Should We Kill Canada Post?

Episode 20 of the The Startup Different Podcast podcast, hosted by David and Chris Sinkinson, titled "Should We Kill Canada Post?" was published on October 14, 2025 and runs 26 minutes.

October 14, 2025 ·26m · The Startup Different Podcast

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Summary

Canada Post is hemorrhaging money—over $5 billion in losses since 2018, with no end in sight. As postal workers walk off the job for the second time in a year, the Crown corporation is effectively insolvent, surviving only on a $1 billion government bailout. But this isn't just a story about a strike. It's about an institution designed for 5.5 billion letters per year now delivering less than half that, while still maintaining the same infrastructure, the same costs, and the same workforce. The world has changed. Canada Post hasn't. Can it be fixed, or is it time to let it go?Key Takeaways:The brutal math: Canada Post has lost over $5 billion since 2018 and is currently losing $10 million every single day, with labour costs of $50-60/hour compared to private competitors at $20-50/hourDigital extinction: Letter mail has dropped from 5.5 billion pieces annually to just 2 billion, even as the number of Canadian households has grown—a trend that's irreversible and acceleratingThe rural dilemma: Three-quarters of Canadians already use community mailboxes, but eliminating door-to-door delivery or privatizing threatens to leave remote communities without affordable serviceIn this episode, David and Chris cut through the rhetoric from all sides—union demands, government talking points, and business frustrations—to explore what it would actually take to save Canada Post, whether Canadians still need universal postal service in 2025, and what happens to workers and communities if we get this wrong. Whether you're a small business owner tired of unreliable delivery, a postal worker fighting for your livelihood, or simply someone wondering why your mail keeps getting more expensive and less reliable, this conversation will challenge your assumptions about what Canada Post should be—and whether it has a future at all.

Episode Description

But this isn't just a story about a strike. It's about an institution designed for 5.5 billion letters per year now delivering less than half that, while still maintaining the same infrastructure, the same costs, and the same workforce.

The world has changed. Canada Post hasn't. Can it be fixed, or is it time to let it go?

Key Takeaways:

The brutal math: Canada Post has lost over $5 billion since 2018 and is currently losing $10 million every single day, with labour costs of $50-60/hour compared to private competitors at $20-50/hour

Digital extinction: Letter mail has dropped from 5.5 billion pieces annually to just 2 billion, even as the number of Canadian households has grown—a trend that's irreversible and accelerating

The rural dilemma: Three-quarters of Canadians already use community mailboxes, but eliminating door-to-door delivery or privatizing threatens to leave remote communities without affordable service

In this episode, David and Chris cut through the rhetoric from all sides—union demands, government talking points, and business frustrations—to explore what it would actually take to save Canada Post, whether Canadians still need universal postal service in 2025, and what happens to workers and communities if we get this wrong.

Whether you're a small business owner tired of unreliable delivery, a postal worker fighting for your livelihood, or simply someone wondering why your mail keeps getting more expensive and less reliable, this conversation will challenge your assumptions about what Canada Post should be—and whether it has a future at all.