A vital national infrastructure

Canada Post is the country’s delivery infrastructure. Canadians, businesses and organizations across the country rely on this infrastructure through vital postal services for all. As Canada navigates economic instability and shifting global trade alliances, a Canadian-made, Canadian-owned delivery partner is essential for our country’s prosperity. With an unrivalled network that reaches all of Canada’s more than 17.8 million addresses, we keep Canadians connected.

We are a lifeline for those who rely on it most – small and mid-sized businesses, charities and Canadians in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. Without the national postal service, many Canadians would not have access to essential goods and affordable delivery services connecting them to the rest of the country and world. We go further to bring Canadians closer.

Connecting the country and supporting the national economy

Canada Post is a feature of the country’s economic resilience. At a time when the country is navigating significant economic uncertainty, Canadians and Canadian businesses need a national, publicly owned delivery partner that’s on their side. As private delivery companies seek large volumes with a focus on urban centres, Canada Post provides Canadian entrepreneurs and consumers with affordable service to every Canadian address.

Our country needs a modern and thriving national postal service that continues to deliver for all Canadians, meets their ecommerce and mailing needs, and operates as a public good.

Our nation-building role

We recognize the significant impacts that service disruptions in late 2024 and in 2025 had on Canadians, businesses and charities. While the labour uncertainty was very challenging, it also underscored the importance of a strong, national postal service to our country.

This sentiment was shared by individuals, businesses and organizations that made submissions in early 2025 to the Industrial Inquiry Commission (IIC) led by William Kaplan. The Commission examined the key issues in Canada Post’s bargaining dispute with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, as well as the company’s financial situation and competitiveness.

“The Commission received almost one thousand submissions from individuals and organizations. They overwhelmingly agreed that Canada Post was a vital national institution with a continuing nation-building role to play.”

– IIC report (page 23)

Rebuilding the business

We understand that we need to earn back the trust of Canadians and businesses across the country following the extended period of labour uncertainty. With new tentative collective agreements with our largest union, we are committed to moving forward with a focus on high-quality service that will help rebuild trust. Canadians and Canadian businesses have our commitment to do better.

Our proposed transformation plan will help us get there. A modern Canada Post will provide the kind of national, publicly owned delivery partner that Canadians and Canadian businesses want and expect. With a focus on parcel delivery and affordable, high-quality service, the transformation will build a Canada Post that better meets the evolving needs of Canadians in today’s economy, while putting the company on a path to financial self-sustainability.

A national growth platform for Canadian small businesses

Canada Post is critical to small businesses – the backbone of the Canadian economy. We open their sales to every Canadian address and help them compete in a market dominated by multinational ecommerce giants:

As a publicly owned company whose interests are not just profitability, we provide small businesses with a more affordable delivery option.
Small businesses struggle to compete on large ecommerce platforms dominated by global products. Canada Post’s delivery network allows small businesses to sell locally, nationally and globally using their own online presence.
Private delivery companies are not universal service providers – many focus on large urban markets where deliveries are more profitable. Canada Post provides small businesses with a truly national reach and access to all addresses – urban, rural and remote.

With affordable service and national and international reach, Canada Post acts as a growth platform for small businesses. We open their sales to every address and help level the playing field so they can compete:

Over the last few years, we have supported over half a million unique small businesses in Canada.
A majority of our small business customers are micro-businesses with less than $1 million in revenue and fewer than 10 employees.
More than 20 per cent of our small business customers are in rural Canada.
More than 60 per cent of small business customers transact at one of our retail outlets.

“As a small business owner, I rely on Canada Post to provide affordable and uniform shipping across the country. Accessible and reasonably priced shipping options are essential for small businesses like mine to compete in the marketplace and serve customers efficiently. Canada Post’s role as a public service ensures that businesses of all sizes, regardless of location, have access to consistent and fair shipping rates.”

– Alisha Anderson, Dioné Cosmetics, Saint John, New Brunswick (IIC submission)

A lifeline for rural, remote and Indigenous communities

Canada Post is a lifeline to rural, remote and Indigenous communities in all corners of the country and often one of their only delivery options.

While many privately owned carriers target major centres, Canada Post ensures every community has access to critical goods, medical supplies, ecommerce merchants and government services – regardless of distance or profitability.

Rural, remote and northern communities, with their lower population densities and distance from major cities, tend to be viewed as costly from a delivery perspective. But Canada Post has always been there to serve them. We go where many other delivery companies don’t. It’s how we connect all Canadians and bridge the vastness of the country, ensuring comparable service levels between urban and rural areas.

We’re proud to deliver to remote communities that are only accessible by air for a large portion of the year:

A plane sits on a tarmac in the glow of the Northern Lights.

We have more than 300 flights per week to northern and remote communities through contracted air service providers.

We serve about 150 remote and northern communities that can only be reached by air, with more than 300 flights per week through contracted air service providers.
The proportion of ecommerce parcels we deliver to rural and remote areas is three to four times higher than in urban centres.
Many large delivery companies rely on Canada Post to make their last-mile deliveries in these smaller communities.

A critical partner to charities

Canada Post is a critical partner to charities, big and small, to help them appeal directly to supporters and solicit vital donations. Despite the rise of digital fundraising, mail continues to be an essential and far-reaching tool for donor communications and fundraising across the country.

“The service provided to us by Canada Post is invaluable and irreplaceable. Through your service, we receive over 30,000 donations annually! Not only do our donors send cheques but letters and photos to their sponsored children. When the children and seniors receive them, the donation takes on a face and a very valued relationship is formed. Your service does this!”

– Chalice Canada (IIC submission)

In several different ways, Canada Post helps keep many charities funded, connected and operational.

Many seniors and older donors, who make up a large portion of Canada’s charitable donor base, continue to rely on mail for their donations.
Charitable organizations depend on direct mail and consider it as their most effective fundraising method in Canada. Direct mail accounted for 61 per cent of Canadian fundraising revenue in 2024, far surpassing digital channels, according to an analysis by Charity Village, a Canadian resource platform for non-profit organizations.
We also support charitable organizations across the country through the Canada Post Community Foundation. Grants distributed by the Community Foundation make a direct and positive impact on the people and communities Canada Post proudly serves.

Conclusion

Canada Post provides a vital national infrastructure to Canadians. Throughout our long history, we’ve served all Canadians with universal service, no matter where they live. We are an affordable, critical delivery partner for Canadians, businesses and charities. We are also the only delivery company with the people, network and commitment to reach every corner of the country.

“The conclusion is readily reached that the promise to deliver to every Canadian address – this commitment to our far-flung population – is worth preserving. It is in the national interest.”

– IIC report (page 64)

However, the delivery needs of Canadians have been changing and Canada Post must change with them. While letter mail volumes have steadily declined for 20 years, online shopping continues to grow. The Canadian ecommerce market is expected to double over the next decade, making parcel delivery Canada Post’s leading growth opportunity. At the same time, customers now have heightened expectations. They want affordable parcel delivery seven days a week, and increasingly seek fast, convenient and self-directed service.

With long-standing government restrictions being removed, and new tentative agreements with Canada Post’s largest union providing additional flexibility, the conditions are in place to renew this vital national infrastructure.

That’s why Canada Post is transforming – to build a modern and financially sustainable postal service that meets the evolving needs of the country it proudly serves. Our transformation will align our services and network with how Canadians and Canadian businesses use it today, while continuing to support the needs of all communities.