Phasing out of door-to-door mail delivery sinks in for Winnipeggers

Wendy Murray is wondering about the fate of her postman, whom she has come to know as a friend over the past seven years, following Canada Post’s decision to halt door-to-door delivery, beginning with about 16,000 homes in Winnipeg

“He’s just part of the fabric of the neighbourhood and to have him not be there, for me personally, is going to be very upsetting. It’s not just that he delivers the mail, but being a senior, he also checks up on me,” Murray, 72, said on Friday.

“It’s just another thing that’s going to be gone. We seem to be losing so much stuff and nothing ever comes back.”

Murray lives on Scotia Street, which is in one of Winnipeg’s seven “forward sortation areas” where the mail service plans to consolidate delivery. Canada Post uses that term to describe the first three letters of a postal code. In Winnipeg the affected areas include about 16,000 addresses with postal codes that start with R2P, R2R, R2V, R2W, R2X, R3E, R3H.

Canada Post said on Thursday it plans to convert about four million addresses to community mailboxes over the next five years, beginning with 136,000 in late 2026 and early 2027.

In a news release, the Crown corporation said years of financial strain have forced it to tighten its belt and forgo traditional delivery in favour of a more cost-effective system.

“It’s just another thing that’s going to be gone. We seem to be losing so much stuff and nothing ever comes back.”

The decision has sent a chill through the corporation’s unionized staff in Winnipeg.

“There is a sense of impending doom,” said a 30-year veteran of the postal service, whom the Free Press agreed not to name.

“We were highly respected, dignified public servants, and what Canada Post has done over the years is water that down and… replaced it with a company that has to make a profit.”

The postal worker said some of his colleagues are “despondent.” Morale is low and there is a sense of distrust among workers, who feel decisions made by the executive team have contributed to the corporation’s poor financial position.

Canada Post has operated in the red for years, with losses topping $5.5 billion since 2018.

“This is a company that is supposed to be on the brink of complete insolvency, yet saw Canada Post add an additional layer of management just in Winnipeg,” he said. “We don’t believe, from what we see, that there was ever a financial crisis at Canada Post. We think they manufactured it.”

He called for a public review of the service.

“Canada Post is owned by the citizens of this country, and they should have a say in what the future looks like,” he said.

Ryan Zacharias, another Winnipeg resident whose home delivery will cease, said he is not surprised by the changes but is concerned about how they will be rolled out.

The 32-year-old lives on Polson Avenue near Main Street. He said he doesn’t mind walking a short distance to collect his mail, but fears a community postal box will become a target for thieves and vandals.

“There’s no world in which they should be putting that on Main Street because it’s going to get broken into every other day,” he said. “I know this has been on the books for a while… I’m just concerned this is not going to be as well implemented as they think it’s going to be.”

Community consultations will be critical to finding suitable locations for the new mailboxes, Zacharias said.

“Canada Post is owned by the citizens of this country, and they should have a say in what the future looks like.”

“My main concerns are the ability for less able-bodied folks to be able to get their mail,” he said.

David Kron, executive director of the Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba, said Canada Post must ensure community boxes are easily accessible to people who have mobility issues.

“It’s not the end of the world. We’ll adjust, we’ll figure it out. It’s a new normal,” he said.

The Crown corporation offers an assortment of accommodations, including a program in which people with mobility issues can apply to have their mail delivered weekly and packages delivered daily. Supporting documentation is required to approve the accommodation.

About 17,000 people in Canada are currently enrolled in the program, Canada Post said.

“That seems, really, really low,” Kron said, noting that more than 280,000 people have some form of disability in Manitoba alone.

“Does the general population know that service is available? I don’t know what that application process looks like, but I’m hoping that it’s easy to do and seamless.”

Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said he hopes the changes to mail delivery ensure Canada Post can continue to operate.

“Canada Post is in a period of transformation driven by the economic reality that the model they were operating on is no longer sustainable,” he said.

“If this is a case of short-term pain for long-term gain, it’s incumbent upon all of us to look at the longer road ahead.”

A spokesperson from Winnipeg’s branch of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers was unavailable for comment Friday.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca