Indigenous-owned businesses scramble to ship products as postal strike lingers

OttawaWith large portions of their clientele in rural or remote communities, some Indigenous-owned businesses in Ottawa are scrambling to find alternative shipping methods as the latest Canada Post strike enters its third week. Canada Post is often the sole courier able to ship to remote First Nations communitiesLiam Baker · CBC News · Posted: Oct 11, 2025 2:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoStephanie Peltier is the owner of Delia Estelle Designs in Ottawa. She says she sources much of her supplies from Indigenous artisans in rural and remote First Nations communities. (Mathieu Deroy/CBC)Some Indigenous-owned businesses in Ottawa say they’re scrambling to find alternative shipping methods for their products as the latest Canada Post strike enters its third week. For many of the companies, a key portion of their clientele resides in rural, remote and northern Indigenous communities.Oftentimes, Canada Post is the sole courier that can deliver to them. The Crown corporation’s postal workers, which are represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), walked off the job on Sept. 25.Stephanie Peltier is the owner of Delia Estelle Designs in Ottawa, a custom beaded jewelry company that counts Ashley Canningbull, the first First Nations woman to win the Mrs. Universe pageant, among its clients. Peltier estimates roughly 30 per cent of her Canadian clientele resides in rural Indigenous communities that rely on P.O. boxes for their mail.Both the current Canada Post strike and an earlier one last November has greatly impacted her business, Peltier said, as well as fellow Indigenous artisans operating in urban areas. Her relatives who live and work in rural First Nations have felt the fallout even harder, she added — particularly those who work in arts and crafts.”It affects them even more,” she said.Much of the supplies used in Peltier’s designs are sourced from Indigenous artisans in rural and remote First Nations, who ship their products using Canada Post. “We also need that shipment in order to continue our custom work,” Peltier said. “And if we can’t get [it] then we’re losing customers, and they’re just going to go on to the next [business].”The latest strike has delayed orders and frustrated customers, Peltier said. She’s now brainstorming alternative shipping options, depending on where her customers live.’A big challenge’When postal workers walked off the job late last year, Mya Beaudry was convinced to find alternative shipping methods for her business, Kokum Scrunchies. Along with the scrunchies, Beaudry’s business also makes lanyards, shoelaces and travel bags. They ship across the country, with roughly 30 per cent of their clientele in northern Indigenous communities. “It was a big challenge, because it’s only Canada Post that ships to them,” Beaudry said. “So they couldn’t get any orders or anything.”Mya Beaudry is the 14-year-old founder and CEO of Kokum Scrunchies. She says her company signed a deal with an alternative courier in September to avoid the fallout of any future Canada Post strikes. (Liam Baker/CBC)In the aftermath, Kokum Scrunchies signed a deal with North West Co. Inc., which operates over a hundred grocery stores in northern Canadian remote communities. The company also signed a deal with another courier in September.“So last year, when the strike ended, we took a couple steps and we wanted to make sure that if it happened again that we wouldn’t get as affected as last year,” Beaudry said.Beaudry says she doesn’t foresee her company returning to Canada Post in the near future.Rotating strikes underwayOn Saturday, Canada Post workers shifted from nationwide strike action to rotating strikes.According to a CUPW negotiator, delays on mail delivery will still occur and a national strike could resume any time.With postal services expected to resume on Tuesday, Peltier says the rotating strikes are a good start.In a statement, Canada Post said they were suspending all service guarantees, citing the stop-and-start nature of rotating strikes as a challenge to providing reliable service.Neither Canada Post nor CUPW granted CBC Ottawa an interview ahead of publication.ABOUT THE AUTHORLiam Baker is an associate producer and reporter for CBC Ottawa. He also reports and produces stories on Inuit Nunangat for CBC Iqaluit. Previously, he’s reported for CBC Yukon, CBC Thunder Bay, CBC Toronto’s Enterprise unit. You can reach him at liam.baker@cbc.ca