Starting Monday, the cost of mailing a letter in Canada will rise significantly, impacting households and businesses alike.
Canada Post says this hike is necessary to keep up with rising costs. They estimate that the average household will shell out an extra $2.26 a year, while small businesses could see an increase of about $42.17 annually.
This change is expected to bring in around $80 million more for Canada Post in 2025. They’ve been delivering fewer letters but to more addresses, which is really stretching their budget.
Over the last 20 years, letter volumes have dropped by 60%, from 5.5 billion letters in 2006 to just 2.2 billion in 2023. Meanwhile, the number of addresses they serve has grown by over three million, reaching 17.4 million in 2023.
Unfortunately, this has led to a $3 billion loss before taxes in the last six years, including a hefty $748 million loss just last year.
This price increase was announced last September, right after a postal workers strike where 55,000 members walked off the job for about a month. They were ordered back to work when negotiations hit a wall.
Now, there’s a hearing starting Monday about whether that back-to-work order was even legal, as the union claims it violated their rights. It’s a lot to take in, but it’s definitely going to change how we send mail.
