Question Period Note: COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BETWEEN THE CANADA POST CORPORATION (CANADA POST) AND THE CANADIAN UNION OF POSTAL WORKERS (CUPW) – URBAN OPERATIONS UNIT AND RURAL AND SUBURBAN MAIL CARRIERS UNIT

Current status of the collective bargaining negotiations between Canada Post and the CUPW.

• For over a year and a half, the parties have been negotiating the renewal of their collective agreements with the support of federal mediators, among the most experienced in the country. An Industrial Inquiry Commission was appointed by the government and recommendations were issued last month. Despite all these efforts, no agreement on the terms and conditions of the collective agreements or on an arbitration process is within reach at this time.
• Canadian have been impacted by the work stoppages and expect a solution to be found to resolve this dispute. Considering the current situation and the public interest, the Canada Industrial Relations Board has been mandated to conduct a vote among employees on the final offers submitted by Canada Post.
• The parties must now cooperate with the Board and the results of the votes will be known in the coming weeks.

The Canada Post Corporation (hereafter the “employer” or “Canada Post”) is a Crown corporation serving as the primary postal operator in Canada.

Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (hereafter the “union” or “CUPW”) are negotiating the renewal of two collective agreements, covering approximately 42,000 employees in urban operations and 10,900 employees responsible for delivering mail to rural and suburban routes.

On November 9, 2023, the union served a notice to bargain to the employer for each bargaining unit. The parties then met more than 120 times between November 15, 2023, and August 2, 2024, but were unable to reach an agreement.

Two conciliation officers were appointed on August 13, 2024. Following the conclusion of the conciliation period, two mediators were appointed on October 15, 2024. A special mediator was also appointed on November 14, 2024. Over 60 additional days of meetings were held, however no agreement was reached.
On September 12, 2024, the parties reached agreements on the maintenance of activities in the event of a strike or lockout. These agreements ensure the processing and delivery of certain government social assistance cheques and the safety of live animals during any work stoppages.
Both CUPW bargaining units began an unlimited nation-wide strike on November 15, 2024. The strikes impacted millions of Canadians, both businesses and individuals, and further damaged the financial viability of Canada Post. Bargaining continued during the work stoppage, but the parties were ultimately deemed to be too far apart. With little prospect of a negotiated settlement and increasing damage to a fragile relationship, mediated negotiations were temporarily suspended on November 27, 2024.

On December 13, 2024, the previous Minister of Labour referred the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code (Code). The CIRB subsequently ordered an end to the work stoppage and extended the collective agreements until May 22, 2025. On December 16, 2024, the previous Minister also appointed William Kaplan as Industrial Inquiry Commissioner under section 108 of the Code with a mandate to examine, in close consultation with Canada Post and CUPW, the issues in dispute and produce recommendations for their resolution. Commissioner Kaplan was directed to examine the parties’ bargaining positions as well as the underlying causes of the dispute. In carrying out his mandate, Commissioner Kaplan held hearings with the parties - these were publicly accessible via webcast and were well attended. He also invited input from interested stakeholders and the public more broadly and received more than 800 submissions.

On April 27, 2025, the parties informed federal mediators that they wished to return to the bargaining table. Three days of mediated discussions were held on April 30 to May 2, 2025. While little substantive movement was achieved, exchanges between the parties were positive and mediators assessed that there was sufficient basis for continued discussion. Further meetings took place on May 8, 9, 12-14, 21, 22, 25, 27 and 28, 2025.

The Commissioner filed his report on May 15, 2025, and the Minister immediately shared a copy with the parties. The parties re-acquired the rights to strike/lockout after expiration of the collective agreements, which were extended until May 22, 2025.

On May 21, 2025, the employer presented global offers to the union for both bargaining units. On May 23, 2025, at 00:01 a.m. local time, the union initiated a nationwide overtime ban.

On May 28, 2025, the employer presented final offers to the union for both bargaining units.

On May 30, 2025, the employer submitted a request to the Minister, pursuant to section 108.1 of the Code, asking her to order the CIRB to administer a vote among the members of both bargaining units on its final offers.

On May 31, 2025, CUPW proposed to the employer that all outstanding issues be submitted to binding arbitration. This proposal was rejected by Canada Post the following day.

On June 4, 2025, the Minister called on both parties to return to the bargaining table with federal mediators in an effort to negotiate the terms for an arbitration process to resolve their dispute and to have the union present its response to the employer’s last global offers.

On June 12, 2025, the Minister ordered that a vote be held on Canada Post’s final offers among the employees of both bargaining units, in accordance with subsection 108.1(1) of the Code, and assigned the CIRB the responsibility of conducting these votes. The results of the votes will be known in the coming weeks.

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