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Speaking Truth to Canadians About Their Public Service: A Review of Donald J. Savoie’s Newest Book 

In September 2024, New Brunswick author and scholar Donald J. Savoie released his newest book, Speaking Truth to Canadians About Their Public Service. 

Savoie provides an in-depth analysis of the intricacies and challenges facing our federal public service through his time as a federal public servant, his life’s research in public administration, and his contributions to the field. With the prorogation of Parliament, the Liberal Party of Canada's leadership race, and a federal election on the horizon, it is time for Canadians to decide what they want from our next federal government and Prime Minister. 

How efficiently and effectively our federal public service operates—both internally and in public-facing capacities—should be at the forefront of all Canadians' minds, and Savoie makes a compelling case for why.  

At the core of the challenges facing the federal public service are accountability requirements and how a current lack of accountability at both the political and bureaucratic levels contributes to Canadians’ loss of trust in the federal government. 

“My hope is that this book will help Canadians and public servants gain fresh insights into the workings of the federal public service. I believe that there is a direct link between efficiency in government operations and trust in government” (Savoie, 2024, preface, p. xi).  

As Canadians may be heading to the polls sooner rather than later, Savoie’s book offers a timely read and argument on why Canadians and politicians should consider what they want and expect from their federal public service. After all, the federal public service is a vital national institution that belongs to all Canadians. 
 

Accountability 

Throughout his book, Savoie underlines the topic of accountability through the following key themes: 

  • The difficulties the public service has in planning and delivering programs and services
  • The effect of the concentration of power in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and in the hands of partisan advisors (commonly referred to as “Kids in Short Pants”)
  • The introduction of private-sector management principles applied to the public sector
  • The troubles with accountability requirements in the federal public service 
  • The reasons why public servants only seem to identify problems within the public service once they leave for other job opportunities or retire 

Without accountability, there is little trust.  


What You Should Know 


The Machinery of the Federal Public Service is Complex  

The book makes a strong argument as to why and how the federal public service has become a complex organization for all to navigate—including public servants, industry partners, and Canadians.  

A few key takeaways for Iris clients from this theme are the following: 

  • The federal public service continues to grow. In 2024, the size of the federal public service reached a record high with 367,772 federal public servants. When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015, the federal public service was 110,000 less in size. 

     

  • Savoie argues that there are two distinct public servants within the federal public service: Poets and Plumbers. Poets are the public servants who write the policy, and Plumbers are the public servants who deliver the federal programs and services to Canadians. “We have reached the point where over 60 per cent of federal public servants now work in policy advisory, coordination, oversight, and back-office functions, the bulk of them in the NRC (National Capital Region), dealing with other federal public servants rather than delivering services to other Canadians” (Savoie, 2024, p. 67). 

     

  • The relationship between Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Senior Bureaucrats, and the public service is complex. Each group has different objectives, with some having overlapping goals. For example, Ministers are accountable to the Crown and serve their constituents, ministerial responsibilities, and MP responsibilities in general (such as attending events with their party, etc.). Their primary goal is to get re-elected.  

     

  • Due to the structure and what Savoie calls “the machinery” of government, there is no incentive for Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Senior Bureaucratic leaders to improve their government department, agency, or unit’s efficiency. This, combined with the tendency for government units to demand more staff, resources, and funding, contributes to a growing public service with declining productivity and quality of services to Canadians. Savoie states, “Why would ministers and deputy ministers ever want to make the case that they can do more, or the same, with fewer resources? If a minister and deputy minister decided to sit down to go over their department’s resources with the intention of reducing them, they would very likely be the only ones doing so, unless the Prime Minister had instructed all departments to do the same. Why would one minister-deputy minister team in one department launch a review of its financial-human resources when the other departments are not? Why generate savings only to see others make the case for more resources? This, in turn, explains why the government always turns to across-the-board cuts when launching program reviews or spending reduction measures. Nothing else works” (Savoie, 2024, p. 159).   
     

Reform Within the Federal Public Service is Hard  

Many Prime Ministers and Opposition Leaders have publicly advocated to improve the federal government’s operations once they lead the federal government. Committing to changes within the federal government in Opposition is much easier and more common, as Prime Ministers must prioritize the challenges and issues of the day. Once in Government, Prime Ministers may initially focus on improved operations of the machinery of government, but pressing national and international issues, such as trade, housing, healthcare, and more, often take over. 

Savoie also argues that Prime Ministers who make promises in Opposition to reform the internal workings of the federal public service do not often see the outcomes they had hoped for. Savoie argues that the internal forces are so strong that change within the federal public service is almost impossible. This is the main reason why the federal government is known for protecting the status quo.  

It is Up to Canadians  

The federal public service exists to serve Canadians. For this reason, it is up to Canadians to demand more of our public service. Savoie’s book serves to raise Canadians' awareness of the truth about our public service and why reform is important.  

For true change to happen, Canadians must make reform an election issue. Politicians, public servants, and Canadians must see the value and importance of such a change.  

Where do we Stand Right Now? 

In January, the Leader of Canada’s Official Opposition, Pierre Poilievre announced that he would reduce the federal public service if he was Prime Minister. Although the Liberals have seen a bump in the polls since Prime Minister Trudeau’s resignation and President Trump’s tariff threats, the Conservatives remain ahead. If the election were held today, Pierre Poilievre would be poised to become Canada’s 24th Prime Minister. This begs the question of whether the federal public service would actually change under a Conservative federal government. Time will tell, but history suggests meaningful change within the federal public service, despite verbal commitment from Prime Ministers and Opposition Leaders, is difficult. 

Canada’s next Prime Minister will face serious challenges with our greatest ally, specifically regarding trade and our borders. Other pressing issues of national concern will be addressing quality-of-life challenges such as housing, affordability, and healthcare. This alone illustrates the reality that fixing the federal public service will likely be on the back burner of the Prime Minister’s priorities.  

Our neighbours to the south continue to take measures into their own hands to reduce the size of their federal public service, with Elon Musk leading the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). With not even one month into his second presidency, President Donald Trump has already overhauled America’s federal public service through various measures. For example, President Trump signed the executive order “Schedule F” to enable his administration to fire public servants. He also emailed the public service with the subject line “Fork in the Road” to offer a deferred resignation program. These drastic changes reflect President Trump’s unprecedented actions that are predictably unpredictable.  

Read This Book!  

Iris is proud to support BIBLIOnomics, a Halifax-based start-up, through their new corporate gifting program, BIBLIOgifting. BIBLIOgifting aims to support Canadian authors, publishers, and book retailers while providing local businesses with a unique gifting option. Speaking Truth to Canadians About Their Public Service is one of Iris’s curated collection books. 

Learn more about BIBLIOgifting here: https://bibliogifting.com/ 

 

Savoie, Donald J. (2024). Speaking Truth to Canadians About Their Public Service. McGill-Queen’s University Press.