term, harmonize our practices, but also reduce, for example, the bureaucratic elements surrounding this, and ultimately reduce the cost of this activity,” said Lehouillier.

“Our first scenario would be to do this through attrition because we want it to go smoothly in terms of service continuity, but going forward, we are definitely aiming to reduce bureaucracy through this type of approach.”

Correcting ‘inaccurate comments’

In a news release issued on Thursday, Santé Québec said it wanted to set the record straight “in response to certain inaccurate comments about the number of executives it employs.”

Since Santé Québec was created in 2024, it has become the sole employer of 327,000 employees, spread across 30 establishments and its head office.

According to figures shared by Santé Québec, as of Nov. 15, 2025, the Crown corporation had 12,668 executives, 189 fewer than at the same time last year.

It should be noted that last spring, when she dismissed her right-hand man, Frédéric Abergel, Santé Québec’s president and chief executive officer, Geneviève Biron, said she wanted to streamline her organization, stating that these changes would reduce the number of executives by 20 per cent.

The target is far from being met, but Lehouillier wants to focus on the big picture.

“In the transformation we are currently undergoing, there may be activities, particularly administrative activities, that are being moved from one team to another. If we look at a team or an institution or our head office, we risk losing sight of the big picture,” he said.

This comment echoed a recent article in the Journal de Montréal, which reported that the number of executives working at Santé Québec’s head office had increased from 258 to 357 between March 31 and Nov. 25.

However, Lehouillier clarified that Santé Québec’s statement on Thursday was not intended as a response to any particular media outlet.

“We hear and read a lot of things, so we can’t respond to one media outlet more than another, but at this point, we have had several people contact us and we thought it was perhaps appropriate to clarify a few things,” said the vice-president.

He also pointed out that Santé Québec is maintaining its administrative expenses at 4.23 per cent, which is below its target of 4.66 per cent. He stressed that the 26 projects will enable Santé Québec to continue reducing its percentage of administrative expenses, as well as reducing the number of managers throughout the organization.

—The Canadian Press’s health coverage is supported by a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The Canadian Press is solely responsible for this journalistic content.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews