Canada Post explores cutting daily delivery

Daily mail delivery may be a thing of the past, as Canada Post explores its options amid financial pressure.

In its annual report, Canada Post says it needs to adapt to handle more competition for parcel delivery, higher operating costs, and the erosion of the need for physical mail. 

“In many ways, the Canada we serve today is not the one we’re built for,” Canada Post President and CEO Doug Ettinger said in a release Tuesday.

Jon Hamilton, a spokesperson for the Crown corporation, tells CityNews one of many options on the table is switching mail delivery from every weekday to every two or three days. 

“Flexibility is a big factor. How we deliver the mail and parcels hasn’t changed in a long time,” said Hamilton.

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Whereas Canada Post delivered 5.5 billion letters in 2006, last year its carriers delivered only 2.2 billion letters.

In 2023, Canada Post reported a pre-tax operating loss of $750 million, making it the sixth straight year of losses for the national postal service. 

“These are all important changes we can build on,” said Ettinger. “But it is clear there is much more we need to do to secure the future of Canada’s postal service.”

An increase in the cost to send a letter in Canada took effect Monday. The price of a single domestic stamp is now $1.15, up from $1.07. Canada Post says price increases are required to keep up with the rate of inflation.

Any changes around mail delivery frequency, Hamilton says, will have to be negotiated with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which is currently engaged in collective bargaining talks. 

The federal government says it’s willing to make legislative changes if necessary to ensure the stability of Canada’s postal system.

— With files from The Canadian Press