As the Canada Post strike reaches the one-month mark, some lesser-known companies are happily picking up the slack during the busiest shipping season of the year.
Driving the news: Small couriers — like Sendle; Burlington, Ontario-based Chit Chats; and Mississauga, Ontario’s Shippie — have seen a huge influx of business over the past month, with some seeing an 800% increase in customers since the strike began, per the Globe and Mail.
Why it matters: As pandemic-era online shopping boomed and agile, low-cost shippers entered the market, Canada Post lost its leadership position in parcel delivery. From 2019 to 2023, Canada Post's share of the Canadian market dropped from 62% to 29%.
- Canada Post says cost pressures — including spending 70% of revenue on labour alone — and lack of delivery flexibility have left it falling behind its competitors.
- These companies often outsource deliveries to trucking and logistics companies or hire independent contractors, allowing them to deliver six or seven days a week.
Bottom line: Sendle says it’s on track to pass Canada Post's city presence in 2026. When the strike is over, Canada Post will have likely lost even more market share to its competitors, which will spell an increasingly uncertain future for the national business.—LA