The ongoing Canada Post strike has inflicted significant financial losses on small- and medium-sized businesses, totaling more than $765 million to date, according to a new report.
The strike began on November 15, when approximately 55,000 employees represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers walked off the job. Key issues include:
- A 24% wage hike over four years demanded by the union versus the 11.5% increase offered by Canada Post.
- Concerns over job security, benefits, and weekend parcel delivery contracts.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) estimates daily losses for small- and medium-sized businesses at $76.6 million, with the potential to surpass $1 billion by midweek.
- Three-quarters of small businesses report negative effects, including lost orders, increased shipping costs, and delayed payments.
- 41% of affected businesses estimate losses of at least $2,000.
Corinne Pohlmann, executive vice-president of advocacy at CFIB, criticized government inaction:
“It’s not the Grinch stealing Christmas—it’s Ottawa sitting idly by while small businesses lose crucial revenue.”
The strike has left many businesses scrambling for alternatives:
- Mississauga: Culmer Pen Company shifted from Canada Post to UPS for deliveries, absorbing the cost difference.
- Alberta: A bookkeeping firm cannot access receivables stuck at the post office.
- Prince Edward Island: A seed supplier with 86 years of reliance on Canada Post faces storage fees for 270,000 undeliverable catalogues.
- Ontario: Consulting firms are forced to cover costly shipping alternatives.
The CFIB is urging the federal government to introduce back-to-work legislation or impose binding arbitration to minimize the impact on the holiday shopping season.
“Small firms have already missed critical sales opportunities like Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” Pohlmann said. “If the strike isn’t resolved this week, Canada Post won’t recover in time for the holidays due to the backlog.”
The federal government, however, has resisted calls to intervene, leaving businesses uncertain about the rest of the season.
With businesses absorbing significant losses, pressure is mounting on Ottawa to act before the strike causes further disruption.