The federal minister responsible for Canada Post said the corporation’s daily losses are now “way higher” than the previously announced $10 million, as he called for decisive moves with the overhaul of the postal service before the scrutiny of his parliamentary peers.
Standing firm on his decision to give the Crown corporation the go-ahead to restructure its operations, Joël Lightbound, minister for government transformation, public works, and procurement, told the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates on Thursday that the operational changes, which could end home delivery and close some rural offices, will not affect seniors and remote communities’ access to mail.
“Inaction is not an option. These are necessary changes to save Canada Post and put it on a sustainable footing, and that is what we are committing to do,” Lightbound said.
The hearing is the first in a series probing the government’s push for Canada Post to overhaul its operations, with less than 20 days left before the deadline Lightbound set for the Crown corporation to submit a restructuring plan.
Last week, Lightbound refused to cede any ground to the Canadian Postal Workers Union, which is now in its second week of rotating strikes and had sought to persuade the minister to put the brakes on his plan.
On Sept. 25, the federal government greenlit Canada Post to lift the moratorium that prevents the closing of rural offices.
Lightbound said at Thursday’s hearing that the government’s directive is not aimed at communities where Canada Post remains a lifeline, but rather at areas that were once rural or remote and have since become suburbs.
“The directive to Canada Post is very clear. They have to respect the service standard for delivery in rural communities,” he said.
Speaking of the plan to transition the 23 per cent of Canadians who still receive home delivery to community mailboxes, Lightbound said he has made it clear to Canada Post that the affected communities must be fully informed about the accommodation program for Canadians with mobility issues as the transition to community mailboxes proceeds.
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, the Bloc Québécois MP for Laurentides—Labelle, pressed Lightbound on whether he could guarantee that his planned changes would not “weaken” Canada Post, leaving it vulnerable to being absorbed by its subsidiary and private courier, Purolator.
“100 per cent. Canada Post has a very different mission than Purolator,” said Lightbound, adding that privatizing Canada Post is “unthinkable” given its essential role to serve rural and remote communities.
He added that he hopes by allowing Canada Post to close some post offices and ending home delivery, the crown corporation can become competitive in the parcel business going forward.
Conservative MP Jeremy Patzer and some other Tory MPs grilled Lightbound over why the Liberal government is only now moving to restructure Canada Post “in the middle of job action,” despite the corporation bleeding red ink for years.
Lightbound said the reality at Canada Post has changed dramatically over the past decade, when letter-mail volumes were much higher. In 2025, for the first time, the government poured $1 billion into keeping the lights on at Canada Post.
He later said in the hearing that he learned that Canada Post’s losses are now “way higher” than the previously announced $10 million a day.
“Without any changes, we would be in repeated bailouts. I think that warranted a change and beginning the transformation of Canada Post,” Lightbound said.
On Thursday, the Canada Industrial Relations Board also posted a decision it made in August that it ruled against the postal workers’ union’s argument that Ottawa’s move last year to force the postal employees back to work was “unconstitutional.”
Marvin Ryder, an Associate Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at McMaster University, testified at the hearing as an individual witness and said he sees Canada Post in a “death spiral” and needs to make the best use of its advantage in delivering parcels to take back market share from private companies.
Ryder said “strong actions” are needed now, and he is surprised the government didn’t act on the Canada Post issue until September.
“There is a good reason, perhaps, to say we’ve been slow. But again, in my world, late is better than never,” Ryder said.
