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![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4150896_web1_260417-Canada-Post-00095.jpg\")
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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Wendy Murray lives on Scotia Street, which is in one of Winnipeg\u2019s seven \u201cforward sortation areas\u201d where Canada Post plans to consolidate mail delivery service.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Murray lives on Scotia Street, which is in one of Winnipeg\u2019s seven \u201cforward sortation areas\u201d where the mail service plans to consolidate delivery. Canada Post uses that term to describe the first three letters of a postal code. In Winnipeg the affected areas include about 16,000 addresses with postal codes that start with R2P, R2R, R2V, R2W, R2X, R3E, R3H.<\/p>\n
Canada Post said on Thursday it plans to convert about four million addresses to community mailboxes over the next five years, beginning with 136,000 in late 2026 and early 2027.<\/p>\n
In a news release, the Crown corporation said years of financial strain have forced it to tighten its belt and forgo traditional delivery in favour of a more cost-effective system.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just another thing that\u2019s going to be gone. We seem to be losing so much stuff and nothing ever comes back.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision has sent a chill through the corporation\u2019s unionized staff in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a sense of impending doom,\u201d said a 30-year veteran of the postal service, whom the Free Press agreed not to name.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were highly respected, dignified public servants, and what Canada Post has done over the years is water that down and\u2026 replaced it with a company that has to make a profit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The postal worker said some of his colleagues are \u201cdespondent.\u201d Morale is low and there is a sense of distrust among workers, who feel decisions made by the executive team have contributed to the corporation\u2019s poor financial position.<\/p>\n
Canada Post has operated in the red for years, with losses topping $5.5 billion since 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a company that is supposed to be on the brink of complete insolvency, yet saw Canada Post add an additional layer of management just in Winnipeg,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t believe, from what we see, that there was ever a financial crisis at Canada Post. We think they manufactured it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t He called for a public review of the service.<\/p>\n \u201cCanada Post is owned by the citizens of this country, and they should have a say in what the future looks like,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ryan Zacharias, another Winnipeg resident whose home delivery will cease, said he is not surprised by the changes but is concerned about how they will be rolled out.<\/p>\n The 32-year-old lives on Polson Avenue near Main Street. He said he doesn\u2019t mind walking a short distance to collect his mail, but fears a community postal box will become a target for thieves and vandals.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no world in which they should be putting that on Main Street because it\u2019s going to get broken into every other day,\u201d he said. \u201cI know this has been on the books for a while\u2026 I\u2019m just concerned this is not going to be as well implemented as they think it\u2019s going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Community consultations will be critical to finding suitable locations for the new mailboxes, Zacharias said.<\/p>\n \u201cCanada Post is owned by the citizens of this country, and they should have a say in what the future looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy main concerns are the ability for less able-bodied folks to be able to get their mail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n David Kron, executive director of the Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba, said Canada Post must ensure community boxes are easily accessible to people who have mobility issues.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not the end of the world. We\u2019ll adjust, we\u2019ll figure it out. It\u2019s a new normal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Crown corporation offers an assortment of accommodations, including a program<\/a> in which people with mobility issues can apply to have their mail delivered weekly and packages delivered daily. Supporting documentation is required to approve the accommodation.<\/p>\n About 17,000 people in Canada are currently enrolled in the program, Canada Post said.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cThat seems, really, really low,\u201d Kron said, noting that more than 280,000 people have some form of disability in Manitoba alone.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes the general population know that service is available? I don\u2019t know what that application process looks like, but I\u2019m hoping that it\u2019s easy to do and seamless.\u201d<\/p>\n Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said he hopes the changes to mail delivery ensure Canada Post can continue to operate.<\/p>\n \u201cCanada Post is in a period of transformation driven by the economic reality that the model they were operating on is no longer sustainable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this is a case of short-term pain for long-term gain, it\u2019s incumbent upon all of us to look at the longer road ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson from Winnipeg\u2019s branch of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers was unavailable for comment Friday.<\/p>\n tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Tyler Searle Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press\u2019s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic\u2019s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022.\u00a0Read more about Tyler<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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