Calling it a ‘pivotal moment’ for the corporation, the minister responsible for Canada Post is accepting all recommendations made by the Industrial Inquiry Commission and says the federal government will lift a moratorium on the conversion to community mailboxes.
He’s also lifting a moratorium on the closure of post offices which he says allowed some post offices to continue operating even those in close proximity to each other.
According to government, Canada Post operated at a loss of $1.3 billion last year, requiring an injection of $1 billion in federal funding in January. The corporation lost $407 million in the second quarter of 2025, and is losing $10 million every week.
Minister Joel Lightbound says while Canada Post is “effectively insolvent” and “facing an existential crisis,” it is worth saving.
He says the delivery model on which services are based is outdated.
“While 20 years ago Canada Post delivered 5.5 billion letters per year. Today that number is 2 billion. While the number of letters has dropped, the number of households has increased, thus, Canada Post is delivering fewer letters to more addresses.”
“Second, while letter volumes have declined, Canadians have been sending and receiving more packages than ever before, but they’re turning increasingly away from Canada Post and toward private competitors for faster, and more cost-efficient (delivery.)”
He says in 2019 Canada Post delivered 62 per cent of all parcels sent in Canada, but today it’s less than 24 per cent “and shrinking fast.”
He’s urging Canada Post to take immediate steps to address its financial challenges by finding efficiencies, reducing overhead, cutting costs and lightening its management structure.
