On September 25, mail carriers working for Canada Post walked off the job on instruction from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, initiating a strike in protest of a massive government overhaul of the institution’s way of business.

  • During the strike, no mail or parcels will be delivered or processed in Canada through the government’s primary mail service.
  • There is no current timetable for the work stoppage.


“Service guarantees are suspended for items already in the postal network,” Canada Post has officially announced. “No new items will be accepted until the national disruption is over.”

Service guarantees are suspended for items already in the postal network. No new items will be accepted until the national disruption is over.”

Canada Post

The strike is the second in less than a year and comes after Canada Post announced significant changes that seemed likely to result in job losses, including an end to door-to-door mail service and termination of the rural moratorium on post office closures.

Canada’s minister of government transformation, Joël Lightbound, credited the needs for these workers and their services upon making the decision and yet cited $5 billion losses since 2018 for the department.

“The bottom line is this: Canada Post is effectively insolvent,” Lightbound said at a press conference on Thursday. “It provides an essential service to Canadians, and in particular to rural, remote and Indigenous communities, and Canadians are rightfully attached to it and want it saved. However, repeated bailouts from the federal government are not the solution.”

The strike is the union’s attempt to fight back against what it considers drastic and harmful changes to the department.

“Instead of supporting good, stable jobs and protecting universal mail service for all Canadians, the Government has chosen to side with Canada Post’s corporate plan – a plan that the Union has long warned was designed to erode services, undermine workers, and pave the way for privatization.” the Canadian Union of Postal Worker told TIME. “This strike is about more than just workers’ rights. It’s about defending a public service that communities across this country rely on every single day.”

Promo Perspective

At a minimum, the Canada Post strike is likely to cause an inconvenience for a number of Canadian suppliers in the branded merchandise industry, whether it’s due to a direct impact to business or a ripple effect from the larger issue.

  • Both the changes to Canada Post by the government and the strike initiated by the union are drastic measures, that were mostly just rumored about previously, so many Canadian businesses are likely caught off guard by the immediate new reality of no postal service.


“This was certainly a sudden shut down, considering the ‘will-they, won’t-they’ nature of the Canada Post strike that had been threatened for years now,” says Jen Beldham, founder and president of Ontario-based Northern Branding Studio. “That said, we only have one or two suppliers that ship via Canada Post (or via USPS, which would be transferred to CP upon entry to Canada). We’ve also made sure not to rely on CP for any company stores. 

We only have one or two suppliers that ship via Canada Post (or via USPS, which would be transferred to CP upon entry to Canada). We’ve also made sure not to rely on CP for any company stores.” 

Jen Beldham

Founder & President, Northern Branding Studio

Canada Post is not the only, or even primary, way that many firms receive deliverables, and during the strike, Canadians will have to lean into other options. Alison Layfield, VP of product development at ePost Global, told Supply Chain Dive that getting something to a particular destination may take a deliberate, hands-on approach.

“We’re advising clients to review any volume currently routed through Canada Post, particularly shipments bound for PO boxes or rural addresses where alternatives are limited,” Layfield says. “In this moment, flexibility is key, whether that’s working with multiple carriers, adjusting delivery promises, or prompting customers for updated address information.”

  • Any alternative to Canada Post is likely to be somewhat overwhelmed if the strike is prolonged. A ripple effect of the work stoppage is that a carrier such as UPS might be delayed by as much as a day in Canada due to the strain placed on it.
In 2024, Canada Post went on a strike that lasted one month. The ordeal provided examples of the sort of headaches that can develop when a national mail carrier is no longer an option, even when a business does not think that it is primarily relying on it.”


In 2024, Canada Post went on a strike that lasted one month. The ordeal provided examples of the sort of headaches that can develop when a national mail carrier is no longer an option, even when a business does not think that it is primarily relying on it.

“A small amount of our clients pay via check, so we’ve had trouble getting those,” Ted Tablante, head of sales and business development for North America at Coaster Factory told PPAI Media in 2024.

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