The approximately 74 Canada Post workers in the Cowichan Valley joined about 55,000 of their colleagues across Canada on the picket lines on Sept. 25 in their second strike in one year.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has issued a statement that all of its members are now on strike “in response to the (federal) government's attack on our postal service and workers.”
The workers also went on strike on Nov. 15, 2024 and the labour action was suspended on Dec. 17, 2024, because the Canada Industrial Relations Board, at the request of then Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, ordered strikers back to work after ruling the parties were at an impasse in negotiations. The underlying issues were not resolved.
On Sept. 25, 2025, the federal government directed Canada Post to end door-to-door home delivery, among other recommendations from a report in the spring from the Industrial Inquiry Commission, to save costs, and the strike began shortly after that.
Kate Holowatiuk, president of CUPW Local 850 which covers the workers in the Cowichan Valley, said postal workers were blindsided by the announcement that the government wants to end door-to-door delivery.
She said the workers expected a full public mandate review on the nation’s postal service involving all the stakeholders over a six-month period, as was being discussed, before any decisions were made.
“The workers solidly rejected the last proposal from Canada Post in August, and we were disappointed that they never came back to the table,” Holowatiuk said.
“We certainly didn’t expect this. Canada Post was expected to present a new offer today (Sept. 26), but now they have postponed it until next week. All the workers are concerned. The 34-day strike last year was a huge financial hit for our union members that many of them are still recovering from. This area is a very expensive part of the country to live in.”
Holowatiuk said the public should know that plans to stop door-to-door delivery and switch to community mailboxes will have financial impact son them as well.
“If we convert to community mailboxes, municipalities and local governments will be required to be responsible for their maintenance and that means more taxes,” she said.
Canada Post said it’s disappointed that the union chose to escalate their strike activity, which will further deteriorate the corporation’s financial situation.
Canada Post said in a statement that its operations will shut down during the strike, affecting millions of Canadians and businesses across the country.
Mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered for the duration of the national strike, and some post offices will be closed.
Service guarantees are suspended for items already in the postal network, and no new items will be accepted until the national disruption is over.
“All mail and parcels in the postal network will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible once operations resume,” Canada Post said. “However, a national strike of any length will impact service to Canadians and businesses well after the strike activity ends. Processing and delivery may take some time to fully return to normal.”
Canada Post and CUPW have agreed to continue the delivery of socio-economic cheques during any labour disruption, for eligible and participating government organizations.
“The agreement ensures government financial assistance delivered by mail will reach seniors and other Canadians who rely on it,” Canada Post said.
“It also remains the season for shipping live animals. A process is in place to ensure existing live animal shipments continue during a labour disruption; however, no new shipments will be accepted.”
