Canada Post reported a pre-tax loss of $407 million for the second quarter of 2025, its largest quarterly deficit on record, with management directly linking the result to a steep fall in parcel business amid ongoing labour uncertainty.
In an Aug. 26 news release, the corporation said the second quarter loss represents a $453-million swing from a $46-million pre-tax profit a year earlier, noting that more than half of year-to-date losses occurred in June as major customers shifted volume to competitors offering delivery stability.
Parcels bore the brunt of the downturn.
According to Canada Post, second quarter parcel revenue fell $288 million (36.7 per cent) as volumes dropped by 25 million pieces (36.5 per cent) year over year; for the first half, parcel revenue declined $482 million (29.6 per cent) on a 43-million-piece (31.1 per cent) slide. The corporation said uncertainty escalated after the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) began a national overtime ban on May 23, following a 32-day strike in late 2024, and while no new collective agreements were in place. On Aug. 1, the Canada Industrial Relations Board reported a majority of voting CUPW members rejected Canada Post’s final offers for both the Urban and Rural and Suburban Mail Carrier bargaining units, leaving negotiations unresolved.
Other lines moved in opposite directions but could not offset the parcel shortfall. Transaction Mail rose on one-time federal election mailings and recent regulated rate increases, with second quarter revenue up $153 million (28.4 per cent) and volume up 11 million pieces (3.5 per cent), and first-half revenue up $376 million (32.8 per cent) on a 53-million-piece (6.2 per cent) volume gain. Direct Marketing weakened as advertisers avoided time-sensitive campaigns during the uncertainty, with second quarter revenue down $23 million (7.5 per cent) on a 175-million-piece (13.2 per cent) volume decline; first-half revenue fell $12 million (1.0 per cent) on a 106-million-piece (3.1 per cent) drop. Overall revenue fell $145 million (7.3 per cent) in the second quarter and $103 million (1.5 per cent) year to date, Canada Post said.
The corporation also detailed pressure on operating results and costs. It recorded a second quarter loss from operations of $396 million (versus a $269-million loss a year earlier) and a first-half operating loss of $507 million (versus $490 million). Total operating costs declined modestly – down $18 million (0.9 per cent) in the second quarter and $86 million (0.7 per cent) year to date – reflecting lower parcel volumes, fewer paid days and reduced non-capital investment, but wage increases and labour-structure costs offset those savings. Canada Post reiterated that it posted an $841-million pre-tax loss in 2024 – its seventh consecutive annual loss – and is on track for a larger loss in 2025, bringing cumulative pre-tax losses to more than $4.2 billion since 2018 and cumulative operating losses to more than $5 billion through the second quarter of 2025.
Canada Post also reported results for its broader group. The Canada Post Group of Companies – comprising the core Canada Post segment and its non-wholly owned subsidiary Purolator Holdings Ltd. – posted a second quarter pre-tax loss of $325 million, compared to a $135-million loss a year earlier. Purolator remained profitable, with pre-tax income of $82 million in the second quarter (versus $81 million a year earlier) and $101 million for the first half (versus $120 million). Management noted year-over-year comparisons reflect the 2024 divestitures of SCI Group Inc. and Innovapost Inc., as well as Purolator’s acquisition of Livingston International in the first quarter of 2025.
Canada Post emphasized that its operations are funded by the sale of products and services, not taxpayer dollars.