Canada Post is reporting a loss of more than $1.5 billion before tax last year, a record-breaking figure it attributes to labour uncertainty and challenges in modernization that hindered the mail service’s ability to be competitive.
The $1.57 billion loss was $728 million greater than the $841 million the national mail carrier lost before tax in 2024, representing an 86.7 percent annual increase, the Crown corporation said in a press release accompanying its annual report.
The financial loss represents its “largest loss before tax on record,” Canada Post said.
The Crown corporation has documented losses exceeding $5 billion since 2018 as it grapples with a substantial reduction in letter mail and heightened competition in the package delivery sector.
Canada Post pointed to ongoing strikes by its unionized employees and decades-old rules and frameworks that continue to “impede the company’s modernization and its ability to compete” as two major contributors to its current financial status.
Annual revenue decreased by $315 million, a 4.7 percent decline compared to 2024. This decline was largely due to a 32.6 percent drop in parcel volumes caused by labour uncertainty throughout the year, the mail carrier said, noting that parcel volumes fell by 79 million pieces.
Canada Post received repayable government funding of $1.034 billion last year, which was intended to carry the corporation through the government’s fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. The funding proved inadequate due to the gravity of the corporation’s financial circumstances. The government has since authorized up to $1.008 billion in further repayable funding.
“The severity of the corporation’s financial situation underscores the urgency to transform and meet the modern needs of the country,” Canada Post said.
Upcoming Changes
Ottawa unveiled a series of reforms to Canada Post late last year in a bid to save the Crown corporation millions of dollars each year.The plan is to convert four million addresses to community mailboxes over the next five years. The corporation is beginning with 136,000 addresses across 13 communities—including Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Vancouver—which will be switched over to community mailboxes in late 2026 and early 2027.
Canada Post has also said it is reviewing its retail network in preparation for closures of urban and suburban post offices in areas it describes as over-served.
The financial outlook comes as members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) begin voting on a new collective agreement.
Both sides have agreed to refrain from any strike or lockout actions during the ratification voting period, but employees are also casting ballots to determine if they will authorize a strike mandate if they reject the contract.
Sixty percent of the union board has endorsed the contract, saying it ensures job security, but Union President Jan Simpson has asked members to reject the deal, because she believes it rolls back rights and compensation.
If postal workers were to strike again, it would be the third consecutive year to bring delivery disruptions. The workers went on strike nationwide in November 2024, right before the busy holiday season, and again in September 2025, with additional rotating actions through the rest of the year.
