The federal government is closing co-working sites across the country this fall, including five locations in the National Capital Region, and will re-allocate the space to help departments and agencies meet the latest return-to-office mandate.
Co-working pilot project ends
The co-working sites are satellite workplaces opened under the government’s multi-year “GCcoworking” pilot project. They offer flexible workspaces for public servants from more than 50 government organizations. Most of the locations in the National Capital Region opened in 2019 to help accommodate the hybrid work model the federal government was adopting.
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has extended the pilot multiple times, most recently adding six additional months beyond the end of March. When the latest extension expires on Sept. 30, the existing sites will close and be “allocated to federal organizations to help meet their operational needs and support the implementation” of the Treasury Board’s four-day return-to-office mandate for most public servants, PSPC spokesperson Michèle LaRose said in an email statement.
Specific locations closing
One of the sites in the National Capital Region, located at 480 Boulevard de la Cité in Gatineau, closed in June when its lease expired. Five other sites in Ottawa-Gatineau currently remain: 110 Place d’Orléans, Ottawa; 555 Legget Dr., Ottawa; 171 Bank St. (L’Esplanade Laurier), Ottawa; 140 Place du Portage, Gatineau; and 335 River Rd., Ottawa.
More than 15,000 public servants are registered for the GCcoworking pilot. Many public servants in Ottawa-Gatineau report waiting for extended periods each morning to secure a spot in the suburban co-working spaces, rather than braving the drive downtown.
Expansion plans scrapped
At one time, PSPC was pursuing an expansion of its satellite office model. In 2022, the department awarded private company LAUFT Inc. a $13.8 million contract to build co-working spaces in the region. The company opened a co-working space in Gatineau in March 2024, but the government pulled the plug on the contract after just six months.
