2025/08/26
Corporation reports its largest quarterly loss as parcel revenue and volumes fall 37 per cent due to labour uncertainty
Canada Post has released its second-quarter 2025 results. The Corporation recorded a loss before tax of $407 million in the quarter as Parcels results declined sharply due to labour uncertainty.
The second-quarter loss of $407 million marked the Corporation’s largest loss before tax in a single quarter, with profitability deteriorating by $453 million compared to a profit before tax of $46 million in the same period a year earlier. The loss before tax in the first half of 2025 was $448 million, compared to a loss before tax of $30 million in the same period of the prior year. The 2024 results were positively impacted by the sale of SCI and Innovapost in the first and second quarters, respectively, of last year. For 2025, more than 50 per cent of the year-to-date losses occurred in June, when labour uncertainty was at its peak.
During the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, the company continued to operate without new collective agreements with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). On May 23, CUPW initiated strike action by refusing to work overtime across the company, producing more uncertainty for Canada Post’s customers following CUPW’s 32-day national strike in late 2024.
Highlights
- In Q2 and the first half of 2025, Canada Post’s overall revenue fell by $145 million, or 7.3 per cent, and by $103 million, or 1.5 per cent, respectively, compared to the same periods of the prior year.
- Parcels results declined sharply in Q2 as the strike activity and labour uncertainty drove customers to other carriers for their deliveries.
- In Q2, Parcels revenue fell by $288 million, or 36.7 per cent, as volumes declined by 25 million pieces, or 36.5 per cent, compared to the same period of 2024. For the first six months of the year, Parcels revenue declined by $482 million, or 29.6 per cent, as volumes fell by 43 million pieces, or 31.1 per cent, compared to the same period of the prior year. Volumes fell sharply after CUPW started strike activity (overtime ban) on May 23, 2025.
- While Transaction Mail continues to be in secular decline, the line of business benefitted from the Ontario provincial election in Q1 and the federal election mailings in Q2. The company’s May 2024 and January 2025 regulated postage rate increases also helped improve the year-over-year revenue comparisons for the line of business.
- In Q2, Transaction Mail revenue increased by $153 million, or 28.4 per cent, as volumes rose by 11 million pieces, or 3.5 per cent, compared to the same period a year earlier. For the first half of 2025, Transaction Mail revenue increased by $376 million, or 32.8 per cent, as volumes rose by 53 million pieces, or 6.2 per cent, compared to the same period of 2024.
- Labour uncertainty affected the Direct Marketing line of business as customers sought to avoid the possibility of time-sensitive mailings getting trapped in the postal network. In Q2, Direct Marketing revenue fell by $23 million, or 7.5 per cent, as volumes declined by 175 million pieces, or 13.2 per cent, compared to the same period of the previous year. For the first half of the year, Direct Marketing revenue fell by $12 million, or 1.0 per cent, as volumes decreased by 106 million pieces, or 3.1 per cent, compared to the same period of 2024.
- Canada Post recently reported a 2024 loss before tax of $841 million – its seventh consecutive annual loss – and is on track to post a larger loss in 2025. From 2018 to Q2 2025, the company lost more than $4.2 billion before taxes, with cumulative losses from operations of over $5 billion.
More information
Read the news release.