Federal employees in Canada are entering the first week of a new office attendance requirement that expects most workers to be on-site at least four days per week.
The policy, commonly known as RTO4, was announced in February and increases the previous requirement of three in-office days per week, which had been in place since September 2024.
Executives have already been required to work from the office five days a week since May.
Four-Day Return-to-Office Mandate Begins
The new four-day office requirement marks a significant shift for federal workers and departments that have been operating under hybrid work arrangements.
The Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada has said federal departments will work with Public Services and Procurement Canada in cases where there are not enough workstations to meet the new four-day standard.
The change has raised concerns about office capacity, assigned seating, commuting, parking and public transit demand.
PSPC Says It Is Optimizing Existing Office Space
Radio-Canada and CBC News asked Public Services and Procurement Canada whether it has acquired more office space to handle the expected increase in workers.
PSPC said it is focused on making better use of existing space.
However, since the February announcement, the department has entered into leases covering 1,280,223.45 square feet of office space across Canada.
That amount is equal to about 16.6 World Cup soccer fields.
Roughly three-quarters of that leased space is located in Ottawa and Gatineau.
New Leases May Not Mean More Occupied Space
PSPC said the new leases do not necessarily represent a net increase in occupied federal office space.
The department explained that some leases may be connected to operational needs such as office renewals, relocations or other space-management changes.
Still, the leasing activity comes as departments face pressure to accommodate more employees in person.
Assigned Seating Returning for Many Workers
In May, Treasury Board said the expanded office requirement would include a return to assigned seating for most employees.
However, some deputy ministers were given flexibility to stagger implementation depending on departmental needs and available space.
This means not every federal workplace may move to full four-day attendance in the same way or at the same speed.
GCcoworking Sites to Close in September
PSPC also said it will close its GCcoworking sites on September 30.
Those spaces will be reassigned to departments that need additional room to support the four-day office mandate.
Ironically, PSPC itself is among the federal organizations that do not currently have enough space to bring all employees back four days a week this week.
As a result, some PSPC employees will continue working on-site three days per week for now.
Federal Unions File Labour Complaints
The return-to-office expansion has triggered pushback from major public service unions.
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada and the Public Service Alliance of Canada have filed unfair labour practice complaints against the federal government.
PSAC president Sharon DeSousa said members are currently complying with the policy, but the union is pursuing legal action to protect workers’ rights.
She said employees are already facing problems at worksites, including limited space, parking difficulties and traffic, and warned that the four-day requirement could make the situation worse.
PIPSC to Track Office Problems
PIPSC has said it will document issues reported by members as the four-day office return takes effect.
Those concerns include overcrowded offices, not enough workstations and other workplace problems.
The president of the Union of Taxation Employees said around half of Canada Revenue Agency offices do not have enough room for all workers expected to return Monday.
Parking Demand Expected to Increase
The RTO4 policy is also expected to increase pressure on commuter parking and public transit systems.
Some downtown parking lots have already moved to monthly parking passes or added valet services after previous sudden increases in demand.
The parking issue is especially significant for federal workers commuting into downtown Ottawa and other major office areas.
National Defence Headquarters Faces Parking Challenges
The Department of National Defence has already experienced parking problems at its headquarters in Kanata.
More than 10,000 employees work at the Moodie Drive facility, but the site has only about 5,000 parking spaces.
Workers have also said transit and pathway options to the location are inadequate.
Employees have been offered temporary parking at the nearby Connaught Range, along with shuttle service to the Carling Campus.
Ottawa Says Parking Supply Has Limits
The City of Ottawa says there are about 7,000 long-term parking spaces available across the city.
Scott Caldwell, area manager of roads and parking services, said the city is working with the federal government on ways to reduce pressure, though he did not provide details.
Caldwell said parking demand is expected to rise further, but there is a limit to how many spaces are available in the downtown core.
Concerns Over OC Transpo Capacity
Commuting concerns are also growing.
A February memo obtained by The Canadian Press showed senior federal public servants were worried about whether OC Transpo could handle the increase in riders.
However, Pat Scrimgeour, OC Transpo’s director of transit customer systems and planning, said O-Train lines 1 and 2 are operating at full capacity during the work week and that the transit network is prepared for additional passengers.
OC Transpo Monitoring Key Routes
In June, OC Transpo identified 10 routes it plans to monitor over the summer.
The goal is to determine whether service changes are needed to manage increased ridership from returning federal workers.
Scrimgeour said bus reliability continues to improve and that the transit agency is focusing on stronger maintenance planning and the rollout of new zero-emission buses.
Another system-wide assessment is planned for September, when the school year begins.
School Bus Trip Changes Could Free Up Capacity
OC Transpo has also stopped operating 105 school bus trips.
That change may free up high-capacity buses for routes used by government employees.
The shift could help reduce some pressure as federal workers return to offices more frequently.
Gatineau Transit Agency Says Drivers Are Available
In Gatineau, the local transit agency said it has enough drivers to meet current demand.
However, STO spokesperson José Lafleur said all available resources are already on the road.
He said the agency cannot add more overall service, but it may be able to double certain routes when urgent needs arise.
Canada’s federal four-day return-to-office mandate is beginning with major logistical challenges for departments, workers, unions and transit agencies. The policy raises the in-office requirement from three days to four, while executives have already been required to attend five days a week since May.
PSPC says it is optimizing space and has entered into leases for more than 1.28 million square feet of office space, though not all of that may represent new occupied space.
At the same time, unions are raising concerns about overcrowded offices, limited workstations, parking shortages, traffic and transit capacity. As federal employees adjust to RTO4, departments and cities will face continued pressure to manage space, commuting and workplace conditions.