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OTTAWA — Postal workers across Canada have ratified new collective agreements with Canada Post, bringing an end to a lengthy and often contentious bargaining process that stretched more than two years and included nationwide strikes, government intervention and repeated uncertainty for customers and employees.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced members in both its Urban Postal Operations and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers bargaining units voted in favour of the agreements.
Preliminary results show 89 per cent of urban postal workers supported ratification, while 85.9 per cent of rural and suburban mail carriers voted in favour.
The new agreements will remain in effect until Jan. 31, 2029.
The vote concludes one of the most turbulent rounds of bargaining in Canada Post’s recent history.
Negotiations were marked by months of uncertainty, a seven-week national strike, repeated labour disruptions and government intervention that repeatedly altered the course of bargaining.
In December 2024, the federal government used labour provisions to suspend a legal strike for six months. Bargaining continued through 2025 before Ottawa ordered a membership vote on Canada Post’s offer, a move strongly opposed by the union.
The prolonged dispute created uncertainty for businesses, consumers and charities that rely on the postal system, while Canada Post has argued the labour conflict contributed to declining parcel volumes and worsening financial losses.
The Crown corporation recently reported a first-quarter loss of $205 million before tax and has warned it does not expect to return to profitability before 2030.
CUPW National President Jan Simpson said the ratified agreements preserve several key protections while delivering gains for workers.
“Despite these challenges, postal workers made some gains and stopped drastic rollbacks first proposed by Canada Post,” Simpson said.
“These agreements protect key rights including job security and pensions, and secured good wage increases, improved benefits, and pay for all hours worked for RSMCs.”
The ratification comes as Canada Post faces major structural changes approved earlier this year by the federal government.
In March, Ottawa authorized the Crown corporation to begin phasing out door-to-door delivery for millions of addresses, expand the use of community mailboxes and pursue broader operational changes intended to improve its financial position.
The union has sharply criticized those plans, arguing they represent a reduction in public postal services.
“The cuts announced by the Government and Canada Post — while we were still bargaining and before our collective agreements were ratified — will negatively impact communities across the country,” Simpson said.
She said the union intends to shift its focus from bargaining to opposing service reductions and advocating for the future of the public postal system.
The agreements bring labour stability to Canada Post for the first time in years, though debate over the future of the national postal service is expected to continue as the corporation works through financial challenges, declining mail volumes and a major restructuring effort.
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