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OTTAWA — Canada Post’s financial situation continued to deteriorate in the first three months of 2026, with the Crown corporation posting another substantial loss as mail volumes fell, parcel business weakened and long-running labour disputes continued to weigh on operations.
Canada Post reported a loss before tax of $205 million during the first quarter, compared with a $41-million loss during the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell by $181 million, or 14.3 per cent, to $1.6 billion.
The latest results add to a string of losses that have left the national postal service in increasingly fragile financial condition.
Canada Post says it has accumulated more than $6.4 billion in operating losses since 2018 and does not expect to return to profitability until at least 2030.
The corporation also reported a record annual loss of $1.57 billion before tax in 2025, underscoring the scale of the challenges facing the organization.
Much of the recent weakness came from the parcel business, once viewed as the corporation’s path to long-term growth. Parcel volumes fell by seven million pieces in the first quarter, a decline of 17.2 per cent, while parcel revenue dropped by $79 million.
Canada Post attributed part of the decline to prolonged labour uncertainty surrounding negotiations and contract ratification votes involving the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
The union rejects that explanation and argues repeated federal interventions in the bargaining process have prolonged the dispute and prevented workers from reaching a negotiated settlement.
Beyond labour issues, Canada Post continues to face structural challenges that have been building for years.
Letter mail volumes continue to decline as Canadians increasingly communicate and conduct business online. Direct marketing revenue also fell during the quarter, adding further pressure to the corporation’s finances.
The worsening financial picture has prompted Canada Post to pursue a sweeping restructuring plan aimed at reducing costs and improving efficiency.
Among the proposed changes are expanded use of community mailboxes, reductions in door-to-door delivery, modernization of retail operations, changes to service standards and workforce reductions through attrition.
The corporation has already begun preliminary work to convert approximately 136,000 addresses from home delivery to community mailboxes beginning later this year and into 2027.
Canada Post has also acknowledged its continued operations depend in part on government-backed financing. Ottawa approved access to more than $1 billion in additional repayable funding earlier this year, with $335 million received during the quarter.
The corporation argues transformation is necessary if it is to survive in a rapidly changing communications and delivery market. Critics, including the postal workers’ union, contend the focus should instead be on expanding services and rebuilding parcel volumes.
For now, the financial trend remains negative, with losses continuing to mount and no return to profitability expected for several more years.
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