Canada Post in turmoil: 2024-2025 opportunities for Quebec SMEs

Strikes and potential disruptions at Canada Post are a growing concern for SME owners in Quebec. Since the pandemic, parcel volumes have exploded, and dependence on Canada Post remains high, especially for small businesses shipping across the country. Yet these logistical risks also represent a strategic opportunity to differentiate, diversify shipping channels and modernize e-commerce operations.

According to Canada Post’s public data, the organization processed around 361 million parcels in 2023, following an all-time high during the pandemic. Past disruptions (including labor disputes in 2011 and 2018) have shown just how vulnerable supply chains are: during the 2018 rotating strike, some online retailers in Canada experienced delays of 3-4 weeks in parcel delivery. For a Quebec SME, such a scenario in 2024-2025 could be dramatic… unless you prepare for it now.

In this article, we analyze the 2024-2025 trends around a possible Canada Post strike, the real risks for Quebec SMEs, but above all the opportunities to be seized: automation, multi-carrier e-commerce, CRM, AI and augmented customer experience.

1. 2024-2025 context: dependence on Canada Post and vulnerability of SMEs

Quebec companies find themselves in a context where online commerce is becoming increasingly important. According to Statistics Canada, retail e-commerce has exceeded 3% of total retail sales in Canada continuously since 2020, with much higher peaks during periods of high demand(Statistics Canada). While this percentage may seem modest, for many SMEs, e-commerce already represents a major part, if not all, of their sales.

In this context, Canada Post remains a dominant player. According to its annual reports, the company still manages the lion’s share of the country’s last mile, particularly in less densely populated regions where private alternatives are limited or more costly. For regional Quebec SMEs, dependence on Canada Post can exceed 70-80% of outbound shipments.

However, the working climate remains tense. Recent rounds of collective bargaining have highlighted :

• Increased pressure on parcel volumes and delivery times.
• Issues of remuneration, working conditions and automation.
• The need for the Crown corporation to modernize its digital infrastructure.

Although no widespread strike is confirmed at the time of writing, the risk of partial disruptions (delays, rotating strikes, overloading of sorting centers) remains real for 2024-2025. Past episodes show that even a few days’ disruption can :

• Create a domino effect on delivery times.
• Explode alternative transport costs (UPS, Purolator, FedEx, etc.).
• Generate a massive flow of customer service requests.

For Quebec SMEs without a multi-carrier strategy or automated order tracking, these disruptions translate into :

• An immediate rise in claims and chargebacks.
• A drop in customer satisfaction and negative public opinions.
• A slowdown in cash flow, as sales drop during conflicts.

This is where digital transformation and strategic preparation come into play. Anticipating a possible Canada Post strike is not doom and gloom: it’s a lever to rethink your logistics, website and marketing automation now, with the help of specialized partners like Nuaweb.

2. How a Canada Post strike can impact (and transform) your e-commerce business

A disruption at Canada Post is often perceived as purely negative. Yet data from the pandemic and logistical bottlenecks showed an interesting phenomenon: companies that quickly adapted their business model not only managed to cushion the blow, but sometimes even increased their market share.

According to a study by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce / Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, SMEs that invested in digital capabilities (e-commerce site, automation, logistics tools) were significantly more resilient to supply chain disruptions. In some sectors, they increased their online sales by more than 20% over a 12-month period.

In the event of a strike or disruption at Canada Post in 2024-2025, the impact on your e-commerce business can be divided into three categories:

1. Immediate impact

• Delivery delays and customer frustration.
• Increased costs for emergency switching to other carriers.
• Disorganization of order processing and inventory management.

If your online store isn’t connected to several delivery options, or if your shipping rules aren’t automated, every order becomes a risky manual operation. This is precisely what Nuaweb’s e-commerce solutions seek to avoid, by integrating multi-carrier logic and contingency scenarios right from the design stage.

2. Medium-term impact

• Loss of repeat customers who prefer merchants offering greater flexibility.
• Online reputation problems (negative reviews linked to delays).
• Pressure on margins if you subsidize alternative delivery costs.

Quebec consumers are increasingly sensitive to transparency and reliable delivery times. Failure to inform your customers in real time of the situation, or to offer alternative options (in-store pick-up, drop-off point, other carriers), can mean you lose customers for good to more agile competitors.

3. Transformation opportunities

Conversely, an uncertain environment can be your trigger for :

• Rethink your online sales site to integrate multiple carriers, some local deliveries or pick-up.
• Automate follow-up notifications (email, SMS, chatbots) to reduce pressure on your customer service department.
• Set upconversational AI scenarios capable of answering frequent questions about lead times and deliveries via your site or social networks.

A well thought-out e-commerce platform, built by a team of experts in website design and systems integration, becomes a real crisis buffer. You don’t have to put up with the ups and downs of Canada Post: you manage them proactively and, above all, reap the competitive benefits.

3. Diversifying channels: AI, CRM and automation for Quebec SMEs

One of the biggest mistakes SMEs make during logistics disruptions is to treat the issue solely as a “delivery problem”. In reality, a potential Canada Post strike should be approached as an overall customer relationship optimization project: from the first visit to your site right through to receipt of the parcel.

Centralize information with a CRM

Without a customer relationship management (CRM) system, every delivery problem becomes a series of hard-to-follow e-mails and calls. A well-configured CRM allows you to :

• Monitor orders, shipping status and related requests in real time.
• Segment your customers (region, product type, purchase frequency) to adapt your communications in times of disruption.
• Set up automated e-mail sequences to proactively inform of delays, propose alternatives or offer targeted compensation.

Quebec SMEs that use a CRM integrated with their online store drastically reduce the time spent on customer support and improve satisfaction, even when external deadlines aren’t perfect.

Use AI and chatbots to absorb the flow of requests

In the event of partial strikes or massive delays, the two most frequent questions are “Where’s my parcel?” and “When will I receive it?”. Rather than flooding your team with Facebook messages, emails and calls, you can deploy intelligent chatbots on your site or networks.

By leveragingNuaweb’s AI and chatbot solutions, it is possible to :

• Automate answers to frequently asked questions about lead times, alternative carriers or return policies.
• Connect the chatbot to your order system to give a personalized status (ready, shipped, late, delivered).
• Direct only complex cases to a human agent, reducing overall processing time.

This type of solution is particularly beneficial for small teams, who have neither the time nor the resources to manage a one-off explosion of requests manually.

Automate crisis scenarios

Instead of improvising when Canada Post announces a conflict, you can set up automated scenarios in advance:

• Display an information banner on your site during major disruptions.
• Automatically adapt delivery methods available at checkout.
• Trigger targeted e-mail campaigns to inform and reassure your best customers.

This is precisely the type of strategy that digital and automation specialists like Nuaweb can design with you, taking into account your Quebec reality (areas served, local suppliers, seasonality, bilingualism, etc.).

4. Concrete action plan for Quebec SMEs faced with the risk of strikes

Turning a Canada Post strike risk into an opportunity requires a clear action plan. Here’s a multi-step roadmap, tailored to Quebec SMEs, that combines logistics, digital and customer relations.

Step 1: Canada Post dependency audit

• Analyze the percentage of your current shipments passing through Canada Post.
• Identify the most vulnerable regions (e.g. remote areas with few alternatives).
• Map your current costs and typical lead times.

This audit can be combined with a diagnosis of your website and online store. A team specialized in creating high-performance websites can quickly tell you where your weaknesses lie (ordering process, software integrations, user experience).

Step 2: Implementing alternative solutions

• Include at least one or two private carriers (depending on your volumes and regions).
• Assess the feasibility of local delivery, in-store pick-up or partner drop-off points.
• Set up your online store to easily activate/deactivate certain delivery methods depending on the situation.

Nuaweb’s e-commerce solutions can include these features right from the design stage, so you’re not caught off guard when a crisis strikes.

Step 3: Strengthening CRM and customer communication

• Implement or optimize a CRM adapted to SMEs.
• Create templates for crisis e-mails (delays, apologies, offers of compensation).
• Segment your best customers to offer them priority treatment in the event of disruption.

A well-configured CRM becomes your relationship dashboard: you always know who is affected, how and what action to take.

Step 4: Deploying AI and chatbots

• Install a chatbot on your site to automatically answer frequently asked questions about deliveries.
• Link this chatbot to your ordering system to offer personalized follow-up.
• Set up specific scenarios that can be activated in times of strike or overload.

AI, chatbot and automation solutions enable small teams to handle query volumes comparable to those of large enterprises, without exploding the payroll.

Step 5: Tests, simulations and continuous improvement

• Simulate a week of disruption: temporarily deactivate Canada Post in your store and check that the process runs smoothly.
• Test communication scenarios (alert banners, emails, chatbot messages).
• Measure the impact on conversion and adjust your offers (e.g. incentives for local pick-up).

By proceeding in a structured way, a potential disruption becomes a training exercise that strengthens your business. In this way, you enter into a logic of digital resilience, essential for the years to come.

Conclusion: turning the Canada Post threat into a digital competitive advantage

The discussions and tensions surrounding a possible Canada Post strike in 2024-2025 are a strong signal for Quebec SMEs. Dependence on a single carrier, especially at a time when e-commerce is growing steadily, represents a major strategic risk. But this risk can become a powerful lever for transformation.

By diversifying your delivery options, modernizing your e-commerce site, deploying a high-performance CRM and usingAI and chatbots to better communicate with your customers, you can :

• Reduce your vulnerability to strikes and delays.
• Improve the customer experience, even in times of disruption.
• Gain market share from less prepared competitors.

Whether you’re a local retailer, a 100% digital online store or a manufacturing company shipping across Canada, you can take action now to secure your operations and turn them into a sustainable competitive advantage.

Would you like to quickly assess your level of risk and build a customized action plan for your Quebec company? The Nuaweb team can support you in :

• Analyze your web and e-commerce infrastructure.
• Integrate a CRM adapted to your sales and service processes.
• Deploy AI and chatbot solutions to automate your customer relationships.

Schedule a free consultation with Nuaweb today and turn the threat of a Canada Post strike into a real growth opportunity for your Quebec SME. Click here to contact us.