The results of a study conducted by CFIB last December showed nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of small business owners said they would be using Canada Post less in the future. (ID 217130302 © Iryna Tolmachova | Dreamstime.com)

By Teena Monteleone

strike deadline approaching

Small businesses brace for impact as Canada Post strike looms again

May 21, 2025 | 2:15 PM

The last time Canada Post went on strike, it caused a huge pain and a lot of money for Sandra Humphreys who owns a small business in Prince Albert.

“If it happens again this time, I don’t know if I’ll go back to Canada Post when it comes to putting something in the mail,” she said.

Humphreys runs Sporty T’s, a locally owned clothing store that’s been in business for 33 years. While she said Canada Post is the cheapest option for sending items in the mail, she started to use other carriers like UPS or Purolator to avoid disruptions when the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) took to the picket lines in late 2024. The strike lasted 32 days until the labour minister at the time told the Canada Industrial Relations board to order the employees back to work.

Humphreys said the biggest impact for her came when trying to pay vendors, which she usually did by sending cheques through Canada Post.

“I had to find a different way to pay my vendors and that’s not always easy. You either have to e-transfer or use VISA. Some companies, other than a cheque, will only take an EFT and that costs a lot of money.”

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Humphreys isn’t alone when it comes to her thoughts about Canada Post.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the last strike cost small companies over $100 million a day and ultimately up to a billion dollars in lost revenue and sales. The results of a study conducted by CFIB last December showed nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of small business owners said they would be using Canada Post less in the future.

“It’s tough to say whether that actually came to fruition,” said Brianna Solberg, director of provincial affairs with CFIB. “I think we’ve seen how difficult it is for small businesses to pivot away from Canada Post just because they’re not necessarily doing the volume that it takes to meet the sort of shipping minimums of these larger carriers…not to mention that if any business wants to ship to PO boxes or rural areas, Canada Post is the only shipping carrier that delivers to PO boxes. So, it is tough to say, but I think the frustration is certainly there and those who can…have looked to other carriers.”

The current agreement between Canada Post and CUPW is set to expire on May 22. The union gave notice earlier this week of its intent to go on strike starting at 12 a.m. on Friday, May 23.

Solberg said the last thing businesses need right now is more disruption to the supply chain, especially given global trade tensions.

“We simply can’t afford another threat to economic stability or supply chains,” she said. “We can’t keep finding ourselves back in the same spot over and over again with an important service not being available to small firms. I think it’s fair to say that Canada Post needs some major reforms to its business model.”

On Wednesday morning, Canada Post tabled a new offer to its union. CUPW, which represents 55,000 postal workers, said its negotiating teams will review the proposals to ensure they meet the needs of its members. The Crown corporation’s latest proposals include wage hikes and it still wants to add part-time workers to do weekend deliveries. For now it says it will provide health and pension benefits as well as schedule guaranteed hours.

CUPW has not yet announced whether it would implement rotating strikes or a national strike. The two sides, however, have agreed to continue the delivery of socio-economic cheques to Canadians even in the event of a labour disruption. Government financial assistance has already been delivered for May, the Crown corporation said, and details for June deliveries will be available soon. The delivery of live animals will also continue in the event of a strike, though no new animals will be accepted into the postal system in affected areas.

In the meantime, banks, businesses, and other Crown corporations are doing what they can to mitigate the impact of another strike by finding alternative ways to move money and communicating in advance to customers that they may face shipping delays.

-With files from The Canadian Press

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teena.monteleone@pattisonmedia.com