Welcome to The Functionary, a window into Canada’s federal public service, with sharp analysis of how the Carney government’s priorities are reshaping federal departments.

Behind-the-scenes looks at how policy change happens and how decisions in Ottawa ripple through departments. A glimpse of the conversations happening at the top.

Readers say it’s:

“informative,”

“well-explained,”

“extremely helpful,”

“a great read.” 

Written by Kathryn May, an award-winning public-service reporter and the Accenture Editorial Fellow on the Future of the Public Service at Policy Options, the news site of the Institute for Research on Public Policy, a non-partisan national think tank.

Publishes as needed, usually every few weeks.

Topics to expect:

Organizational shakeups | workforce and HR reform | public-service culture, morale and burnout | pay and compensation | management and leadership changes

Unions and labour relations | digital transformation and modernization of government services | diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives

Ethics, accountability and transparency |reorganization and restructuring of departments | recruitment, retention and generational change in the workforce

Policy implementation challenges | relationships between ministers, central agencies, and departments | political dynamics and public-service neutrality.