Nearly 9 in 10 SMBs call for Canada Post reforms: report

Amid widespread concern about the future viability and reliability of Canada Post, most employers are calling for changes at the Crown corporation, according to a survey.

Nearly nine in 10 (87%) small business owners support changes to the national postal service, according to the survey.

More than half of respondents support reducing residential mail delivery (52%) and replacing door-to-door delivery with community mailboxes (51%). Additionally, over two in five small businesses are in favour of limiting or freezing employee compensation packages over the next few years (45%), and replacing corporate postal outlets with franchised locations (42%).

“Canada Post needs major reforms to make sure it becomes financially viable. But in the short term, the government must end the strike and ensure that all postal services are fully available while the reforms are being implemented,” said Jasmin Guénette, vice-president of national affairs at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), which did the survey.

Earlier this year, CBC reported that Canada Post is laying off 50 managers.

"It's a corporate-wide restructuring," said Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton in the report. "It's an unfortunate reality based on the financial challenges we face, but it's also something that needs to be done."

Canada Post still popular with business

Despite ongoing challenges, Canada Post remains an essential service for many businesses. Following the 2024 strike, four in five small businesses surveyed said they still use Canada Post.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) use it for sending cheques, 61% for other letter mail, 58% value its low cost, and 50% cite convenience as a key factor, found the survey.

CFIB recommends the government:

• immediately end the Canada Post strike and quickly move forward with the announced changes.
• freeze Canada Post's compensation expenses and support the implementation of more flexible work schedules.
• consider Canada Post an essential service provider to limit the possibility and impacts of work stoppages in the future and enhance reliability.
• introduce financial constraints to limit repeated yearly deficits. 

Union moves to rotating strike

Meanwhile, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) will be moving to a rotating strike starting Saturday. CUPW called a nationwide strike on September 25 after the federal government announced several changes to the postal service in the country.

“While this will start mail and parcels moving, we will continue our struggle for good collective agreements and a strong public postal service,” said Jan Simpson, national president of the union.

Specifically, Public Services and Procurement Canada announced the following changes:

• Letter Mail Delivery Standards: Canada Post will introduce flexibilities to reflect today’s lower volumes.

• Community Mailbox Conversions: The government is lifting the moratorium on community mailbox conversions. Currently, three-quarters of Canadians already receive mail through community, apartment, or rural mailboxes, while one-quarter still receive door-to-door delivery. Canada Post will be authorised to convert the remaining 4 million addresses to community mailboxes, generating close to $400 million in annual savings.

• Postal Network Modernization: The moratorium on rural post offices, in place since 1994, will also be lifted. This means that areas that used to be rural may now be suburban or even urban, but are still required to operate as rural post offices. Canada Post must return to the government with a plan to modernise and right-size its network.

“The government of Canada is removing long-standing barriers to reform, but leadership and structural change from within the corporation will be essential,” said the federal government agency. “Canada Post must take decisive action to deliver the services Canadians need in a way that is financially sustainable. As our government reviews its balance sheets so we can spend less and invest more, we are asking Canada Post to do the same.”

These changes did not sit well with CUPW.

“We did not take the decision to move to a nationwide strike lightly. Postal workers would much rather have new collective agreements and be delivering mail instead of taking strike action,” said Simpson.

“Yet, we could not stand by as the government announced its plans to allow Canada Post to gut our postal service and slash thousands of our jobs. Contract after contract, this employer has sought to chip away at postal services, worker rights and good jobs, and its latest offers are an outright attack on public service. The government’s announcement on September 25 also emboldened Canada Post to continue making a mockery of the bargaining process.”

There have been struggles in the negotiations between Canada Post and CUPW.