The Canadian government announced Thursday that it will authorize Canada Post to end home mail delivery, sparking an immediate nationwide strike by postal workers. "The bottom line is this: Canada Post is effectively insolvent," said government minister Joel Lightbound. Officials said more than three-quarters of Canadians already get their mail in community mailboxes, the CBC reports. Lightbound said ending home delivery to the remaining 4 million addresses would save around $400 million Canadian—about $287 million US—a year. He said the change would be mostly complete by 2029.
Canada Post is a crown corporation—like the USPS, it's government-owned but it's structured like a private company. Also like the USPS, it is losing money. Lightbound said it is on track to lose $1.5 billion Canadian (about $1.1 billion) this year. "It provides an essential service to Canadians, and in particular to rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, and Canadians are rightfully attached to it and want it saved," he said. "However, repeated bailouts from the federal government are not the solution." The government also plans to end a decades-old freeze on closing rural post offices and route less urgent mail by truck, not plane.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers blasted the reforms, saying they're "drastic" and will hurt both the public and employees. The union said Thursday that its members are on a nationwide strike due to the "government's attack on our postal service and workers," though deliveries of government checks will continue. The union says Canada Post's financial woes stem partly from drawn-out contract talks. CUPW negotiators say a better collective agreement and recent stamp price hikes could put the service back in the black. Some postal workers say the cuts ignore their broader community roles, like checking in on vulnerable elderly residents. A 2023 report found that a visitation service like the one offered by Japan Post could be an extra revenue source for Canada Post.
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The government's plans follow recommendations outlined in a report earlier this year from a commission created to resolve Canada Post's long-running labor dispute, the Globe and Mail reports. The report found that the service's current infrastructure and staffing levels were unsustainable, with mail volumes rapidly declining, following the global trend. "There is every reason to believe—and no reason not to—that the letter mail decline will continue and that this trend is irreversible: not a leveling off, but almost certain and eventual extinction," the report stated.
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