With news that a Canada Post strike may be imminent, the question for the publishing industry becomes, how will this disrupt my business?

This morning (Monday, June 27) Canada Post released a statement explaining that while negotiations with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) continues, a legal work disruption can happen, as early as July 2, 2016.

If the strike occurs Canada Post will stop operating, mail and parcels will not be delivered and no new mail items will be accepted. Mail within the postal system during the disruption will be secured and delivered as soon as operations begin.

“We’re monitoring the situation closely and have contingency plans in place to minimize any potential impact for our customers,” Andrew Garas, media relations manager for Rogers Communications told Masthead.

TC Media's printing division may be impacted by the strike, however its less likely for its publishing division.

“On the publishing side, we (TC Media) do not anticipate any major impact as we have divested of our magazine assets in 2015 and we distribute all of our daily and weekly newspapers ourselves,” Katherine Chartrand, external communications director at TC Media explained to Masthead. “Our media properties are also all available in their digital form.”

Canada Post began contract negotiations at the end of 2015.

“We have been trying to communicate with the customers and the public since early April—not that something will happen—but we just want to make sure they’re prepared accordingly in the event that something does,” Mouktar Abdillahi, Canada Post spokesperson said. “After July 2, we cannot promise that deliveries will continue. We are continuing keep customers informed throughout the process. Our goal remains to get a deal done that is fair to employees, affordable to the corporation and that responds to customers.”

Customers need to mail out any timely items by the following dates, in order for them to be delivered before the potential strike:


Visit the Canada Post website for detailed information on the table offers and negotiations timeline.