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The Manitoba government will not order public servants back into the office full-time, bucking recent moves by Ontario and Alberta.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew confirmed in an interview last month his government will continue allowing remote work for many public servants.
The current policy for full-time employees is at least three days in the workplace every week.
“I think it’s a balancing act because again you have people with young kids and families,” Kinew said.
Other provinces, however, are bringing more of their staff into the office, after the pandemic normalized remote work.
Resurgence of office work
Last week, Ontario began ordering public servants back into the office five days per week, while Alberta will follow suit in February.
The federal government is expected to release updated return-to-office rules shortly. The level at which its public servants return to the office will depend on seniority, role and capacity, the prime minister has said.
Federal public servants are currently required to work a minimum of three days a week in-office, with executives in the office four days per week.
Back in Manitoba, Kinew’s interest in maintaining hybrid work for eligible staff hasn’t extended to managers. In early 2024, the premier questioned how civil service leaders could manage somebody who shows up in person if they aren’t showing up in person themselves.
Since then, Kinew said his concern around hybrid work arrangements stems from discussions with nurses, doctors and allied health-care professionals.
“We’ve asked health-care management to go back in person, and that’s been our focus so far,” he said in a recent interview.
Kinew added his government would continue to assess how this arrangement is working.
The union representing many of Manitoba’s civil servants is pleased the government is sticking with the status quo.
“It’s reaffirming for our workers,” said Kyle Ross, president of Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union.
“I think it’s good because people plan their lives around their work arrangements with their employers — they plan their home, their daycare, their drop-off for school.”
The government’s remote work policy requires employees wanting to work from home or elsewhere to seek permission from their supervisor. The province will only permit workers to work virtually if it doesn’t impact service or program delivery, the policy states.
He said the flexibility has been relished by workers, some of whom likely want more time working remotely.
As of November 2025, the province has 3,749 employees working remotely at least one day per month, which amounts to 30 per cent of Manitoba’s civil servants, a spokesperson said.
A workplace consultant said the nationwide push to fill offices, which is impacting governments and businesses, isn’t about productivity, but improving culture.
“Bringing people back to work to have that engagement, to share ideas, to really reinforce the organization’s purpose and mission, is a lot easier to do when people are together,” Cheryl Christian, founder of Gov Fox Municipal Consulting, told CBC Manitoba’s Radio Noon.
Premier Wab Kinew is keeping the hybrid work policy for his province’s public servants, while Ontario and Alberta move their employees to full-time office work.
