Workers at Canada’s national postal service went on strike Friday, disrupting deliveries

Toronto, Ontario – Workers at Canada’s national postal service are on strike after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with Canada Post.

The Canadian Postal Workers Union said early Friday that nearly 55,000 workers were on strike and claimed little progress had been made in the bargaining process. The business interruption will disrupt postal service ahead of the busy holiday season.

The union issued a 72-hour strike notice earlier in the week, saying it wanted fair wages, safer working conditions and other improvements after nearly a year of bargaining.

“We still believe we can have negotiated collective agreements, but Canada Post must be willing to address our new and unresolved issues,” CUPW said in a statement.

Canada Post sent the lockout notice to the union shortly after but said it had no intention of locking out workers.

The government company released a statement early Friday morning confirming customers would experience delays. During the strike, mail and packages will not be delivered and some post offices will be closed.

Canada Post said the facility closures would impact its national network and mail processing and delivery would likely need time to return to normal after the strike ends.

Ahead of the strike deadline, Federal Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon said he had officially appointed the director general of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service as a special mediator to assist with the talks.

“We’re making sure these two groups have everything they need to reach an agreement,” he said in a post on X.