Toronto, ON – Hundreds of Ontario public servants gathered outside Queen’s Park on Thursday to protest the province’s plan to end remote and hybrid work arrangements and mandate full-time in-office attendance by January 5, 2026. The rally, organized by major public-sector unions, marks one of the strongest demonstrations yet against the rollback of pandemic-era flexible work policies.
Union leaders and public employees filled Ontario Police Memorial Park over the lunch hour, waving flags reading “remote work works!” and chanting the slogan in unison. Dave Bulmer, president of AMAPCEO, which represents over 14,000 administrative and professional public service workers, told the crowd that the government should trust employees who “have never let them down.”
“The world has changed,” said Bulmer. “If the goal really is to protect Ontario, then it would seem the most logical thing the premier and the secretary could do would be to place their trust in public servants who have never let them down.”
The province announced in August that it would phase out hybrid arrangements and require employees to return to their offices five days a week, a move Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney said “reflects the current workforce landscape.”
Unions including AMAPCEO, OPSEU, and PEGO have opposed the decision, arguing that hybrid work arrangements improve work-life balance, reduce commuting time and costs, and boost productivity. AMAPCEO has already collected more than 13,000 signatures on a petition calling for a reversal of the policy.
Union leaders also warned of potential recruitment and retention issues, given that many workers chose public service jobs for the flexibility that hybrid work provided. “Nobody can afford to live downtown, so they’re going to have to now congest all those highways,” Bulmer said, adding that the government may not have enough office space for its workforce under the new mandate.
Government officials have defended the policy, with Premier Doug Ford saying in-person work will improve productivity and help revitalize struggling downtown businesses. Treasury Board spokesperson Liz Tuomi called the unions’ criticism “disappointing” and said the province is reviewing office space to address any seating shortages.
Smaller solidarity rallies were held in cities across Ontario, including Guelph, Kingston, Oshawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, and Sudbury, reflecting growing resistance to the return-to-office mandate among public service workers.