Ottawa to Phase Out Home Mail Delivery in Sweeping Overhaul of Canada Post

End of Home Mail Delivery: Ottawa Announces Sweeping Overhaul of Canada Post

Ottawa has unveiled a dramatic overhaul of Canada Post aimed at curbing mounting financial losses, which have reached more than $5 billion since 2018. The federal government says the measures, which include ending home mail delivery, lengthening delivery times, and closing rural branches, are necessary to address what it calls an “existential crisis” for the Crown corporation.

“Canada Post is facing an existential crisis,” said Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works, and Procurement, in a statement. “Since 2018, the Crown corporation has accumulated over $5 billion in losses. This situation is no longer sustainable.”

Home Delivery to Be Phased Out

One of the most significant changes is the federal government’s decision to lift the moratorium on the conversion of home delivery to community mailboxes. Approximately four million addresses are still receiving door-to-door service. Ottawa estimates that converting them will generate $400 million in annual savings.

Canada Post will continue to deliver letters and parcels daily, but service will be slower. Domestic mail, which currently takes two to four days, will take a minimum of three days and up to a week to arrive. Non-urgent mail will be transported by truck instead of by air, a move expected to save $20 million annually.

Rural Post Offices at Risk

The federal government also plans to end the moratorium that has protected nearly 4,000 rural post offices since 1994. Officials argue that many of these branches, once located in rural areas, are now situated in suburban or even urban communities due to population growth.

“Canada Post will need to present a plan to the government to modernize and adapt its network to today’s realities,” Lightbound added.

Decline in Letter Mail

Canada Post has been grappling with a steep decline in letter mail volumes due to the rise of the internet. Twenty years ago, the corporation processed 5.5 billion letters annually. Today, that number has dropped to just 2 billion, even as Canada’s population has grown.

Labor Tensions

The reforms come at a time of heightened labor tensions. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has been in contract negotiations for nearly two years. Frustrated by what it calls management’s stalling tactics, workers escalated pressure two weeks ago by halting delivery of local newspapers and flyers—one of the corporation’s most profitable services.

This followed an earlier measure introduced in May, where employees refused to work overtime, a move that primarily hurt workers rather than management.

Mounting Losses

Canada Post’s financial troubles have been worsening year after year. In 2024, the Crown corporation reported a pre-tax loss of $841 million, up 12.4% from 2023’s $748 million and a staggering 53.5% increase from losses of $548 million in 2022.

Ottawa maintains that the sweeping reforms are critical to ensuring the long-term survival of Canada Post in a rapidly changing communications and delivery landscape.