Canada Post raises stamp prices, businesses brace for higher costs

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This article was published 14/01/2025 (247 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local businesses in Brandon are bracing to shoulder additional costs after Canada Post announced a 25 per cent hike in stamp prices, effective Monday.

The announcement by Canada’s sole government-owned national postal service is expected to negatively impact business operations, especially at small businesses and non-profits, which rely on it for essential operations.

The stamp price hike will significantly affect operations and rates for customers, Christine Steele, owner of Blush Silks — which specializes in luxury silk pillowcases and accessories — told the Sun on Monday.

“All my shipping is now going up 25 per cent,” Steele said. “I haven’t raised rates for my customers yet, but this might force me to. Small businesses like mine, which rely on mailing products, are seeing our costs go up for every order we process.”

The entrepreneur explained shipping costs for items weighing 100 to 200 grams has jumped from $3.43 to $4.29, while postage for 200- to 300-gram packages has gone up from $4.78 to $5.98.

“I didn’t realize the increase was this substantial until now,” she said, adding that she plans to revise her shipping policies to reflect the new rates.

The decision to increase stamp prices aims to address rising operational costs and inflation, as stamps purchased in booklets, coils or panes will now cost $1.24 each, up from $0.99, while the cost of single domestic stamps will rise to $1.44 from $1.15, Canada Post said in a press release issued on Monday.

The release added the increase, the largest in a decade, is intended to better align prices with the rising cost of delivering fewer letters to a growing number of addresses.

Canada Post estimates the impact will be an additional $2.26 annually for the average household and $42.17 for small businesses. While acknowledging the added expense for customers, the corporation says it is working to minimize the financial burden.

Steele shared her frustration over the timing, coming shortly after a postal strike that has already caused financial strain for her business.

“Small businesses had to pay a lot more for shipping during the strike,” she said.

While the strike had caused a drop in orders, Steele emphasized that the current increase would force her to revise her shipping rates.

“I’ll likely have to up my shipping rate by a dollar,” she said, highlighting the challenges faced by small business owners in maintaining affordability for their customers.

The increase comes on the heels of the end of the 30-day Canada Post labour strike that has already caused significant disruptions for small businesses, from lost orders to higher delivery costs, said Brianna Solberg, director for Prairies and Northern Canada with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

The hike, Solberg said, is particularly challenging for businesses still reeling from the impacts of the strike.

“Nearly three-quarters of small business owners said they will be using Canada Post less going forward because of the strike,” Solberg noted. “The strike has negatively impacted 75 per cent of Manitoba’s small businesses, with one-third reporting significant cost increases from lost orders, delayed payments, and more expensive alternatives.”

Many small business owners, she added, may find it challenging to accept the rise in stamp prices while still recovering from the Canada Post strike.

Even as Canada Post estimates the annual increase will cost the average Canadian small businesses an additional $42.17, based on typical spending, CFIB highlighted that this figure does not account for the financial strain businesses experienced during the strike, particularly over the holiday shopping season.

To help mitigate shipping costs, CFIB has partnered with ShipTime, a service that allows businesses to compare shipping rates in real time, schedule pickups, print shipping labels, offer return labels and manage shipments.

“Through this partnership, CFIB members can save up to 76 per cent off regular shipping costs,” she added.

Solberg reiterated CFIB’s call to all political parties to eliminate the carbon tax, which she described as an inflationary measure that “is undoubtedly driving up” the costs of shipping and postage.

For non-profits, the stamp price increase is another budgetary hurdle, Rushana Newman, executive director of Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation (BNRC), told the Sun.

The organization, she said, sends more than 150 cheques monthly for its rental supplement program.

“The increase won’t affect the benefits our clients receive, but it will impact our administrative budget,” Newman said. “We’re now looking at revising our budget to accommodate the added cost this fiscal year. If our budget can’t support the increase in the next fiscal year, we’ll have to approach our funder for additional resources.”

For the last decade, Canada Post argued, it has kept regulated letter mail rate increases to a minimum.

Today’s rate change represents a one-time increase of roughly 25 per cent, which is required to better align stamp prices with the rising cost of providing letter mail service to all Canadians, the release added.

“Every year, there are fewer letters to deliver to more addresses, which adds significant cost pressures to the Corporation on top of continued inflationary pressures,” it read. “Changes to Canada Post’s regulated letter mail rates follow the regulatory process outlined in the Canada Post Corporation Act.”

The proposed rate changes were published in the Canada Gazette in September 2024 and received final regulatory approval in late November, it added, as an organization funded by revenue from the sale of its products and services — not taxpayer dollars — rate changes are a reality.

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