Canada Post workers on strike nationwide; What that means for passports, benefit cheques

The Canadian Union of Postal workers says Canada Post’s corporate plan could lead to the privatization of the Crown corporation.

In a news release Friday, CUPW blasted the federal government for what it said was siding with company management. “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,” CUPW said. “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.”

OTTAWA—With Canada Post workers hitting picket lines, the flow of mail across the country has stopped.

Here’s what the move means for items you may have been expecting in your mailbox.

Mail delivery

Canada Post says mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered during the strike and some post offices will be closed. It has also suspended service guarantees for items already in the postal network and will not accept new items until the labour disruption is over.

Passports

The federal government is encouraging people applying for passports to use couriers other than Canada Post, if they are applying for their travel document by mail. They say applicants can also visit a Service Canada Centre or passport office to begin the process.

For people who have already applied for passports, the website says the government will make deliveries through another courier. It warns some delays may occur.

Benefits

Canada Post says the striking Canadian Union of Postal Workers has agreed to continue the delivery of socio-economic cheques during the labour disruption.

Read more from the Canadian Press

On Parliament Hill, the Bloc Quebecois grilled the government in Question Period, saying the government’s decision is being seen as “abandonment” of Quebec’s rural and remote communities. But the minister responsible, Joel Lightbound, was not in the chamber to address the questions. Instead, government House leader Steve MacKinnon (who last year oversaw troubled postal talks) said the financial losses of Canada Post “are not sustainable. The government of Canada needs to ensure that Canada Post remains financially viable.”

NDP MP Jenny Kwan heaped blame on the Liberal government for the state of Canada Post, calling it “hypocritical” for taking a similar approach to the Stephen Harper’s Conservatives toward the service.

She told reporters Canada Post should be more innovative and expand its services to remote, rural and Indigenous communities by offering postal banking options, or even wellness checks on seniors or other vulnerable persons in hard-to-reach areas.

“Why don’t we build up Canada Post by utilizing the big footprint …and build up that infrastructure for Canadians across the country?”, she said.

“One of the reasons why Canada Post is not as competitive as it could be is because the government is limiting their level of service, which is why I say invest in Canada Post and expand their service delivery, and then you can actually be far more competitive in the service.

The other thing we have to remember as well, Canada Post is a service that is meant to be universal and yes, there are communities where you have to deliver the service, where it is not going to be a profit making venture. ”

But Kwan refused to say whether she supported Canada Post’s push to allow weekend deliveries or more flexible part time work arrangements, saying she didn’t want to weigh in on issues at the bargaining table.

Business groups expect a “massive” hit to small firms’ operations after unionized postal workers began a countrywide strike on Thursday evening.

But the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says Ottawa must still push forward with announced changes to Canada Post’s business model, such as the eventual end to door-to-door mail delivery for nearly all Canadian households.

CFIB president Dan Kelly says a strike by the postal workers around the holiday period last year cost small firms over $1 billion and that another labour action in the lead-up to the holiday retail shipping season this year “is especially troubling.”

Read the full story from the Canadian Press

Mail service is halted at Canada Post after unionized workers announced Thursday they are on a countrywide strike — the latest eruption in a labour dispute that has been going on for nearly a year.

The move came just hours after the federal government promised a suite of changes to overhaul the Crown corporation’s operations in response to significant financial losses.

Here’s what you need to know about the factors affecting the Crown corporation’s future.

What is Canada Post’s financial situation?

The mail carrier is hemorrhaging money.

In the second quarter of this year, Canada Post recorded a loss before tax of $407 million — the Crown corporation’s largest loss before tax in a single quarter. Canada Post reported a profit of $46 million in the same period a year earlier.

Canada Post lost $448 million before tax in the first half of 2025, following a loss before tax of $30 million in the first half of 2024.

Read more from the Canadian Press

Furious postal workers have walked off the job in their second nationwide strike in under a year after Ottawa announced sweeping changes to Canada Post, including the end of home mail delivery.

Citing “unsustainable” losses, stalled contract talks and dwindling numbers of Canadians sending letters, the federal government is giving Canada Post the go-ahead to end home delivery for customers who still have it, close some rural post offices, and send mail by land instead of air.

In a press conference Thursday afternoon, federal minister for government transformation, public works and procurement Joël Lightbound announced that he’s giving the Crown corporation 45 days to come up with a plan to implement the broad restructuring, which he called a necessary step to keep Canada Post alive.

“Canada Post is now facing an existential crisis,” said Lightbound, adding that the Crown corporation has racked up more than $5 billion in losses since 2018, and is on track to lose $1.5 billion in 2025.

Just hours after Lightbound’s announcement, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced an immediate, nationwide strike, their second in just under a year.