REGINA — Businesses in Regina are concerned with the likelihood of another Canada Post strike.
Janelle Anderson, Owner of Handmade Saskatchewan, said she is a little apprehensive because a lot of her rural customers rely on the carrier.
"We saw a huge effect in our business last November and December."
Anderson said that for every 100 online orders they send out, at least half go towards a rural community. Handmade Sask. serves thousands of customers in the province's rural communities, she noted.
With the timing of the strike aligning with the holiday season, Anderson estimates they lost $5,000 to $7,500 in sales.
"A lot of people we’re worried about ordering their items online, and some people cancelled their orders entirely."
Other businesses Anderson spoke with had a large drop in revenue since they solely rely on online orders.
The 2024 Canada Post strike lasted 32 days and ended after postal workers were ordered back to work.
Now, workers could go back on strike effective Friday at midnight.
With a potential second strike in six months, Anderson said she’s more prepared this time around.
"We started using Shopify, which works great for sending parcels to Saskatoon or Calgary." Handmade Sask. has also started relying on Purolator and UPS to help get packages to any possible rural communities.
Even with these solutions, some rural communities will still have trouble receiving their package with the potential strike.
Anderson said providing their own delivery service would cost too much money.
Instead, she is encouraging rural customers to have their friends or family nearby to pick up their packages.
"The whole system keeps changing, and businesses have to change along with that."
Along with the strike, a report has suggested Canada Post is effectively bankrupt, with the delivery service potentially phasing out door-to-door deliveries.
