Canadians got a big surprise late Thursday afternoon, when the union representing Canada’s postal workers suddenly called for a nationwide strike.
The move came hours after the federal government announced major reforms to Canada Post, instructing the Crown corporation to end home delivery and close some rural mail outlets.
Canada Post lost $448 million before tax in the first half of 2025, following a loss before tax of $30 million in the first half of 2024.
And Public Works and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound said the corporation is losing approximately $10 million per day — despite the federal government providing a $1-billion injection earlier this year to keep it operational.
Canada Post welcomed the changes. But the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said it was “outraged” and posted a notice on its website early Thursday evening saying that all of its Canada Post members were walking off the job.
“In response to the Government’s attack on our postal service and workers, effective immediately, all CUPW members at Canada Post are on a nation-wide strike,” the statement reads.
Here’s what you need to know:
It already has.
Technically, Canada Post workers have already been on strike for months.
You might remember the postal strike over the holiday season last year. Everything from Christmas gifts to passport delivery was disrupted for 32 days.
Workers only returned to work after the labour minister asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order employees back, and they’ve been delivering mail again since then.
But things like an overtime ban or a work-to-rule campaign could be considered “strike” moves, and CUPW has been taking those kinds of actions since May.
Canada Post union expects postal service to shut down in the next 24 hours
Then on Thursday, union negotiator Jim Gallant told CBC’s Power & Politics that units were already organizing picket lines and that some workers were already off the job. He said he expected all workers to be fully on strike again by Friday.
The minister, Gallant said, “has made a drastic mistake.”
Canada Post issued a statement Thursday evening saying it was “disappointed that the union chose to escalate their strike activity, which will further deteriorate Canada Post’s financial situation.”
The union representing 55,000 postal workers says it was caught off-guard by the government’s changes and argued Canada Post and the government are creating the conditions that drive down demand for its letter and parcel services.
Canada Post workers do not currently have a collective agreement. They’ve been in contract talks for almost two years over issues like wages and part-time workers, while the postal service keeps incurring significant financial losses.
Earlier this month, the union rejected the government’s offer of a 13 per cent pay increase, saying it fell short of the union’s demand for 19 per cent.
While CUPW said it was willing to work with Canada Post to allow weekend delivery and the addition of part-time workers, it said the corporation walked away from the negotiating table.
Canada Post said in a statement that no mail or parcels will be processed or delivered during the strike, and service guarantees for items already in the mail are suspended.
“No new items will be accepted until the national disruption is over,” it wrote.
Canada Post will continue to deliver government benefit cheques — including Old Age Security, the Canada Child Benefit and the Canada Pension Plan — as well as live animals during the strike.
It says all mail and parcels already in the postal network will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible once operations resume.
The backlog of packages and letters after last year’s holiday season strike ran “a couple million” deep, according to the corporation.
In his restructuring announcement Thursday, Lightbound, the minister responsible for Canada Post, laid out several potential changes, including authorizing Canada Post to end home delivery.
About four million addresses still get mail delivered directly to their homes.
Lightbound said the government is lifting the moratorium on community mailbox conversions — a move that will bring those remaining addresses in line with the three quarters of Canadians who already receive mail through community, apartment or rural mailboxes.
He said the move will save nearly $400 million annually.
Canada Post will also be allowed to close some rural post offices.
‘The goal, ultimately, is to save Canada Post,’ minister says of postal service transformation
Canada Post has to have a plan within 45 days that outlines how it will implement these changes, according to the minister.
He estimated that the switch from door-to-door delivery to community mailboxes will likely take close to a decade, though many people will see changes much sooner.
