For isolated seniors, Canada Post delivers more than mail

As the Canada carry walk out hits the one-week german mark, thither ar growing concerns for one group of Canadians who typically rely on the delivery service more than most — seniors.

"Seniors that are isolated ... Really appreciate any contact they have," said Jane Stallabrass, a program facilitator in community support services at Abbotsford Seniors Centre in Ottawa's Glebe neighbourhood.

Stallabrass said about 10 to 15 per cent of the centre's clients still rely on home delivery for everything from bills to letters to important packages, and the postal worker who comes to their door might be the only person they see that day.

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Judy Rock, 84, said she's already feeling the effects of the Canada Post strike.

"You feel somewhat isolated, you feel somewhat abandoned," she said, adding that for some seniors, getting to a community mailbox can be "an impossibility," especially in winter.

Sometimes, those postal workers can act as a lifeline for the seniors on their route.

"We've had phone calls from Canada Post folks that are concerned about somebody," Stallabrass said, adding that such calls are often followed by a wellness check.

"Canada Post is sometimes the only person that comes to your door and they might notice, in the wintertime, if you're not coming out or if there are suspicious signs that maybe someone needs to check up on you," said Linda Butcher, 70.

"I think for some people, this might be their only contact with the outside world."

The union representing Canada's postal workers called for a nationwide strike last Thursday, hours after the federal government announced major reforms to Canada Post, instructing the Crown corporation to end home delivery and close some rural mail outlets. 

Canada Post lost $448 million before tax in the first half of 2025, following a loss before tax of $30 million in the first half of 2024.

Public Works and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound said the corporation is losing approximately $10 million per day, despite the federal government providing a $1-billion injection earlier this year to keep it operational.

On Wednesday, Canada Post announced it plans to downsize its operations. More information is expected in the coming weeks.

Many seniors have already adapted to the new reality by learning to use computers and mobile phones to communicate and pay bills, Stallabrass said.

"I think it was probably the pandemic that pushed a lot of seniors to learn more about technology than they ever did before," she said.

Betty Macdonald, 92, said she now makes many of her payments online.

"But I feel sorry for people that don't have the technology that are unable to do an e-transfer or anything. There's a lot of people who just don't have the knowledge," she said.

Eighty-one-year-old Beryl McKale said she still gets her credit card bill in the mail, but recognizes things are changing.

"It's progress, quite frankly," she said. "To keep this post office going the way it's going right now, it's just not working and it's not going to work, and we the taxpayers are going to be the people who are going to be paying for all this in the end."

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