Canada Post Strike (2025): Alternative Shipping Services & Everything You Need to Know

2025 Canada Post Strike: How To Find Canada Post Alternatives

With another Canada Post strike widely anticipated to start on May 22, 2025, businesses across Canada are once again being reminded of the importance of proactive shipping strategies and tools to help compare and find Canada Post alternatives for shipping and parcel delivery.

While Canada Post remains a trusted and essential part of the country's logistics infrastructure, ongoing labor discussions are likely to lead to temporary (but painful) service interruptions—similar to those experienced during the 2024 strike and peak shopping season.

The 2024 Canada Post strike, which stopped the nation and paused deliveries for a total of 32 days during the business quarter of the year, highlighted how even the largest and most reliable of courier services can be severely impacted by internal and external market forces.

As we approach this new period of uncertainty, it’s essential for eCommerce sellers to ensure business continuity by exploring flexible, multi-carrier shipping solutions.

By diversifying shipping partners and leveraging platforms like Easyship to compare rates and delivery times, businesses can confidently navigate potential disruptions, keep fulfillment running smoothly, and maintain strong customer relationships no matter what changes occur in the postal giant.

Alternative Canadian Shipping Solutions

The latest Canada Post strike action once again highlights the importance of diversifying your shipping strategy. Multi-carrier shipping platforms can provide the flexibility you need to navigate disruptions and deliver on customer expectations.

Benefits of Multi-Carrier Shipping:

• Compare costs and delivery times across multiple couriers in real-time
• Access exclusive rates to reduce shipping expenses by up to 91% off
• Maintain reliability with backup options in case one carrier is unavailable

Top Canada Post Strike Alternatives 2025

As the 2025 Canada Post strike fast approaches, ensure your business is well positioned to weather the storm and continue to fulfill all orders. As courier pick-ups begin to be cancelled and packages start to stack up, eCommerce sellers should utilize multi-carrier tools like Easyship to compare shipping rates, find Canada Post alternatives and review delivery times for urgent mail and parcel delivery.

While the Canada Post strikes have presented a significant challenge for brands over the past 12 months, Easyship has helped tens of thousands of Canadian eCommerce sellers to improve their shipping operations, compare multiple Canada Post competitors, and find the cheapest available rates for their online orders. Try Easyship for free today.
‍
By understanding the situation, using alternative carriers, and staying informed, sellers can keep their operations running smoothly and maintain customer trust during periods of disruption.

How Long Is The Canada Post Strike Expected To Last In 2025?

As of mid-May 2025, Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are engaged in negotiations to renew their collective agreement, which is set to expire on May 22, 2025. While discussions are ongoing, there is no definitive timeline for a potential strike. The duration of any labor action will depend on the progress of these negotiations and any interventions by the federal government.

In the previous strike from November to December 2024, mail services were disrupted for 31 days, followed by a 21-day period to clear the backlog. Given this history, businesses should prepare for the possibility of extended disruptions should a strike occur.

How To Ship To & From Canada During The Strike?

If Canada Post services are disrupted, use these strategies to keep shipments moving across the country or internationally:

Leverage Alternative Carriers

Rely on trusted couriers not impacted by the strike, such as:

• UPS: Reliable ground and express shipping across Canada
• Purolator: Fast national deliveries at near postal prices
• Canpar: Affordable domestic shipping across Canada
• DHL Express: Best for urgent, time-definite international shipments
• Sendle or UniUni: Budget-friendly options for eCommerce sellers

Enable Multi-Carrier Shipping

Tools like Easyship help compare real-time rates and delivery speeds across 550+ couriers—saving time and up to 91% on shipping costs. Implementing or expanding your multi-carrier shipping strategy is essential in 2025.

Communicate Proactively

Keep customers informed of any delays, provide tracking updates (also available inside Easyship's platform), and update expected delivery times to manage expectations.

What Was The 2024 Canada Post Strike?

The Canada Post strike was a nationwide labor action initiated by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). CUPW announced the strike to address unresolved issues with Canada Post, starting on Friday, November 15, at 12:01 a.m. ET. During the strike, Canada Post operations shut down completely. The strike ended 31 days later, with immediate effect, on December 16 after the Canadian government stepped in with a temporary resolution.

In response, eCommerce sellers were informed to:

Expect Delivery Delays: During the Canada Post strike, mail and parcels were not be processed or delivered, and some post offices were closed. Service guarantees for items in transit were heavily impacted, and no new items were accepted until the strike ended and the backlog was cleared on December 16.

Resuming Operations After the Strike: Once the strike ended, Canada Post had to clear a substantial backlog of outstanding deliveries. With packages and parcels expected to be delivered as quickly as possible on a first-in, first-out basis. However, due to the size and scale of the month-long national shutdown, it is likely to take some time for normal operations and delivery services to return.

How Long Did The Strike Last?

The duration of a strike was 31 days between November 15 to December 31, 2024. Full details of the economic impact remain unclear and will be considered as part of a government review. The return to normal operations will take some time and the total number of parcels affected is estimated to be in excess of 25,000,000 packages with the strike occurring in the busiest quarter of the year.

In a similar occurrence in 2018, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) initiated rotating strikes that lasted for several weeks, starting in October and continuing into November. In response to the ongoing labor action, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government introduced Bill C-89, known as the "Postal Services Resumption and Continuation Act," on November 22, 2018.

This legislation was designed to end the strikes and mandated that postal workers return to work while establishing a mediation-arbitration process to resolve the dispute between Canada Post and CUPW. The House of Commons passed Bill C-89 in the early hours of November 24 after extensive debate, and the Senate followed suit, passing the bill on November 26.

The enactment of Bill C-89 was controversial, as many argued it infringed upon workers' rights to strike. This situation marked a significant moment in Canadian labor relations, reflecting ongoing tensions between labor rights and government intervention in disputes.

As government intervention was once again required in 2024, the political and commercial fallout remains to be seen but will likely be felt by businesses for some time.

Impact of the Strike on Canadian eCommerce Sellers

For eCommerce businesses operating in Canada, the strike delivered its own set of unique challenges. Many small-to-medium businesses relied on Canada Post for affordable shipping, especially during the busy holiday season.

Impact of strike on Canadian small business:

• Delayed deliveries can damage customer trust and brand reputation, particularly if they had already purchased the item prior to the strike and then being forced to wait extended periods for delivery
• If businesses had previously only utilised one courier partner, there was significant business continuity risk as sales pilled up with no way to deliver packages to customers
• Many businesses felt additional pressure on their fulfillment process, as volume and complications rise during Q4 as the busiest shopping season

Recommended Actions for eCommerce Sellers

If your business depends on a single carrier like Canada Post, it’s time to act. Adapting to a multi-carrier shipping strategy can help minimize the impact on operations and keep customers satisfied, no matter if its strike action, bad weather or other unforseen delivery issues which are commonplace.

An all-in-one shipping software like Easyship allows you to effortlessly compare shipping costs and delivery timelines to always select the best option and keep your customers happy.

Updated Shipping Strategy: Steps to Take In 2025:

• ‍Multi-Carrier Shipping Software: Easyship allows you to effortlessly compare rates and delivery timelines to always select the best option and keep your customers happy. Get started for free.‍
• Diversify Your Carrier Mix: With Easyship, you can access discounted rates on Canada Post and all the top courier alternatives like UPS, Purolator, Sendle, and Canpar.‍
• Extend Handling Times: Update your store settings to reflect longer delivery timelines. This helps manage buyer expectations. This is particularly true as the backlog is still not cleared following the strike. ‍
• Proactively Communicate With Customers: It's always best to be open and transparent with customers to inform them of the likely impact in the event of future strike action.

Looking for more Canadian shipping options?
We’re here to help.

Take care of your holiday shipping with Easyship’s all-in-one shipping platform:

• Instant access to exclusive discounted shipping rates up to 91% off.
• Effortlessly compare more than 550+ courier services globally.
• Automatically sync orders with Shopify, eBay and 60+ eCommerce integrations.
• Generate all shipping documents, manage orders, and print labels in bulk.
• Automatic tax and duty calculation for 220+ countries worldwide.
• Install real-time shipping rates at checkout to increase conversion by up to 3X

Ready to get started? Try Easyship for free today.

2025 Canada Post Strike & Alternatives FAQs

What is the Canada Post strike?

The Canada Post strike is a labor dispute between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).

When did the strike start?

In 2024, the strike began on Friday, November 15, 2024 and finished on December 16, 2024. The 2025 Canada Post strike is likelyto start on May 22, 2025.

How long is the strike expected to last?

It's difficult to predict how long the strike will last. It depends on the progress of negotiations between Canada Post and CUPW. As of May 22, the strike is going ahead.

What services are affected by the strike?

The strike is affecting all mail and parcel delivery services across Canada, including regular mail, priority mail, and parcel delivery.

What can businesses do to minimize the impact of the strike?

Businesses can minimize disruptions caused by the Canada Post strike by implementing a multi-carrier shipping solution like Easyship. This enables them to access a variety of reliable carriers such as Sendle, UPS, Canpar, Purolator, and DHL Express, ensuring continued shipping operations.

How does the Canada Post strike impact UPS?

UPS operates independently of Canada Post, so its services are not affected by the strike. Businesses can continue using UPS for reliable domestic and international shipping.

Can DHL Express still deliver in Canada?

Yes. DHL Express continues to operate normally during Canada Post strikes, offering fast and trackable international shipping services across Canada.

Is Purolator the best alternative to Canada Post?

Purolator is a strong alternative—especially for fast domestic shipping—but the best choice depends on your business needs. Easyship allows you to compare Purolator with other carriers like UPS, Canpar, and Sendle.

Is FedEx affected by the Canada Post strike?

No. FedEx is not affiliated with Canada Post and remains fully operational during strike periods. It’s a good option for both national and international deliveries.

How can I switch to Canpar during the Canada Post strike?

You can access Canpar services directly or via Easyship’s multi-carrier dashboard, where you can compare rates, print labels, and manage pickups in one place.

Can USPS still deliver to Canada?

USPS does deliver to Canada, but during a Canada Post strike, final-mile delivery may be delayed if it hands parcels off to Canada Post. To avoid delays, consider using USPS services that rely on alternate handoff partners or switch to couriers like DHL or UPS.