ManitobaManitoba First Nations and rural leaders say they’re concerned about plans from the federal government to modernize Canada Post.Planned reforms include ending moratorium preventing closure of rural post officesArturo Chang · CBC News · Posted: Sep 26, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoSherridon Mayor Sheryl Matheson said plans to lift a moratorium preventing the closure of rural Canada Post offices are concerning. (Josh Crabb/CBC)Manitoba First Nations and rural leaders say they’re concerned about what plans from the federal government to modernize Canada Post will mean for the people they represent.On Thursday, Joël Lightbound, the federal minister responsible for Canada Post, announced the government’s plans to reform the embattled postal service, which include authorizing Canada Post to end home delivery and convert the remaining addresses that still receive it to community mailboxes, as well as lifting a moratorium preventing the closure of thousands of rural post offices.The union representing Canada’s postal workers called for an immediate strike in response to the announcement, saying it was “appalled” by the changes.Sheryl Matheson, mayor of Sherridon, Man., and president of the Northern Association of Community Councils, said the plans are “deeply concerning.””We don’t have home delivery. We do not have FedEx or Purolator or anyone,” Matheson said. “We only have Canada Post, so this could be very detrimental to our communities.”The reforms were announced as the Crown corporation is on track to lose $1.5 billion in 2025. Canada Post says it’s lost $3.8 billion since 2018.The plans are in line with recommendations made by a commission charged with looking at the corporation’s finances this spring, amid stalled contract negotiations between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and its employer.Postal workers walk the picket line in front of a Canada Post facility in Medicine Hat, Alta., Thursday. (Eli Ridder/CBC)The rural post office moratorium has been in place since 1994 and covers nearly 4,000 locations. The government said the move to lift it is meant to reduce the number of overserved areas, saying many of those post offices are now suburban or urban.First Nations most affected: grand chiefAssembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said any loss of postal delivery will be an additional hurdle for First Nations already facing many barriers to accessing essential services.Indigenous communities would be most affected by the changes, she said.”We see prescriptions that are being shipped through Canada Post to our First Nations communities,” along with “legal documents or anything that pertains to the governance of the Nations,” said Wilson.”What I see with not only the closures, if there are closures happening, [but] also a strike, is that this needs to be addressed, and this needs to be fixed rather quickly.”Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said a loss of postal delivery will be an additional hurdle for First Nations already facing many barriers to accessing essential services. (John Woods/The Canadian Press)Sean Tugby, president of CUPW Winnipeg Local 856, said the strike is meant to put pressure on the government to stand up for working-class Canadians.”Part of the mandate of the Liberal government is they want to support … good Canadian jobs and unionized work,” he said from the picket line Thursday.”Well, this is an opportunity for them to invest in Canada Post, the most Canadian thing out there.”Tugby said 55,000 workers have gone without a ratified contract for nearly 600 days.”We don’t want to be on strike,” he said. “We want a contract. We want to work. We want to deliver to Canadians from coast to coast to coast.”Meadow Portage Mayor Harold Fleming says nearly all of the community’s residents rely on Canada Post for services. (Josh Crabb/CBC)Canada Post said in a release it’s disappointed by the union’s decision to strike, saying it will only worsen its financial situation.The federal government said it will maintain postal outlets in remote and Indigenous communities where they’re needed, but the location of the outlets that would be closed as a result of the changes is still unknown.Canada Post has 45 days to submit to the government a cost-saving plan.Harold Fleming, mayor of Meadow Portage — a community about 260 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg that had only 72 residents as of the 2021 census — said nearly everyone there relies on Canada Post for services.”There’s just no other choice for us,” he said. “I know cities and that, they don’t like it either, but at least they can walk for stuff.”But we have to drive an hour or more. It’s not a good thing.”Planned Canada Post changes raise fears in rural ManitobaThe leaders of remote communities and First Nations in Manitoba say they’re concerned about the federal government’s call for changes at Canada Post. They’re worried the end of a moratorium on closing rural post offices could affect people who rely on the service for important deliveries.With files from Josh Crabb and Zubina Ahmed
Proposed cuts that spurred Canada Post strike would hurt Manitoba communities, say rural leaders, grand chief
