It’s Time to Let Go: Why Canadians Would Be Better Off Privatizing Canada Post

Why Canada Should Privatize Canada Post: A Case for Urgent Reform

Once a cornerstone of national communication, Canada Post is now a financial black hole. The Crown corporation has lost over $3 billion since 2017, including $748 million in 2023 alone. Its model, designed for a world of handwritten letters and in-person bill payments, is no longer viable in the digital age. Canadians need to ask themselves an urgent, practical question: Should taxpayers continue bankrolling a failing 20th-century operation in the 21st century? 

The answer is no. Canada would be better off selling or privatizing Canada Post.

1. A Business Built for a Bygone Era

Canada Post was designed to deliver 5.5 billion letters annually. Today, it delivers fewer than 2.2 billion, and that number is still declining. This collapse of letter mail is not a temporary trend — it’s structural. Digitally native generations have moved on, and this legacy infrastructure no longer serves its original purpose.

Yet, taxpayers are still subsidizing a model built for a time when email didn’t exist.

2. Losses Piling Up — With No End in Sight

According to its audited reports:

• 2023: $748 million lost

• 2022: $548 million lost

• No profit since 2017

This pattern is not cyclical. It’s systemic. The organization is underpricing its services and offering them at unsustainable levels. As Lee bluntly states, “Canada Post is underpricing every service it offers because it’s losing billions.”

3. Labour Costs and Strike Culture

With over 55,000 unionized employees, Canada Post faces perpetual labour unrest. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has threatened another strike, upset over weekend delivery changes, pay, benefits, and pensions. The last strike lasted 32 days and caused widespread disruption, especially for small businesses.

Instead of modernizing, CUPW is doubling down on a broken model. Strikes won’t solve a business crisis-reform will.

4. Inefficiency by Design

Canada Post’s current delivery model is not just outdated — it’s inefficient. Letter carriers go to 17 million addresses five days a week, whether there’s mail or not. In contrast, parcel delivery companies operate on a demand-driven model — they only deliver when there’s something to deliver.

No private sector company could survive this level of redundancy, and taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to foot the bill.

5. Pivot to Parcels: Too Little, Too Late?

While parcel delivery is growing, Canada Post isn’t competitive in that space either. Private-sector players like FedEx, UPS, and Amazon Logistics dominate in speed, tracking technology, and customer service. The public postal service remains sluggish and technologically dated.

Lee notes that private parcel companies operate efficiently with 5,000 to 10,000 employees — a fraction of Canada Post’s workforce.

6. Let the Market Lead

Privatization is not a radical idea. It’s a logical step. By removing political interference and entrenched union controls, a privatized Canada Post could:

• Operate with market-driven accountability

• Invest in innovation and logistics

• Adjust prices to reflect true delivery costs

• Expand parcel competitiveness

• Franchise or partner with retail outlets for post office access

7. The European Model: Proof Privatization Works

Canada would not be alone in reforming its postal system. In fact, it’s behind the curve.

Since 2013, the European Union has mandated the elimination of postal monopolies across all member states, opening the door for full competition. While the EU did not require privatization, several countries took the next logical step — and have reaped the benefits.

• Germany privatized Deutsche Post beginning in the late 1990s. It is now a global logistics leader under the DHL brand — efficient, profitable, and internationally competitive.

• Austria and the Netherlands followed suit, transitioning to privatized models that preserved universal service while drastically improving innovation and cost-efficiency.

• These countries maintained postal access in rural areas by leveraging franchise models and flexible service options, rather than relying on outdated, taxpayer-funded infrastructure.

The result? Better service, leaner costs, no ongoing public bailouts, and postal companies that are now global competitors, not public liabilities.

If the EU’s most bureaucratically cautious governments can modernize their systems, why can’t Canada?

Conclusion: A Future Beyond the Mailbox

Canada Post was once an essential public utility. But times have changed. The service has not kept pace with digital disruption, labour realities, or technological innovation. Instead of clinging to nostalgia, Canada should follow the example of countries that have successfully modernized through privatization and liberalization.

The cost of inaction is clear: more losses, more bailouts, more disruption.

It’s time to deliver real reform — and finally put the red-and-white mailbox back in the hands of the people it was meant to serve.