Ombudsman’s report
Reporting to the Chair of the Board of Directors, the Office of the Ombudsman is independent of Canada Post’s workforce and management. Our office gives Canadians another avenue if they feel Canada Post did not live up to its service commitments. It investigates customer complaints and recommends fair and equitable solutions. By identifying trends, focusing on prevention and recommending changes as needed, it also offers Canada Post another perspective to improve service.
In many ways, 2025 was an unprecedented year. The Corporation experienced labour uncertainty and disruption throughout the year, including product-specific delivery bans, a national strike and local rotating strikes. Many businesses moved their deliveries to other carriers or switched to alternative forms of communication during the disruptions. This impacted the volume of mail and parcels handled by Canada Post and, as a result, the number of appeals our office received.
In 2025, the total number of appeals received by our office decreased by 19 per cent compared to the previous year. We received a total of 3,411 appeals in 2025, compared to 4,229 in 2024. Historically, a significant portion of customer appeals have been tied to parcel deliveries. In 2025, Canada Post’s parcel volumes declined by more than 30 per cent, which directly contributed to a corresponding reduction in related customer appeals.
In-depth investigations
In 2025, we executed in-depth investigations on 1,786 appeals compared to 2,420 in 2024, a decrease of about 26 per cent. Two complaint categories represented 38 per cent of all completed investigations:
- Lost or missing mail; and
- Customer deemed the compensation offered by Canada Post as unfair.
What we heard from consumers
During the national strike, consumers had items stuck in the mail stream and they appealed to our office to request a search or extraction. The majority of these items contained important documents like passports, health cards and credit cards. When the national strike ended, consumers requested refunds for services such as Mail Forwarding, Hold Mail and postal boxes.
In addition, during the rotating strikes, delivery guarantees were cancelled and consumers appealed to our office because their items were delivered late.
What we heard from businesses
During the labour disruptions, multiple small to mid-sized businesses that had inducted Neighbourhood Mail™ items appealed to us because they wanted it stopped, intercepted and returned to them. We also heard complaints about how the national strike had further negatively impacted the health of their business when they were still recovering from the 2024 national strike.
Mailing to the United States
The United States changed its tariff policy in 2025 when importing goods from abroad, including from Canada. These rules, in turn, impacted international mail requirements before products could enter the U.S. Our office handled many appeals for United States-bound parcels held at U.S. customs that were subsequently either returned to sender, held for a long time or kept. This was a result of the United States imposing stricter regulations for goods entering the U.S., including the suspension of its duty-free de minimis threshold of US$800 for all countries, including Canada. The types of items held were usually of higher value, like jewellery, designer goods (mostly handbags), precious metals (coins), and high-value electronics like smartphones.
Appeals related to the Canadian Postal Service Charter
The number of appeals related to the Canadian Postal Service Charter decreased by about 18 per cent compared to the previous year. The top reported issues were missing or damaged items, and difficulty reaching customer service. Together, they represented 80 per cent of all appeals relating to the Charter.
We remain committed to working with all customers to ensure the appeal process is fair, unbiased and confidential.
Jean-Marc Nantais
