Recommended Videos

Why are rural post offices suddenly an issue now?

Bleeding about $10 million a day, with losses of $5 billion since 2018, Canada Post is struggling as traditional letter mail dwindles and private couriers eat into the parcel business.

The minister in charge of the Crown corporation last month laid out major changes to Canada Post’s business model and gave it 45 days to come back with a new plan to turn things around. Hours after Procurement Minister Joel Lightbound announced those measures, the union for 55,000 postal workers launched a two-week nationwide strike, later switching to rotating service interruptions.

Some 3,700 post offices have been protected against closing since 1994, but Lightbound said a moratorium on rural closings is being lifted. Other changes h

See Full Page