With about a month until Christmas, one could only imagine how chaotic Santa’s workshop is looking in preparation for the big day. But now there’s one more matter that might affect how this holiday season plays out: the ongoing strike at Canada Post.
Santa Claus typically has of ton of lists and letters to shuffle through around this time, but many Canadian children (and their parents) might be wondering how the Big Man in Red will even receive and respond to the letters after 55,000 postal workers walked off the job last Friday.
Canada Post told the Star they are currently “unable to get mail to and from Santa in the North Pole” due to the labour disruption, but are committed to delivering every letter as well as his responses once postal operations restart.
“When operations do resume, we will help Santa by delivering a response to every letter sent to him this year,” Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu wrote in an email. Children should still write and ready their letters so it can be quickly mailed out when the service is back up and running, Liu added.
The postal service said it’s been helping Santa with his mail for more 40 years, handling about 1.2 million to 1.5 million letters each holiday season.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) told the Star it’s aware of the impact the strike action had on businesses, charities and communities during the holiday season.
But as of now, the union, which has cited wage increases, improved staffing provisions and improvements to group benefits plans as some of the major sticking points throughout negotiations, said it is focused on reaching a new agreement with the Crown corporation.
In a statement to the Star, the union said the decision to strike is always the “last resort” and that they are just as disappointed Santa can’t get his letters at the moment.
“Postal workers are doing their best to make sure Santa gets everyone’s letters. We know that Santa supports the collective bargaining rights of his workers,” CUPW said, adding that bargaining is continuing this weekend with the help of a special mediator appointed by the government.
Canada Post, however, said in an update on negotiations Saturday that its down more than eight million parcels compared to the same period of 2023 because of the strike, adding many customers are now turning to competitors for deliveries ahead of the holiday season.
The previous CUPW “rotating” strike in 2018 lasted about five weeks before being mandated back to work by the federal government. It’s unclear if Ottawa has any plans to do the same this time around.
How to write to Santa
Before the strike, Canada Post set a deadline of Dec. 6 for the letters to Santa in order to receive a response before the holidays. Though they cannot promise delivery dates, they can assure their writers that every letter will receive a reply, Canada Post said.
Letters to Santa can still be sent to his home address: Santa Claus, North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada.
Canada Post recommends that all families mail their letters in one envelope and they give a return address.
A mailing deposit location can be found here.
