Small businesses gear up for another possible Canada Post strike

By Finance News On May 16, 2025

Small businesses and shipping firms are preparing for a possible Canada Post strike as early as next week, a disruption they warn could strain supply chains and freeze millions of packages as well as billions of dollars in sales.

While the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the postal service had been in talks since April 30, Canada Post said late Tuesday that it was hitting pause on negotiations after it said days of trying to hash out a deal had gone by “without meaningful progress.”

The postal service said the temporary pause would allow the postal service to come back to the table with “comprehensive proposals” that it hopes can move discussions forward. The union called the pause a “tactic.”

“Given the seriousness of the matter, it is reprehensible to keep workers and the public on edge when we should all be focused on negotiating good collective agreements that will benefit workers and grow our public service to meet the needs of all Canadians,” CUPW said in a media statement.

Ottawa asked the federal labour board to send workers back on the job in December, when talks were at an impasse and a strike was disrupting holiday mail deliveries. That order back to work expires on May 22, meaning mail service could stop again as a result of a strike or lockout after that date.

That reality means mom-and-pop shops and e-commerce companies have started making alternative arrangements to get their packages to consumers and clients. But many are already frustrated.

LISTEN | Is Canada Post doomed?:

Front Burner20:36Is Canada Post doomed?

Late last week, federal labour minister Steven MacKinnon recommended that Canada Post workers, who have been on strike for more than four weeks, be ordered back to work until May 22, 2025. In the meantime, an inquiry would look into the roadblocks preventing the two parties from getting to an agreement.
This labour dispute has led to a lot of debate and discussion about the future of Canada Post.
Ian Lee is an associate professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University and has studied Canada Post for many years.
He walks us through the crown corporation’s grim financial situation, how its business could adapt, and its uncertain future.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

‘I’m so used to Canada Post’

In Cape Breton, N.S., yarn retailer Tracy Hubbard says she’s begun tallying the hit to her bottom line if she’s forced to ship through a large courier, which typically charges more for parcels than Canada Post.

Small businesses bore the brunt of the service stoppage in the fall, with many scrambling last-minute to find other carriers who could deliver their packages.

At the time, Sterling Slingerland, a small business owner in Oshawa, Ont., who runs an online gift shop, told the CBC they were pausing any online orders and having local customers pick up their packages instead as a result of the strike.

“I’m so used to Canada Post….