The union representing striking Canada Post workers has announced a transition from a nationwide walkout to rotating strikes beginning Oct. 11, a decision that will partially restore the flow of mail and parcels.
Rotating strikes are set to start on Oct. 11 at 6 a.m. local time, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) National President Jan Simpson said in a press release.
“This will start mail and parcels moving, while continuing our struggle for good collective agreements and a strong public postal service,” Simpson said in the Oct. 9 statement.
The 55,000 members of the postal union walked off the job on Sept. 25 to protest changes announced by the federal minister in charge of Canada Post.
Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound had announced sweeping changes earlier the same day, which he said were necessary to curb the financial losses of the Crown corporation as mail volumes continue to decline.
A spokesperson for Lightbound said the minister was not immediately available for comment on the move to rotating strikes or on an Oct. 8 meeting he held with union representatives.
The union said it expressed its concerns during the meeting with Lightbound about the newly announced changes as Canada Post looks to expand community mailboxes in favour of door-to-door delivery and close some rural post offices.
Simpson said the union asked Lightbound to reverse the changes, but he indicated they would remain in effect.
“The Union also reminded the Minister that the only way for this dispute to come to an end is for Canada Post to offer postal workers ratifiable collective agreements,” she said in a statement. “The Government’s interventions have only emboldened the Employer and undermined free and fair collective bargaining.”
She said Canada Post continues to “chip away at postal services, worker rights and good jobs” in every contract negotiation and described its latest offers as “an outright attack on public service.”
Canada Post presented new global offers to the union on Oct. 3 that included compounded wage increases of 13.59 percent over four years. The offer also included what the Crown corporation described as an “industry-leading defined benefit pension,” health benefits and post-retirement benefits, up to seven weeks of vacation, and a cost of living allowance to protect against the effects of unforeseen inflation.
“Due to the company’s deteriorating financial situation, a signing bonus for employees is no longer on the table,” the agency said in an Oct. 3 press release. “Canada Post’s new offers are within the limit of what the Corporation can afford while maintaining good jobs and benefits for employees over the long-term.”
Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu was not immediately available for comment on the move to rotating strikes, but she urged the union earlier this week to respond to the Crown corporation’s latest offers.
Hajdu told reporters on Oct. 8 that the two parties have a responsibility to find a way through the labour impasse nearly two years into negotiations.
“They all know the process,” she said. “The process is that they negotiate until they get to a deal that everybody can live with.”
Canada Post CEO Doug Ettinger described the labour situation as “extremely challenging” in a recent open letter, but noted that the agency was committed to reaching new agreements at the bargaining table.
“It’s vital these agreements reflect our financial reality and support the changes we need to make – while helping us stand on our own, without taxpayer funding,” he said.
Financial Woes
The financial challenges of the Crown corporation have been a major issue as the talks between the two parties persist.An inquiry by Commissioner William Kaplan this spring found that Canada Post is facing a $1.5 billion loss this year.
The agency incurred roughly $5 billion in losses between 2018 and 2025. The corporation recorded a $1.3 billion shortfall in 2024 and sought a $1 billion federal bailout in January 2025. In addition to the anticipated $1.5 billion deficit for this year, the Crown corporation disclosed a pre-tax loss of $407 million for the second quarter in August.
The dire financial situation of Canada Post was detailed in Kaplan’s report along with several recommendations to make the agency more efficient.
In addition to transitioning residential customers to community mailboxes and shuttering approximately 4,000 rural post offices, the report suggests streamlining the procedure for increasing postage rates, as well as converting non-urgent mail transport from air to ground.
Lightbound has said Ottawa plans to move ahead with implementing all of the recommendations made by Kaplan.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
