A new poll by the Angus Reid Institute suggests that most Canadians are open to sweeping reforms at Canada Post as the Crown corporation struggles with mounting financial losses and an uncertain future.
According to the survey, 72 per cent of Canadians support reducing mail delivery to three days a week—a significant shift from the current five-day service in many areas. The same proportion also support Canada Post expanding into alternative services, such as banking and parcel lockers, as a way to modernize and remain competitive in the digital age.
As Canada Post continues to face rising costs and declining mail volume, its financial picture has worsened. The Crown corporation has lost an average of $800 million annually over the past two years. In light of that, the poll asked Canadians whether they’d support a government subsidy of $20 per citizen annually to help offset the losses. A majority of 61 per cent said they were in favour of the subsidy, viewing it as a necessary measure to maintain national postal services.
The results also shed light on attitudes toward privatization. While 59 per cent of Canadians oppose fully privatizing Canada Post, views are more divided on partial privatization: 47 per cent are against it, while 38 per cent support the idea.
The survey found strong opinions on labour as well. More than half (52 per cent) of respondents say they are in favour of allowing Canada Post to use non-union gig workers to deliver mail and parcels if it improves cost and service quality. However, 66 per cent oppose reducing worker benefits to cut costs.
The data comes as Canada Post and its unionized employees have been locked in ongoing negotiations for more than 18 months. With no agreement in sight, the future of the Crown corporation—and how it delivers its services—remains uncertain.
The Angus Reid Institute surveyed 4,067 Canadian adults between June 2 and 8. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based sample is ±1.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.