Wait times grow as backlogs and frustration build amid Canada Post strike

By Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press on December 9, 2024.

Wait times for deliveries continue to grow as shoppers and businesses deal with the fallout from the Canada Post strike.

The Crown corporation’s shutdown last month meant that millions of Canadians who receive or send parcels via Canada Post in the leadup to Christmas have had to turn elsewhere.

The resulting surge in volume at the other big carriers and alternative couriers has created backlogs at Purolator, UPS and other shipping services, slowing the movement of goods across the country.

Toronto-area resident Darren Solomon says it’s been nearly two weeks since he ordered a replacement part for a refrigerator component that would normally arrive within a day, forcing his family to empty their fridge and freezer and scramble to accommodate a family member’s eating disorder.

For others in some rural or remote areas, even delayed shipments are out of reach, since only Canada Post delivers to farther-flung parts of the country.

The Canada Post strike involving 55,000 workers has now hit 25 days. The organization says it is awaiting a response from union representatives to the proposal it handed them on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2024.

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