While negotiations with its largest union remain at a standstill, Canada Post has reached a new three-year agreement with the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association (CPAA), its second-largest bargaining agent representing more than 8,500 employees.
The CPAA represents postmasters and assistants who primarily manage rural post offices across Canada. The new collective agreement, announced June 19, comes after 18 months of negotiations and is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024. It includes an 11 per cent wage increase over three years—with six per cent in 2024, three per cent in 2025 and two per cent in 2026.
Canada Post said the deal addresses key employee concerns while also reflecting the financial and operational challenges the Crown corporation is facing.
In a press release, Canada Post noted that the arbitrator overseeing the CPAA negotiations cited the recent Industrial Inquiry Commission (IIC) report, released on May 15, as a key influencing factor. The report, which delivered a scathing assessment of Canada Post’s long-standing labour challenges, was referenced in the final arbitration award. Despite the difficult circumstances outlined in the IIC findings, the arbitrator emphasized that the CPAA and Canada Post demonstrated collective bargaining can still produce meaningful results.
The agreement is in effect until Dec. 31, 2026.
The announcement comes as Canada Post remains locked in a more contentious dispute with its largest union, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). The CUPW, which represents urban and rural delivery workers, recently rejected Canada Post’s final offers and is now awaiting a government-supervised vote that could impose terms on its members. The union has called for binding arbitration—a proposal Canada Post has refused.