Canada Post seeks stamp price hike amid record projected losses
Canadians are about to be hit with a stamp price hike as the failing Crown corporation, Canada Post, tries to offset losses that are quickly approaching $1 billion.
Canadians are about to be hit with a stamp price hike as the failing Crown corporation, Canada Post, tries to offset losses that are quickly approaching $1 billion.
Despite raising the cost of mailing a domestic letter by 35 per cent over the past 18 months, Canada Post plans a further price increase next year.
The price of a stamp has gone from 92 cents to $1.24 since 2023. However, Canada Post said its current rates remain “underpriced.”
“While the rate increase is helpful, rates are underpriced,” reads Canada Post’s Q3 financial report.
While it did not call for a specific figure for further increases, it did argue that costs had “fallen below inflation.”
Canada Post is projecting $989 million in pre-tax losses this year alone, following an $841 million loss in 2024.
Its 2025 losses put it “on track to post its eighth consecutive year of losses.” According to the report, this year is “expected to be the most significant of any annual losses in Canada Post’s history.”
“Significant financial pressure will persist through the remainder of 2025 from continued labour uncertainty and impacts from the national strike launched on September 25,” the report reads.
“In July, Canada Post repaid $500 million in maturing debt, intensifying the need for financial support from its sole shareholder, the Government of Canada, to preserve solvency.”
The Crown corporation began the year with a $1.03 billion federal loan, funds which it says will be exhausted by the end of next month — more than a year ahead of schedule.
Parcel delivery, which had been Canada Post’s most profitable segment, saw revenue drop 40 per cent year-over-year to $450 million, with volume falling by 27 million items.
For the first time in recent years, parcel revenue dipped below mail delivery revenue, despite traditional letter volumes continuing their annual decline.
The prolonged bargaining standoff with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has also added financial uncertainty, with rotating strikes continuing as the critical holiday delivery season approaches. The impasse has now dragged on for over two years.
According to CEO Doug Ettinger, Canada Post expects up to 30,000 workers to depart over the next decade, largely due to retirement, as part of an effort to rein in operational costs.
“Private sector competitors have almost completely taken over in Canada, especially in lucrative high-density urban and suburban areas,” reads the report. “International and local courier companies offer easy to access, quick, inexpensive and reliable daily and overnight delivery services.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound unveiled reforms aimed at helping Canada Post modernize in September, which included easing delivery standards, allowing more use of community mailboxes and the potential closure of underused rural outlets.
Canada Post’s total losses since 2018 have exceeded $5.5 billion.