Amazon deliveries halted in some rural areas

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This article was published 12/06/2025 (316 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GLENBORO — A local entrepreneur is concerned about the vulnerability of small towns after his Amazon deliveries were halted due to labour uncertainty at Canada Post.

Liam Kelley, owner of Kelley Laser Engraving Services, told the Sun Thursday that for three weeks, deliveries to his business from Amazon have been disabled unexpectedly. The businessman said the stoppage causes him to worry that small communities are at risk of being stripped of services they depend on.

“Having a service like that, that just goes mysteriously dark … it’s a little scary,” Kelley told the Sun. “At any moment, something we rely on can be cut off.”

Glenboro Mayor Charles Radford confirmed to the Sun that he has also seen Amazon deliveries stop.

For his business, Kelley orders bulk quantities of small items like magnets and coasters through Amazon. An order to his home was cancelled three weeks ago, and then followup orders were frozen, and his address is now treated as invalid when he inputs it for delivery options.

In an email to the Sun, a spokesperson for Amazon confirmed that there are new issues with delivery to some areas in Canada.

“Amazon is temporarily unable to ship to addresses that are uniquely served by Canada Post, because we are currently unable to guarantee delivery times,” the spokesperson wrote. “This includes PO boxes, and pickup points and communities that are only serviced by Canada Post.”

The spokesperson encouraged customers to switch to delivery provided by alternative carriers, or to use a nearby Amazon Counter pickup point — and emphasized that there is one in Brandon.

The stoppage demonstrates how Glenboro and other small communities are vulnerable, Kelley said.

“It’s kind of a town issue. It’s a thing that puts the town’s survival in jeopardy,” he said.

Glenboro had a population of 544 people in the most recent census, in 2021. Kelley said he believes that small communities need to work on being more self-reliant, such as by manufacturing things locally.

“God help us if we lose Canada Post.”

Kelley said he now can’t obtain certain items that he planned to engrave. He travels the one-hour drive to Brandon to search for materials, but some items are not available, especially in bulk quantities, he said

In the Canada Post dispute, developments continued Thursday in the effort to secure a contract between the Crown corporation and unionized workers.

The federal government asked union employees to vote directly on the latest offers that the postal service made.

Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu announced in a social media post that she’s using her powers under the Canada Labour Code to send the Crown corporation’s latest offers to Canadian Union of Postal Workers members for a vote.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board will be directed to conduct the vote “as soon as possible,” she said.

Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu said the corporation welcomes the vote.

Hajdu said it’s in the “public interest” to give the roughly 55,000 CUPW members an opportunity to vote on the offers, which Canada Post has said are its “final” proposals.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com, with files from The Canadian Press