Canada Post Reports $277 Million Q2 Loss, Down From $407 Million a Year Earlier

Canada Post reported a $277 million loss before tax in the second quarter, down from $407 million a year earlier, as an end to labour uncertainty helped improve customer confidence and parcel revenue, the Crown corporation said.

Canada Post said the improvement was partly related to new collective agreements signed with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers on June 18. However, the second-quarter improvement was more than offset by a weaker first quarter, when Canada Post recorded a $205 million loss compared with $41 million in Q1 2025.

The corporation’s total loss for the first half of 2026 was $482 million, compared with $448 million in the same period last year, according to an Aug. 28 news release.

Second-quarter revenue increased by $22 million, or 1.5 percent, with much of the growth coming from parcel services. Revenue from those services increased by 20.7 percent.

However, revenue from transaction mail—including letters, postcards, bills, invoices, financial statements, and legal and government documents—fell from a year earlier. Canada Post attributed part of the decline to the large volume of election-related mail sent in 2025.

“The line of business continues to be in secular decline as Canadians and businesses shift to digital channels,” the release said.

Despite the broader decline in physical mail, direct marketing revenue, which includes promotional and advertising materials delivered to homes and businesses, increased by $1 million, or 0.3 percent, in the second quarter.

Revenue for the first half of 2026 fell by $159 million, or 7 percent, from the same period last year. The decline was partly offset by lower operating costs, including labour. Total operating costs fell by $119 million, or 6.3 percent, in the second quarter and by $138 million, or 6.6 percent, in the first half, compared with the same periods last year.

Canada Post plans to convert 621,000 addresses from door delivery to secure community mailboxes in late 2026 and 2027 as part of efforts to address cost overruns.

The corporation is also expanding home parcel pickups, offering box- and label-free returns with select retailers, expanding next-day delivery and offering discounted pricing for some businesses. It also plans to launch weekend parcel delivery in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto later this year.

The changes are consistent with measures outlined by Canada Post CEO Doug Ettinger in an Oct. 1, 2025, letter aimed at changing how the postal service operates and improving its finances. They included expanding community mailbox delivery, adjusting its retail network in urban and suburban areas, and reducing staffing levels over five years by relying on employee retirements to limit direct job losses.

“When Canada Post loses money, taxpayers now foot the bill – a bill which currently amounts to about $1 billion a year. This is not sustainable, nor is it necessary,” he said.

“Instead of increasing our reliance on taxpayers, there are practical changes we can make to modernize the nation’s postal service and make it financially sustainable.”