Canada Post Final Offer Rejected: What’s Next for Workers and Businesses?

On August 1st, after two weeks of voting, 55,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), including both the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) and Urban bargaining units, rejected Canada Post’s latest contract offer. The latest contract offer gave employees only half of what they were seeking in wages, proposing a 13 per cent increase over four years. It also aimed to have part-time workers deliver packages on weekends to compete with Amazon and its delivery services.

CUPW leadership initially rejected the final offers. When Labour Minister Patty Hajdu brought in the Canada Labour Code for a forced vote from workers, 69% members voted against the final offers. CUPW and Canada Post have yet to reach an agreement, despite over 18 months of negotiations, 200 meetings between the parties, a national strike, and a government-ordered Industrial Inquiry Commission (IIC) investigation.

While negotiations continue, a nationwide ban on overtime took effect on May 23, 2025, stipulating that employees will only work their regular 40-hour workweek, not more. With no deal in place and tensions rising, concern is growing about the possibility of a second Canada Post strike, and what that could mean for Canadian small businesses.

Canada Post plays a vital role for small businesses, many of which rely heavily on its services for shipping, invoicing, and day-to-day operations. Another strike could disrupt service and directly impact sales for these businesses.

After this prolonged period of negotiations and ongoing uncertainty around potential strikes, small businesses are finding it hard to plan ahead and are finding it difficult to rely on Canada Post for shipping. In fact, 2 out of 3 Canadian small businesses are ready to walk away from Canada Post if another strike occurs.

The 2024 Canada Post strike cost small businesses over $100 million daily. Although the 2024 Canada Post strike happened during a peak season, a strike at any time would still cause significant harm and inconvenience for Canadian businesses and consumers. During a strike, letter mail delivery is usually suspended, so customers ordering small items like greeting cards may have to pay for more expensive and slower parcel delivery to receive their orders.

While Canada Post is evaluating its next steps, CUPW is ready to go back to the bargaining table. Labour experts indicate that it is unlikely, as both parties consider their options.

Adam King, a University of Manitoba assistant professor in the labour studies program, interviewed by Craig Lord from The Canadian Press, noted that despite Canada Post’s final offers being rejected, the forced vote of all workers made more than 30% of voters come out in favour of the offer, even after their union advised them to reject it. Larry Savage, Brock University professor at the department of labour studies, interviewed by Craig Lord from The Canadian Press, noted that the divided opinion among workers makes organizing a strike difficult. He added, “[e]ven if you could effectively organize a strike, it’s not obvious to me that it would produce the results the union’s looking for”.

The ongoing uncertainty is costing Canada Post millions daily as clients switch to competitors. The IIC report also found that Canada Post is bankrupt and needs serious reforms to stay afloat. Savage expects that once the situation is resolved, the federal government will restructure Canada Post to address its financial challenges by implementing recommendations from William Kaplan’s IIC report, such as further expanding community mailboxes and discontinuing daily door-to-door delivery.

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/our-company/news-and-media/corporate-news/negotiations/2025-06-12-cupw-represented-employees-to-have-the-opportunity-to-vote-on-canada-posts-final-offers-after-18-months-of-negotiations

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/postal-workers-rejection-latest-offer-134514513.html

https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/new-brunswick/article/small-business-owners-brace-for-possible-canada-post-strike/   

https://ottawa.citynews.ca/2025/08/05/after-unionized-canada-post-workers-reject-final-offers-what-happens-next/

https://www.westernstandard.news/news/ottawa-urges-postal-union-and-canada-post-to-settle-as-strike-threat-looms/66648