Small business owners across the country are watching to see whether Canada Post and the union representing its workers can avoid a strike before midnight on Friday.
But some aren’t holding their breaths and have already started to make other plans.
On Tuesday, a day after the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) gave a 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post, Calgary-based bookstore Slow Burn Books announced that it was going to stop using the national postal carrier.
“During the Canada Post uncertainty, we will be moving to using only ChitChats for the time being,” the store said in a post on its Instagram account.
“We understand how important timely deliveries are and we truly appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this situation. We’re working hard to minimize the impact and will keep you updated every step of the way,” the post said.
If the union and the Crown corporation do not find a middle ground by midnight on Friday, tens of thousands of postal workers will walk off the job, bringing postal service to a grinding halt for the second time in six months.
In an email to Global News, Slow Burn Books said it was not an easy decision to move away from Canada Post.
“We didn’t want to make this decision, however, Canada Post workers are set to strike, so we are trying to adapt proactively, just as we did six months ago when they issued the first strike notice.”
They are not alone, either.
Edmonton-based Swish Vintage is switching to Purolator and UPS, the store’s manager Natasha Dawson said.
“We’re already shifting to using different couriers. I’m feeling very confident that they (Canada Post workers) will go on strike. We don’t want to have any of our packages caught in limbo, which is very frustrating for our clients,” she said.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Morgan Kunitz, co-owner of Edmonton-based Kunitz Shoes, said her business got hit during the last strike, prompting them to have a contingency plan in place.
“As soon as we heard that they weren’t moving forward with talks, and they were talking of a strike again, we made sure that we switched to other carriers. Last time, we had quite a few packages that were stuck for a really long period of time right after Christmas,” she said.
For local deliveries, Kunitz is switching to Edmonton-based courier service Deeleeo and is using a combination of other services for deliveries outside the city.
While the shipping costs have gone up by 25 per cent, Kunitz says it is worth it to keep her loyal customers with the business.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war has already shaken consumer confidence in Canada and a postal strike could hurt it further, she said.
“In this climate of tariffs, the only constant is that nothing is stable right now. The consumer really is looking for a reason not to buy something because of what’s happening and this (strike) is another reason.”
Chetan Dave, an economist at the University of Alberta, said while businesses could see their costs rising, some might prioritize stability over costs.
And the question will likely be — even when any looming potential strike ends — are those customers gone for good?
“Once they’ve done the switch, I don’t see any sort of reason why a small business would switch back to Canada Post, aside from if Canada Post is offering the same service at much lower cost,” he said.
The Retail Council of Canada has warned that for some small businesses, there is no alternative to Canada Post.
“For small and independent retailers, particularly those in the e-commerce space, Canada Post is often the only affordable and reliable delivery option to reach customers across the country,” the council said in a statement Tuesday.
“Alternative delivery providers are often not economical, and as the last disruption showed, they quickly reach capacity and cannot absorb the overflow,” the statement added.
Some businesses are stopping all deliveries rather than making a switch.
“We’ve been using Canada Post exclusively since we began the business 10 years ago,” said Mike Loftus, president of Ottawa-based Pinball Medics.
The company is a supplier of pinball machines and parts. When Canada Post had a work stoppage last year, Loftus realized just how much his business depended on Canada Post.
“We tried using a couple of alternate carriers, and let’s just say it did not go well. I lost money in the busiest month of the year, lost packages, stuff disappearing forever,” he said.
The level of service and coverage provided at the price offered by Canada Post cannot be replicated, Loftus said.
“Instead of using another carrier, I’ve decided to put the online store on hold until such time that the matter is resolved and we can resume shipping through Canada Post,” he said.
As of May 16, Pinball Medics stopped taking orders for delivery.
Kunitz said roughly a quarter of her sales come from online sales.
While she says she has no option but to transition, her business would take a hit in the long term if there is a prolonged strike.
She could even lose customers.
“They are our single most important partner in our e-commerce store. Without Canada Post, the cost of shipping is prohibitive for the long term. They can reach communities that you can’t necessarily with your UPS or Canpar,” she said.
–With files from Global’s Sarah Komadina
