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Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) say they have reached preliminary agreements.
The agreements announced Monday cover the negotiating arms of both urban postal operations and rural and suburban mail carriers.
The CUPW National Board recommends that members accept the agreements during the ratification vote, which will take place in early 2026.
Canada Post said the agreements include a 6.5 per cent wage increase in the first year, followed by a 3 per cent increase in the second year and increases to match the annual inflation rate in years three to five. They also include enhanced benefits and a weekend package delivery model. Both agreements will be valid until January 31, 2029.
“These results reflect the strength and solidarity of postal workers,” said CUPW national president Ian Simpson.
“In the face of extraordinary challenges, we have stood together, made significant improvements and reversed significant setbacks.”
Monday's announcement follows Canada Post and CUPW. announced a deal in principle in November. Although the union retained the right to strike at the time, the union and the Crown corporation now say they have agreed that no strikes or lockouts will occur during the ratification process.
As part of the next step, the parties also “finally agreed on the language” of a new collective bargaining agreement, according to Canada Post.
Canada Post and the union representing thousands of postal workers say they have reached an agreement in principle. While he hasn't seen details of the preliminary deal, Mark Lubinski, president of the Canadian Postal Workers Union in Toronto, says he is “optimistic” and “confident” there is something in the agreements that members can ratify.
If the agreements are finalized in the new year, it would end more than two years of labor fighting between the ailing Crown corporation and its largest union, which represents about 55,000 workers. The two sides are at loggerheads over wages and structural changes to the Postal Service's workforce, including proposals to add more part-time workers and make deliveries seven days a week.
Postal workers have picketed multiple times during the negotiations, including during a pre-holiday strike last year that prevented package deliveries during peak season.
Canada Post has been in dire financial straits for years. The company's last quarterly report in November included a pretax loss of $541 million. the largest in its history. In January, the company received a $1 billion federal loan that was supposed to last until March next year, but the carrier now expects it to run out by the end of the year.
