Canada Post mail carrier Michael Orphen delivers mail in Toronto in November, 2024. Postal workers potentially could strike again in a week if a new contract is not reached.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Canada Post has told its workers that it is taking a “temporary pause” from negotiating a new collective agreement, a move the union is calling “reprehensible” with employees potentially heading back to the picket line in just over a week.
The Crown corporation said that recent discussions have not led to meaningful progress on a new agreement. In a statement on Tuesday, Canada Post said the pause would give it time to prepare “comprehensive proposals aimed at moving discussions forward constructively.”
More than 55,000 workers with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) went on strike for 32 days over November and December of last year, coinciding with the busy holiday shopping season.
The federal government directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order postal workers back to their jobs and to extend their existing collective agreement until May 22.
With that deadline looming, the two sides appear to be far apart, and if no deal is reached by then, workers could legally strike again.
CUPW issued a statement Tuesday saying the postal service had not provided dates for when the union would receive new proposals.
“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,” the union wrote in the statement.
Canada Post and its unionized workers have been negotiating for well over a year on a range of matters, including wages and how to staff a seven-day-a-week operation.
Negotiations have been rocky for months. Talks broke down in March, but resumed in April with the support of a mediator, according to a Canada Post release last month.
But the Crown corporation said Tuesday that “the union has either held or hardened its previous positions on key issues, leaving little room for progress.”
The union, in turn, said that “Canada Post has refused to take responsibility for the financial situation it finds itself in.” It also said that Canada Post ignored its offer to use existing collective-agreement language to allow for weekend delivery.
Canada Post has been under financial strain for years. It has lost at least $3-billion since 2018, driven by a drop in letter mail volume. In January, it received a $1.034-billion loan from the federal government to help cover operations this year.
In its latest annual report, Canada Post said “at least $1-billion will also be needed in 2026 and each year afterward to maintain operations and meet our employee obligations.”
In December, the federal labour relations board ordered postal workers back on the job after a request by then-labour minister Steve MacKinnon.
That decision extended the existing collective agreement and triggered the formation of an industrial inquiry commission to figure out why talks have repeatedly failed.
The commission, led by labour negotiator and former University of Ottawa law professor William Kaplan, is expected to deliver its report on May 15 – one week before the strike deadline. The union said it expects Canada Post to make new offers “immediately” after the report is released.
Stephanie Ross, an associate professor of labour studies at McMaster University, said the timing of the pause is “clearly related” to the report. “Canada Post is hoping that they may see something in that report that may give them additional leverage,” she said.
The union has lost some of its bargaining power because of the delayed negotiations, Ms. Ross said.
“The annual rhythms of when Canadians use the postal service coincide with Christmas. It’s when they can apply maximum pressure,” she said. “Kicking the dispute down to May places it at a time when the union has less leverage,” Ms. Ross said.
Still, a strike would affect thousands of small businesses and consumers who rely on Canada Post.
In 2023, the postal service handled nearly 8.5 million letters and 1.1 million parcels per weekday on average – about 29-per-cent of the parcel market, according to the Crown corporation. During the strike late last year, everything from gifts to passports sat idle in sorting facilities for weeks.
A new strike could also add pressure to an already fragile shipping sector, as global supply chains face delays linked to U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty.
The outcome of these negotiations matters for all Canadians, Ms. Ross said, even if they aren’t frequent users of the postal service.
“Lots of people around the country are facing layoffs because of the uncertainty with tariffs,” she said.