As a two-week-long walkout by postal workers shifted to rotating strikes, anxious Canadians are holding out hope that long-delayed documents and parcels stuck in the mail will finally arrive.
Businesses and customers alike who rely on Canada Post may be wondering how long they can expect to wait for deliveries and what jurisdictions will be impacted by the strikes. Many continue to wait on vital documents, such as passports, visas and account statements.
Service Canada alone says roughly 9,000 passport applications and related packages currently stuck in postal distribution centres will be sent on their way as operations resume in the coming days.
The Star has broken down how Canada Post is operating during the rotating strikes, how Canadians can access the latest updates, and why mailboxes may still be flyer-free — at least for now.
What is a rotating strike?
A rotating strike means union members stop working at different locations on different days, rather than staging a full-scale, simultaneous work stoppage across all sites.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) called an end to its nationwide walkout last Saturday morning and shifted to these rotating regional strikes after facing pressure from some of its own members.
As of Wednesday, postal workers in Dauphin–Swan River, Manitoba, Fort St. John, B.C., and Pictou County, Nova Scotia, are on a rotating strike.
Postal workers began a rotating strike in Timmins, Ont., St. Anthony, N.L., and Dawson Creek, B.C. on Oct. 11, but have returned to work.
Since that date, CUPW has been announcing regional walkouts on social media on the day of — or just hours before — they begin.
“As with previous rotating strikes, we will not be announcing strike locations, dates, times, nor durations in advance,” said the union on its website on Tuesday.
Canada Post says it does its best to update its website with the latest information on rotating strike locations as soon as CUPW makes it public.
How long will the mail take to arrive?
With 53,000 CUPW members now back to work, Canada Post has resumed accepting and delivering mail and parcels in all locations except those subject to the rotating strikes.
The Crown corporation warned that “uncertainty and instability” will persist during the rotating strikes, and it will need to “adjust operations,” which sources say could include layoffs or reductions in postal workers’ hours.
“All service guarantees remain suspended and customers should expect delays,” said Lisa Liu, a Canada Post spokesperson, adding that rotating strikes challenge the corporation’s ability to provide reliable service.
The Star asked what delivery timeline people can expect, but the Crown corporation did not respond.
“While post offices in Shoppers and other retail stores would remain open, they would not be getting new mail or parcels if there is a strike in their area,” Liu said.
Mail backlog continues, flyer delivery suspended
As of Wednesday, Canada Post was still processing letters and parcels that entered the delivery system, including both domestic and international items, before its union’s nationwide strike began on Sept. 25.
Liu said customers should expect delays in processing and delivery, as it will take time for the postal service to clear the backlog and manage operational resources with “an unstable network.”
“We thank customers for their ongoing patience and understanding as we work through processing the mail and parcels that were trapped in our network during the national strike,” she said.
Canada Post has begun accepting commercial mail and parcels as of Wednesday, but will continue to suspend “date-specific neighbourhood mail,” including flyers and advertising materials, until further notice.
9,000 trapped passports to be delivered
Since May 12, 2025, Service Canada has delivered passport packages via Canada Post or an alternative courier to “minimize” the impact of the strike on customers, said Service Canada spokesperson Mila Roy. Canada Post entered its legal strike position on May 23.
“The alternate courier does not deliver to P.O. boxes. We recommend that clients who have a P.O. box as their mailing address provide a street address when possible,” Roy added.
As postal workers switched to rotating strikes, Canada Post will begin delivering the roughly 9,000 passports currently sitting in its distribution centres in the coming days.
Canadians who believe their passports are stuck in the mail and urgently need them can also contact the passport program by phone or visit a Service Canada Centre to request an in-person pickup of a new passport free of charge.
What will happen next in contract negotiations?
After the federal government greenlit Canada Post to end home delivery and close some rural offices, the union has met twice with the Minister for Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement Joël Lightbound to voice its opposition to the government’s intervention.
“We’ll be asking the Minister’s representatives to push Canada Post back to the bargaining table without delay to reach ratifiable collective agreements and bring nearly two years of negotiations to an end,” CUPW said ahead of its meeting with Lightbound on Wednesday afternoon.
The union also said the rotating strike “is designed to minimize the impact on the public, charities, and businesses while keeping the pressure on Canada Post” and will continue until further notice.
