Minister defends changes allowing Canada Post to shutter rural offices

By Canadian Press on October 23, 2025.

OTTAWA — The federal minister in charge of Canada Post says recent changes to the Crown corporation’s mandate are not aimed at reducing any service to rural and remote communities where the post office is a considered a lifeline.

Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound announced significant changes to the company’s mandate last month as the government looks to help Canada Post cut costs and salvage its flagging business.

That included ending a decades-long moratorium on closing rural post offices.

Lightbound told a parliamentary committee today some post offices covered by the moratorium when it was applied are no longer considered rural and there are now other points of service in the communities.

He said he’s made it clear to Canada Post that it must maintain delivery standards to rural, remote and Indigenous communities.

The Crown corporation welcomed the government’s transformation plan but the Canadian Union of Postal Workers criticized it and its members returned to the picket lines immediately after it was announced.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2025.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press