CRA Hiring 1,700 Call Centre Agents to Tackle Tax Season Surge

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is gearing up for one of the busiest times of the year—tax season. To get ahead of the expected flood of calls, the agency plans to hire or rehire about 1,700 call centre agents over the next few months. The goal? To avoid the long wait times that have frustrated taxpayers in the past.

As tax deadlines approach and phone lines heat up, this move could make a big difference. But here’s the catch—most of these jobs are temporary, and future staffing remains uncertain.

Surge

Tax season is like a storm for the CRA’s phone lines. According to assistant commissioner Melanie Serjak, the agency is preparing for a “very high forecast” in demand, with call volumes expected to exceed 300,000 per day during peak periods. That’s why staffing is getting a serious boost—from 3,300 agents last year to a projected 4,500 this time around.

Serjak says this kind of temporary hiring is nothing new. The CRA routinely scales up its workforce to handle seasonal spikes. But with government departments under pressure to cut costs, some are questioning how sustainable this approach really is.

Need

Every spring, Canadians flood CRA call centres with questions about tax filings, benefit payments, and account issues. When staff levels aren’t high enough, people end up waiting on hold for hours or failing to get through at all.

That’s exactly what the agency wants to prevent this year. By increasing call centre staff by more than 50%, the CRA hopes to avoid a repeat of last year’s service struggles. If all goes to plan, this should mean shorter wait times and more Canadians getting the help they need—when they need it.

Numbers

Let’s break down what CRA’s hiring plan looks like:

Tax Season Metric	2024 (Last Year)	2025 (Targeted)
Call Centre Agents	3,300	4,500
Daily Peak Call Volume	300,000+	300,000+
New/Returning Staff Hired	–	1,700

This hiring spike brings the total number of CRA agents to its highest level yet for a filing season. It’s a move that reflects not just increased demand, but also pressure to avoid public backlash over poor service.

Pressure

The CRA’s hiring plans come at a time when other federal departments are warning of job cuts. With a government-wide push to reduce spending by 15% over the next three years, adding thousands of temporary positions may raise eyebrows.

Assistant commissioner Maxime Guénette confirmed that while the 1,700 hires are temporary, decisions around permanent staffing are still being worked out. There’s no clear word yet on how this will affect CRA’s year-round workforce.

So while Canadians may benefit from quicker responses this tax season, it’s not yet clear what the long-term plan looks like for CRA employees—or for service quality once the season ends.

Temporary

It’s worth noting that these new hires won’t be sticking around forever. Most of the 1,700 agents will be brought on under short-term contracts that expire after the tax season ends.

That might be fine for now, but critics have argued that relying too heavily on seasonal workers can hurt long-term service. Without a stable, permanent workforce, the CRA could end up facing the same problems year after year—especially if call volumes keep rising.

Outlook

While it’s too early to say how the 2026 tax season will play out, the CRA’s plan to hire more agents is at least a clear sign that they’re listening to complaints. And with thousands of new staff ready to take calls, Canadians may find this year’s filing experience a little less frustrating.

But the bigger question remains: what happens after April? Will the CRA maintain better service levels year-round? Or will the temporary help vanish—and the problems return?

For now, the hiring push looks like a necessary fix. But whether it becomes part of a longer-term strategy or just a seasonal patch job is still up in the air.

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