As the clock ticks toward a potential Canada Post strike, I’m watching small business owners across the country prepare for what many describe as “the final straw” in their relationship with the national mail carrier.
Walking through Toronto’s Junction neighborhood yesterday, I spoke with Maryam Ishani, who runs a handmade jewelry shop that ships nationwide. “I’ve already signed up with three alternative carriers,” she told me, organizing packages on her workbench. “If they strike now, during pre-holiday shipping season, I honestly might not go back to Canada Post afterward.”
This sentiment echoes across provinces as Canada Post’s approximately 55,000 workers could be in legal strike position by November 14th if ongoing negotiations with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) fail to produce an agreement. The union’s demands center on improved working conditions, job security, and better wages to match inflation – concerns that have been building since their last contract expired in December 2023.
For the 1.2 million Canadian small businesses that rely on mail services, this potential disruption comes at a particularly vulnerable moment. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), nearly 62% of small retailers make critical revenue during the November-December period, with online sellers depending heavily on reliable shipping.
“We’re seeing unprecedented levels of contingency planning,” says Dan Kelly, president of the CFIB. “Small businesses learned hard lessons during the 2018 rotating strikes and the pandemic shipping delays. They’re not waiting to be caught unprepared again.”
What’s different this time is the competitive landscape. Since the last postal disruption, private delivery options have expanded significantly, particularly in urban centers. Companies like Canpar Express and ShipTime have positioned themselves as small-business friendly alternatives, often with more flexible pickup options and competitive rates for domestic shipping.
In Ottawa’s Byward Market, bookseller Tomas Chen has already transitioned 80% of his shipping to alternative carriers. “The reliability issues were becoming too much even before talk of a strike,” he explains. “My customers expect tracking that actually works and packages that arrive when promised.”
Public opinion appears divided. An Angus Reid poll conducted last month found that while 58% of Canadians sympathize with postal workers’ concerns about working conditions, 64% believe that mail service disruptions cause “significant hardship” for small businesses and vulnerable populations.
The federal government has remained notably quiet about whether they would legislate postal workers back to work as they did in 2018 – legislation that was later ruled unconstitutional by the courts. Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon issued a brief statement last week urging both sides to “continue negotiating in good faith toward an agreement that works for workers, the corporation, and Canadians.”
For rural communities, the stakes are particularly high. Alternative delivery services often charge premium rates for remote destinations if they serve them at all. In Northeastern Ontario, the Timiskaming Small Business Association reports that members face shipping surcharges of 30-45% with private carriers compared to Canada Post’s flat rate system.
“This is where the digital divide and the delivery divide meet,” explains Dr. Heather McIntosh, an economist specializing in rural commerce at Laurentian University. “Rural businesses already struggle with internet infrastructure limitations. If they lose affordable shipping options too, we’ll see accelerated business closures in communities that can least afford it.”
What’s striking in my conversations with business owners is how many view this potential disruption not as a temporary inconvenience but as a catalyst for permanent change in their shipping strategies. Many have been investing in logistics software that can instantly compare rates across multiple carriers – technology that wasn’t widely available during previous postal disruptions.
“I’ve built a hybrid shipping model,” explains Vancouver-based craft brewer Samuel Winters, who ships specialty beers nationwide. “Local deliveries through courier services, mid-range through regional carriers, and only the most remote locations through Canada Post. A strike would just accelerate what’s already happening – the end of single-carrier loyalty.”
Canada Post spokesperson Philipe Legault maintains that the corporation is negotiating in good faith and understands what’s at stake. “We recognize the essential role we play for Canadian businesses and communities,” he said in a statement. “We are committed to reaching agreements that are fair to our employees while remaining financially sustainable.”
Yet trust appears fragile. The 2018 rotating strikes cost small businesses an estimated $3.1 billion in lost sales and extra shipping costs, according to CFIB data. The pandemic further strained relations as delivery delays coincided with businesses’ desperate pivot to online sales.
As November approaches, the questions extend beyond the immediate impact of a potential strike. Will Canada Post be able to regain lost business once service resumes? Is this the tipping point where alternative delivery networks finally gain the scale needed to compete nationwide?
For small business owners like Maryam Ishani, the answer seems increasingly clear. “I can’t build a business on uncertainty,” she says, printing shipping labels for tomorrow’s orders. “Whatever happens with the strike, I think Canada Post has already lost me as a customer.”
