Sep 12, 2026
On Thursday, staff at the Ontario Science Centre logged into what they thought was a routine video call. Instead, CEO Paul Kortenaar told them the organization was being restructured, and that 30 jobs, including the entire science department, the security team and business development, no longer existed, according to The Canadian Press. The cuts wiped out more than 540 combined years of service and shrank the unionized workforce by 18%, according to OPSEU/SEFPO, Ontario’s public service union.
It’s a jarring reminder for anyone who assumes a government-linked, unionized or “essential” job comes with built-in security. Restructuring can hit public institutions just as fast as private companies, sometimes with even less warning.
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For the workers affected and the broader public watching this play out, the layoffs raise urgent questions about how a premier educational institution operates without a dedicated science team, and what this restructuring signals for the future of Ontario’s public agencies.
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What happened at the Ontario Science Centre?
The cuts eliminated entire teams, not just individual roles. Live exhibits, security, business development and the standalone science unit are gone, leaving 136 unionized staff where there were 166, OPSEU/SEFPO says.
The centre has operated out of an interim downtown Toronto location and pop-up sites since its original building closed in 2024 over roof concerns, while the provincial government builds a planned $1-billion location at Ontario Place, expected to open by 2029 and will eventually create 1,000 jobs, The Canadian Press reports.
According to OPSEU/SEFPO, in September 2024, Ontario premier Doug Ford promised that no employee at the Ontario Science Centre would be left jobless following the sudden closure of its old location.
However, that clearly did not stop the eventual firing of 30 people this week.
“What is a science centre without its science staff? It’s like a hospital without doctors and nurses or a fire department without firefighters,” Adil Shamji, the Liberal MPP who represents the OSC’s old location, said to CTV News.
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The province’s defense: Restructuring for a new era
In response to the union’s outcry, the province and Science Centre leadership framed the decision as a necessary step to adapt to a changing operational landscape.
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According to statements from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, eliminating the standalone science unit does not mean science content is disappearing. The ministry stated that science expertise and programming will remain embedded across remaining departments rather than isolated in a dedicated division. Furthermore, provincial announcements emphasize that the future Ontario Place development will eventually create up to 1,000 jobs, with reconfigured positions opening as the organization transitions.
In a video recording obtained by CP24, CEO Paul Kortenaar told staff that several functions were being "streamlined, consolidated or reconfigured" to build new teams, including a research and impact unit, to better serve future operational needs.
Why "stable" public jobs remain vulnerable to policy shifts
It is tempting to view public sector, crown agency or unionized positions as immune to sudden downsizing. However, public institutions do not operate in a vacuum — they exist at the intersection of shifting government mandates, high-stakes real estate strategy, and provincial budget priorities.
When an agency enters a prolonged transition, such as moving from a permanent landmark to temporary pop-ups ahead of a multi-year construction project, operational needs change.
In the case of the Ontario Science Centre, a collective agreement and decades of service provided severance framework and union representation, but they could not shield workers from a strategic re-alignment driven from the top down.
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Writer and editor based in Toronto with experience in personal finance, insurance, arts and culture and branded content.
