OTTAWA - The Trudeau government's upcoming budget will account for the costs of pursuing gender equality when it comes to workers' pay in both the federal public service and all federally regulated workplaces, The Canadian Press has learned.

A senior government official says Finance Minister Bill Morneau's budget will start laying the foundation for Ottawa to deliver on some long-awaited goals towards achieving pay equity in Canada.

While it's not clear how much the measures will cost, the price tag on closing the gender wage gap in such workplaces will likely be significant, since the public service and federally regulated organizations together employ nearly 1.2 million people -- more than six per cent of all workers in Canada.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity about details not yet made public, declined to provide numbers on how much room would be made in the budget -- but said it would be a range to allow Ottawa to negotiate pay equity through various rounds of collective bargaining with unions.

The source also said the pay equity specifics would be released at a later date in proposed legislation, and not in the budget.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told last month's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that his government would introduce legislation this year to ensure equal pay for work of equal value in federal jobs.