A Canada Post strike that has stopped mail delivery across the country has the small business community worried.
Company owners say they have spent the days since the strike began Friday scrambling to sort out how they will get orders to customers.
Jessica Duffield says when the strike kicked off, her small business Wishes & Whatchamacallits, which sells pop culture-inspired products, had about 40 orders to process.
Most would usually be sent through Canada Post because it was the most affordable shipping option for Duffield, who is based in Saint John, N.B.
Using alternative delivery services would be much more costly and several won’t track packages she sends until they reach Halifax, so she is contemplating driving 45 minutes across the U.S. border to Maine to drop some of the orders in a mailbox.
Duffield says the strike stands to upend the busiest time of year for businesses, who start seeing a flurry of Black Friday and holiday sales as soon as November arrives.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2024.
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press