Caroline Mulroney, president of Ontario’s Treasury Board, has announced a hiring freeze for all 143 government agencies, effective immediately. This decision extends a hiring freeze that has been in place for the Ontario public service since 2018, when Premier Doug Ford's government first implemented it.

In an interview, Mulroney stated, "We instituted the hiring freeze across the Ontario public service in 2018, and around the same time, the provincial government began a comprehensive review of our agencies." She noted that the review led to some consolidation of agencies and the creation of new ones, as well as adjustments due to the pandemic.

Under Ford's administration, the number of provincial agencies has decreased from 191 to 143. The current hiring freeze now applies to personnel in public agencies that perform regulatory, advisory, adjudicative, or service-delivery functions, often operating at arm's length from government departments. This includes agencies such as Ontario Health, Metrolinx, and the Ontario Energy Board.

Mulroney explained, "Over the last few years, we’ve been looking more closely at them and realized that the hiring freeze that we imposed on the OPS (Ontario public service) — it would be prudent as a next step to impose it now on our agencies." She clarified that while there will be a cap on hiring, agencies can still fill positions deemed business-critical.

The government aims to allocate more resources to frontline service delivery and reduce costs for taxpayers. Mulroney stated, "We expect in the future for agencies to bring forward HR plans to be approved by ministries." She acknowledged the importance of these agencies in delivering public services but emphasized the need for fiscal discipline.

According to Mulroney, staffing in government agencies has increased at a rate significantly higher than that of the Ontario public service since 2023, leading to financial pressures that could impact service delivery. The hiring freeze has kept growth in the public service relatively flat, even as Ontario's population grew from 14 million to 16 million during that time.

When asked about the federal government's staffing levels, Mulroney noted, "Since Mark Carney was elected, I think there has been some talk of reducing size within the federal public service. But this is about Ontario and what we’re doing, and how we can manage growth and still provide those services that we were elected to provide in the most cost-effective way."

Mulroney expressed confidence that public sector unions would understand the rationale behind the hiring freeze, emphasizing that it is a measure to manage growth rather than an austerity measure. "This isn’t about austerity," she said. "This is about good fiscal management. We’re making the investments that we need to make to continue to build our province."

Additionally, Mulroney is set to release the province’s public accounts for 2024-2025 alongside Ontario’s finance minister, Peter Bethlenfalvy. She hinted at positive news regarding the province's fiscal management and debt sustainability measures, stating, "I think we’ve got good news for taxpayers, and on our debt sustainability measures, I think those measures will also show that they’re trending in the right direction."

Mulroney's focus on governance and fiscal discipline comes amid ongoing economic challenges in the province.