The union that represents striking postal workers is taking aim at Purolator, a courier company that is 91 per cent owned by Canada Post. According to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), Canada Post has been pushing business to its profitable subsidiary, which continues to deliver parcels amid the ongoing postal workers strike.
“When postal workers were bargaining for fair wages and better working conditions, Purolator was enticing small business customers with steep discounts,” the union said in a recent online post. “Canada Post needs to bargain, not drive customers to its subsidiary.”
To draw attention to the issue, Canada Post workers have been picketing Purolator locations and holding up delivery vehicles.
“Throughout the nearly two years of contentious negotiations between Canada Post and CUPW, the question of Purolator has been lurking in the background,” Adam King, an assistant professor of labour studies at the University of Manitoba, told CTVNews.ca. “For several years, the subsidiary has been profitably handling packages that might otherwise be processed by Canada Post, raising questions about the relationship between the two entities.”
Purolator posts profits while Canada Post suffers losses
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers began a nationwide strike on Sept. 25 – its third job action in less than a year. The latest strike was launched after the federal government announced a major overhaul of Canada Post services to address its troubled finances. Proposed cost-saving measures over the next decade include closing some rural post offices and ending daily door-to-door delivery in favour of community mailboxes. The union opposes such changes and is also seeking improved wages and working conditions.
When postal workers went on strike in November 2024, Purolator quickly announced that it was “open for business” and ready to deal with increased demand during the busy holiday season. Purolator is apparently now hiring gig workers to deliver packages while offering big discounts to new small business customers.
Canada Post president and CEO Doug Ettinger also sits on Purolator’s board of directors along with Andre Hudon, who chairs Canada Post’s board of directors. While Canada Post has been suffering major financial losses in recent years, Purolator has been posting profits. In 2024, for example, Canada Post reported a record $841 million in losses before tax while Purolator’s profits increased to $294 million.
“While Canada Post complains of ‘labour uncertainty’ driving away parcels, Purolator’s yearly revenues are up $300 million compared to last year,” the postal workers union said last week.
King from the University of Manitoba says striking postal workers may “be justifiably asking questions about how Canada Post management is using Purolator to manage the costs of the strike and undermine the leverage of CUPW members.”
Purolator union ‘stands in solidarity’ with striking postal workers
A significant portion of the Purolator workforce is represented by the Teamsters Canada union. In a statement to CTVNews.ca, a Teamsters Canada spokesperson said “a strong public postal service remains essential to Canadians.”
“Teamsters Canada stands in solidarity with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers,” the spokesperson said. “Our union supports all those fighting to protect good jobs.”
In addition to publicly supporting CUPW and its members, Teamsters Canada says that it respects CUPW picket lines and refuses to retrieve or deliver packages warehoused at Canada Post facilities – but its members will still deal with an uptick in parcel volume.
“That said, whenever any large package delivery company shuts down, competitors naturally get busier,” the Teamsters spokesperson added. “We see no evidence that Canada Post is driving business to Purolator any more than they are to UPS or DHL.”
In a statement to CTVNews.ca, a Canada Post spokesperson denied that it was intentionally pushing parcel business to Purolator, which is independently operated and managed.
“Our inability to serve Canadians and the ongoing uncertainty have made customers look elsewhere to ship their items,” the Canada Post spokesperson said. “Customers are seeking certainty and making their own decisions – without any involvement or influence from Canada Post.”
The spokesperson said that the union only has itself to blame for driving business elsewhere after a year of labour disruptions.
“Unfortunately, the union has decided to push these false accusations, rather than take responsibility for the impact of their strike action on the company and so many Canadians,” the Canada Post spokesperson said. “As these allegations have no basis in fact, Canada Post has no further comment.”
The CUPW did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Purolator declined to answer specific questions.
“We are not a party to the ongoing labour dispute between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers,” a Purolator spokesperson said in an email to CTVNews.ca.
Gilles LeVasseur, a professor of management and law at the University of Ottawa, says he has not seen evidence that indicates Canada Post leadership is intentionally driving business to Purolator.
“It’s an affiliate, and they do what they have to do to run their business,” LeVasseur told CTVNews.ca. “Are they actually poaching the actual regular clients of Canada Post to create new accounts for Purolator, to take away the revenues of Canada Post? That needs to be demonstrated.”
Canada Post is a Crown corporation, which means it is owned by the federal government. Canada Post became Purolator’s majority owner in 1993 when it purchased a 75 per cent stake in the courier company for $24 million.
