Canada Post Employees on Strike Yet Again

The labor dispute between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and Canada Post has been ongoing since November 2024 and has included two strikes. The first strike lasted from November 15 to December 17, 2024, and the second started on September 25, 2025.

After the initial strike, the CUPW first announced its intention to go on strike again in May 2025, but after a meeting with Canada Post, the union announced an overtime work ban instead. In September 2025, Joël Lightbound, the Minister of Government Transformation, Public Services, and Procurement, announced a federal reform that would allow Canada Post to phase out door-to-door service in favor of community mailboxes. This reform would affect nearly four million addresses and close many rural offices.

In response, the CUPW launched another nationwide strike. Consequently, Canada Post halted all operations, suspending mail acceptance, processing, and delivery for the duration of the strike. Government benefit checks and live animals are exceptions and will still be delivered. The expected duration of the strike is currently unknown, as negotiations remain stalled.

What does the current strike mean for those shipping from the United States to Canada via the United States Postal Service (USPS)? As of October 8, USPS is still accepting and transporting mail and packages to Canada. These packages are expected to be processed by Canada Post on a first-in, first-out basis once the strike ends. Therefore, it is recommended that you refrain from mailing time-sensitive or perishable items until further notice.

USPS continues to accept Priority Mail Express International items addressed to Canada. However, the guarantee on such items is temporarily suspended. The USPS is closely monitoring the situation, and suspending service to Canada is still possible. During the previous strike, the USPS suspended all international deliveries to Canada two weeks after the strike began and resumed delivery three weeks after it ended, once Canada Post had cleared much of the backlog.

Since the situation is still unfolding, it is best to use alternative delivery services, such as UPS, for the time being. Although they are more expensive than USPS, with PostageMaker, you can purchase discounted UPS shipping labels and have your packages delivered to Canada without any problems.