By Moyo Lawuyi

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) began a nationwide strike on Sept. 25, raising concerns among Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students who depend on their services.

The strike comes after Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, announced new regulations for Canada Post aimed at making the delivery service more “financially sustainable,” including ending home mail delivery, which the corporation accepted but the union rejected.

“In response to the Government’s attack on our postal service and workers, effective immediately, all CUPW members at Canada Post are on a nation-wide strike,” read a statement from the national president of CUPW, Jan Simpson. Mail and parcels will no longer be processed or delivered during the shutdown, and new items will not be accepted while the strike is in progress.

As of Oct. 6, the strike remains ongoing with no expected end date.

Third-year film studies student Kendra Kelly-Peterkin, creates user-generated content (UGC) such as ads to promote beauty and fashion products. The strike has affected their ability to receive packages from brands in the U.S.

Kelly-Peterkin describes it as a content creation job. “And it’s also really hard to source UGC work with Canadian brands, because a lot of them don’t compensate,” she said.

They were also affected by the first strike, which began in November 2024, and said the postal shutdowns are pushing them to rely less on the U.S., despite it being a huge market.

Despite their source of income being affected by the strike, Kelly-Peterkin still believes Canada Post and the federal government need to treat workers better.

“I think that they need to do a better job at providing [CUPW members] what they need, especially if it’s the second time that they’re striking,” they said.

On Oct. 3, Canada Post presented a new offer to the union, which includes compounded wage increases of 13.59 per cent over four years, up to seven weeks’ vacation and pre-retirement leave.

“Canada Post’s new offers are within the limit of what the Corporation can afford while maintaining good jobs and benefits for employees over the long-term,” said the corporation in a news release.

However, the union rejected the bargain, saying the offers were worse than what they rejected in August.

Shalom Ologun, a third-year nursing student at TMU owns a small business that provides professional nail services to customers, particularly students. She says the strike has caused delays with products she orders for her business.

While she can shop for her products in person, she says this would be a waste of money, as she has already purchased them online, can’t get a refund and can’t receive her items because of the strike.

“This is my only job, so it’s kind of affecting my stable pay that I should be getting,” said Ologun.

According to a news release by Canada Post, all packages in the postal network will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible once operations resume.

However, processing and delivery may take some time to return to normal. Sophia Gonzales-Matte, a second-year photography student, was affected by the strikes last year.

While she understands that TMU cannot do much, she says she wishes the university could do more to make students aware of the situation.

“I feel like a lot of people don’t know that it’s happening until their package isn’t getting delivered,” she said.

In a notice issued on Sept. 26, the university confirmed that Shipping and Receiving services at TMU will continue to send and receive mail on the school’s behalf.

Financial services will also continue to print cheques, but they will not be delivered until the strike ends.

Correction: A previous version of this article said Kendra Kelly-Peterkin creates user-generated content such as clothing reviews. Kelly-Peterkin creates ads to promote beauty and fashion products. The Eye regrets this error.