Canada Post workers have initiated a nationwide strike following the federal government's announcement of significant reforms to the postal service. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) expressed its outrage over the changes, stating, "In response to the government's attack on our postal service and workers, effective immediately, all CUPW members at Canada Post are on a nationwide strike."

The reforms, announced by Joël Lightbound, the minister responsible for Canada Post, include the potential end of home delivery for approximately four million addresses. Lightbound also indicated that Canada Post would be allowed to adjust its delivery methods, shifting non-urgent mail from air to ground transport, which is expected to save the service $20 million annually.

Lightbound emphasized the necessity of these changes, stating, "The bottom line is this: Canada Post is effectively insolvent." He noted that the Crown corporation is projected to lose $1.5 billion by 2025. The government argues that these reforms are essential to maintain the postal service, particularly for rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.

The modernization plan also includes lifting a moratorium on closing rural post offices, which affects nearly 4,000 locations. Many of these post offices, once considered rural, have transitioned to urban areas.

The CUPW's strike comes as the postal service faces ongoing financial difficulties. The last profitable year for Canada Post was 2017, and since then, it has accumulated losses totaling $3 billion. In 2023 alone, the service reported a loss of $748 million, which is worse than the previous year's loss of $548 million.

In January, the federal government provided a $1 billion loan to Canada Post to help it remain operational. The postal service will need to refinance an additional $500 million in loans this summer and anticipates requiring $1 billion annually from the government by 2026 to meet its financial obligations.

The decline in letter delivery has been significant, with Canada Post delivering only 2.2 billion letters in 2023, down from a peak of 5.5 billion in 2006. This decline has been attributed to changing communication habits, as many Canadians have grown up without the practice of mailing letters.

In contrast, Canada Post's share of the parcel delivery market has also diminished. In 2019, it handled 62 percent of parcel deliveries, but that figure dropped to 29 percent in 2023. The company faces stiff competition from private carriers like FedEx and UPS, which often deliver on weekends, a service Canada Post does not currently provide.

The CUPW has indicated that there is still time to return to negotiations, but as of now, mail delivery is set to halt by the end of the week.