With Canada Post workers still on strike, some small businesses in southern Ontario say they’re scrambling to find ways to keep deliveries running as they approach the busy holiday season.

About 55,000 postal workers walked off the job Friday, shutting down Canada Post mail service across the country after their union, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), and the Crown corporation were unable to reach an agreement.

Mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered for the duration of the national strike, and no new items will be accepted, says a statement from Canada Post.

That’s a huge problem for Ashleigh Richer and her husband, who run a gift shop in Cannington, Ont. and a business selling wholesale Christmas ornaments to shops across North America

“We have to prioritize getting these packages sent out,” she said.

“The small businesses that are also buying from us, they need to have them in their stores to sell them as well.”

While Purolator and FedEx are available in their community, their rates are three-to-four times more expensive than Canada Post “which takes out any profit margin that we have because we can’t overcharge the customer in these circumstances,” she said.

Ashley Richler and her husband, Dave, own Hometown Heart Store in Cannington, Ont. They also run Richer Design Co., which sells and ships ornaments across North America. (Submitted by Ashleigh Richer)

For now, Richer said they’ll have to drive an hour away to Pickering to ship orders through Chit Chat, which provides shipping services for small businesses.

“It’s adding stress to our plate that we potentially don’t need right now,” she said.

The strike has forced Kim Dowds, a Peterborough-based small business owner who sells items from estate sales online, to pivot as well.

Dowds says she’ll have to stick to selling smaller items from her online shop, The Red Rooster, because shipping larger orders through private couriers will be too expensive.

“I’m going to have to adjust and not sell the big stuff. And the big stuff is sometimes where the money is right?”

She said she knows some other small business owners in rural or remote areas who will have to put deliveries on hold entirely.

“Because Canada Post is the only game in town, they’re going to have to pause during the most important time of the year for selling.”

New mediator appointed 

Jan Simpson,  national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, said the union is prepared to return to the bargaining table Monday and is hopeful that the appointment of a new mediator will help move talks along.

“We’re trying our best to get back to the bargaining table to negotiate contracts so we can continue to service you and expand your services in your rural and remote communities, and for all Canadians across this country.”

A spokesperson for Canada Post said they plan to resume operating and maintaining service if the union pivots to rotating strikes.

“Both sides are still working towards achieving negotiated settlements and discussions will continue,” the spokesperson said.