One year after a nationwide Canada Post strike threw families, small businesses and holiday shoppers into chaos, we’re once again staring down an uncomfortable question: could it all happen again?
The timing couldn’t be worse. With the holiday season ticking closer and delivery volumes set to spike, negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) remain unresolved. Federal mediators are at the table. Rotating strikes are already underway. And both sides publicly, at least sound no more certain about stability than they did a year ago.
Canada Post admits as much. In its carefully worded response, the Crown corporation acknowledges the obvious: the network is unstable. Rotating strikes, even if limited, disrupt an already strained infrastructure. Delivery guarantees are suspended. Confidence is shaky. And anyone depending on Canada Post to get a package across the country is being advised to “review” timelines essentially, to hope for the best.
CUPW’s message is more diplomatic but no more reassuring. The union insists it wants a settlement but says it still hasn’t received important information about Canada Post’s recently submitted overhaul plan. Negotiations continue, but clarity doesn’t.
We’ve been here before. In November 2024, more than 55,000 postal workers walked off the job in a nationwide strike that lasted a month. Ten million parcels went undelivered in the first two weeks alone. Small businesses scrambled. Private carriers were overwhelmed. Regular mail including the beloved letters-to-Santa tradition disappeared from daily life. When the federal labour board finally ordered workers back to work, the damage was done. Delays stretched dangerously close to Christmas.
And the financial fallout hasn’t stopped. Canada Post reported a staggering $407 million loss this August, its worst quarter ever. The Industrial Inquiry Commission’s May 2025 report bluntly described the corporation as “effectively insolvent,” recommending a dramatic rethinking of operations ending daily mail delivery, expanding parcel service, and increasing community mailboxes. In other words: the business model is collapsing, and something fundamental has to change.
Small businesses know this too well. Many are “deeply scarred,” as CFIB president Dan Kelly put it. For them, Canada Post isn’t just a convenience it’s the only affordable way to ship across Canada’s vast geography. When the system fails, they fail with it. Private couriers, while faster, cost significantly more and last year’s strike proved that even they can’t absorb unlimited overflow.
The damage is reputational as much as logistical. Once customers lose trust, it can take decades to earn back. Right now, too many Canadians simply don’t trust Canada Post to deliver literally or figuratively.
Yes, workers deserve fair bargaining. Yes, Canada Post needs restructuring. But another full-blown strike this holiday season would be a blow the corporation and the thousands of small businesses that depend on it may not recover from.
Canada Post and CUPW must realize that they’re not just negotiating a contract. They’re negotiating the future of a service Canadians still want to believe in.
This country cannot afford another holiday meltdown. And Canadians especially small business owners deserve more than uncertainty as December approaches.
The clock is ticking, and stability isn’t optional anymore. It’s urgent.
