Six months after the Canada Post strike “crippled” her business, Julie Brown says her team is facing yet another catastrophe — at the worst possible time.
Brown’s business is booming — her made-in-Canada clothing brand “Province of Canada” is enjoying a surge in new customers after Donald Trump’s annexationist threats.
But after the latest strike action at Canada Post, Brown fears delivery chaos will erupt at a time when orders are at their peak.
“Our whole team was having a mental breakdown by the end of (the last strike),” Brown said. “We lost tons of parcels because we had to use different companies that aren’t as reliable as Canada Post … We still had lost parcels up until this week.”
Brown’s business switched from Canada Post to other carriers after the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) issued a ban on overtime last Friday, a move the Crown corporation said could result in delays.
A sudden strike could see any remaining packages in Canada Post’s system languish for months in its warehouses, she said.
Brown’s not alone in making the delivery pivot.
A growing number of small businesses are abandoning Canada Post in the wake of its union’s latest strike action, leading to a 65 per cent plunge in delivered parcel volumes as of Wednesday.
Alternative carriers are enjoying a spike in new business.
Logistics company GoBolt added about 10,000 daily deliveries across its network in the months since the last Canada Post strike, said spokesperson Jarrett Stewart.
And Canadian shipping company Chit Chats saw a 300 per cent surge in new customers during the 2024 strike, with a similar spike now, spokesperson Juhee Cha told the Star.
Many small businesses are unlikely to return to Canada Post.
“In the modern business world, not sending something is not an option,” said Daniel Clark, an associate professor at Western University’s Ivey Business School. “People are going to look for alternatives, and they might stick with them. Canada Post has to recognize that they’re losing goodwill.”
Some alternatives will be more expensive than Canada Post, especially if they implement surge pricing, Clark added. Extra costs would then likely be passed onto customers.
In Hannah Prince’s experience, couriers are often significantly more expensive — sometimes costing $150 or more to ship to remote areas.
Her Manitoba-based fabric business, Thread Count Fabrics, is eating the extra costs for now.
“This is just super frustrating to deal with,” she said. “I switched to couriers because I don’t need to ruin the reputation of my business on Canada Post … People want reliable service to get their mail.”
Brown aims to keep prices stable by using shipping companies comparable in cost with Canada Post.
But many of these companies aren’t nearly as reliable. “It’s a total nightmare,” she says — especially for remote deliveries.
During the last strike, Brown estimates a quarter of her packages sent through alternative companies were lost, compared to what she said was a five to 10 per cent loss rate at Canada Post.
“The public doesn’t realize that (Canada Post’s) service is outstanding and their pricing is also fantastic,” says Brown. “They’re the only carrier who can reach every nook and cranny of Canada.”
Canada Post issued its final offer to the union Wednesday, which CUPW said fell short of expectations.
That same day, the corporation posted a $841-million loss before taxes in 2024 — its seventh consecutive year of annual losses.
It blamed a significant chunk of this loss on its union’s month-long national strike in the fourth quarter that year.
Brown hopes the two come to a resolution soon.
“They both have to be a little more malleable to come up with long-term solutions where this company is going to be sustainable.
“If you want to support Canadian businesses, you’ve got to support Canada Post,” she said. “Small steps need to start being taken. Otherwise, we’re going to be back in this scenario in the fall. And mentally, I don’t think we can handle another one of these.”
