Canada Post strike could be a blow to Indigenous businesses shipping to remote communities

As the country heads into the holiday season, the impacts of the Canada Post strike are expected to be felt in remote Indigenous communities, where private courier services will not deliver. 

Some Indigenous business owners say the strike has made it challenging for them to send their products out to customers — a big portion of which are Indigenous people living in remote communities.

Mariah Battiste is the owner of Sundaylace Creations, a Mi'kmaq-owned bead store in Eskasoni First Nation, N.S. She says her business typically sends out 100 packages a week through Canada Post.  

"It's quite hard to ship in a rural community … it is quite an inconvenience for me not to have Canada Post as I'm a corporate seller with them, and they come and pick up my packages at my house," Battiste said. 

"I have to drive an hour away to get to these FedEx, Purolator, UPS drop-off sites within a certain time frame because they're only open so late." 

In the past, Battiste has had to deal with shipping hurdles, including the 2018 Canada Post strike, and the shipping delays due to the COVID–19 pandemic. 

"I've been in the business for 10 years or so, I'm rolling with it now, but at the beginning, I can empathize, a lot of small businesses cannot just roll with the punches as easily as I have," said Battiste. 

She worries how the strike might impact her sales on Black Friday, and over the holiday season. 

Sundaylace Creation sells holiday advent calendars, which Batiste says were recently sent out through Canada Post. 

"I'm going to [have] a lot of customer service complaints or issues down the road when people are saying, 'I'm supposed to get this calendar in two weeks, where is it?'" she said. 

"I'm at the mercy of the patience of my customers and hoping that this doesn't affect us or our bottom line because we are using Canada Post." 

Shar Wilson is a Gitxsan designer living on Galiano Island, B.C., who makes everything from leggings to dresses and jewelry. While she doesn't live on a reserve, where she lives also makes it hard for her to get her products to customers.

"If I want to go to a courier, I have to go take a ferry, which is probably about three hours out of my day," said Wilson. 

And it's not just about getting products out to customers, Wilson also worries about having enough supplies to make her designs. 

"My supply chain is definitely going to suffer … so whatever I have on hand is probably all I'll have to work with until something gets settled," said Wilson. 

She says the strike couldn't come at a worse time, adding she feels like the people who suffer the most are Indigenous people living in remote communities. 

"I think they are strategizing … not realizing that the people who really rely on them really do need the service at this time for the next few months," said Wilson. 

"We're just collateral damage in all of this strike negotiation."

Shipping to 'the last-mile'

In Canada, about 80 per cent of the population live in urban centres, where there are more options for delivery. Experts say the remaining 20 per cent of people living in rural areas — including remote Indigenous communities — will likely feel the impacts of the strike the most. 

"People in the rural, Indigenous communities … they're not going to be able to access Canada Post, which means that if they really want to order something, they'll have to drive into the nearest city and go shopping," said Ian Lee, professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University. 

He says courier companies refer to delivering to remote communities as "the last-mile," and many have policies to not travel that distance to meet consumer needs, because it's too expensive.

"Canada Post's only competitive advantage is the fact they go to every last address in Canada, [but] I didn't say they go to it profitably," said Lee. 

"The CEO said they are running out of cash in … early 2025, and they're going to have to be bailed out, and those deficits are not going to be small and steady."

The cost to customers 

Indigenous customers living on reserve looking to buy Indigenous-made products might have to shell out more money to have it delivered to them. 

Batiste says the shipping cost to send beading supplies in Nova Scotia won't change too much, but her customers living in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon will see the price of shipping skyrocket. 

"They're asking for shipping, which flat rate shipping is $19.99 … with Canada Post," said Battiste. "When I look at UPS, those prices are $60." 

Wilson says she has seen a similar increase in shipping to northern remote communities through private delivery companies, and says even before the strike, shipping costs impacted her bottom line. 

"I can see the analytics on my store and I lose probably about 50 per cent of sales … when they get to the shipping part, so shipping is a huge deal," said Wilson.

She worries about the long term impact of the strike, saying that as customers cancel their orders, there's a good chance they might not return.

"Once you lose a customer … [what] happens is you're going to have kind of a ripple effect of customers who are harder to get back once this Canada Post thing is settled," said Wilson. 

After the next federal election, Lee says he expects to see a shakeup at Canada Post, with the workforce significantly reduced, simply because there isn't as much of a need for mail delivery as there once was. 

He says Indigenous communities will need to make sure their needs are met. 

"Indigenous communities will want to be at the table saying, 'OK, whatever you're going to create in the ashes of the old defunct post office, it must serve us,'" said Lee.