Business · Companies · 3 hrs ago
Canada Post expands weekend parcel delivery as it restructures
Canada Post has started weekend parcel delivery in Ottawa and Montreal as it restructures its business.
The national mail carrier plans to add Toronto in late November and other urban centres, including Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, next year.
It aims to offer weekend delivery to seven million households by the end of 2027.
Private delivery companies have offered weekend and evening service for years, putting Canada Post at a disadvantage.
The company lost $482 million before tax in the first half of 2026 and expects it will still need federal loans to stay afloat.
Leaders say customers are returning and parcel revenue rose 20.7 per cent in the second quarter compared with the same period in 2025.
Canada Post is also planning to move the remaining four million doorstep-delivery addresses to community mailboxes within about five years.
Canada Post CEO Doug Ettinger says the postal service is showing early signs of financial recovery.
The company is regaining some parcel delivery business lost since 2019, while offering shipping discounts to small businesses and promoting an online marketplace.
Canada Post still reported larger losses in the first half of the year as revenue fell.
Ettinger says the postal service is overbuilt in cities and needs to become smaller there.
The company plans to move the remaining four million door-to-door delivery addresses to community mailboxes within about five years.
- Who
- Canada Post and its CEO, Doug Ettinger.
- What
- Canada Post says it is showing early signs of financial recovery and plans to shift remaining door-to-door delivery addresses to community mailboxes.
- When
- Ettinger made the comments on Oct. 22, 2026. The mailbox conversions are planned within about five years.
- Where
- Canada; the planned delivery changes affect urban areas, and the first recent conversions were completed in Winnipeg and Sept-Îles, Quebec.
- Why
- Declining letter mail and mounting financial losses are prompting Canada Post to overhaul its business model.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Canada Post began losing parcel delivery market share, which it says it is now regaining in part.
Canada Post reported second-quarter pretax losses of $277-million, compared with $407-million a year earlier.
Canada Post completed its first community mailbox conversions in more than 10 years in Winnipeg and Sept-Îles, Que.
Canada Post was set to launch an online tool showing customers when their areas are scheduled for conversion.
Canada Post plans to move the remaining four million door-to-door delivery addresses to community mailboxes.
- CEO
- Doug Ettinger
- Remaining doorstep-delivery addresses
- 4 million
- Planned conversion period
- About five years
- Second-quarter pretax loss
- $277-million
- Previous-year second-quarter pretax loss
- $407-million
3 sources
What people are saying
early signs
overbuilt