Canada Post strike double-edged sword for local businesses

As we head into the holiday season, one Edmonton small business owner says she's shutting down online orders – something not all businesses may be able to do.

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Janelle Holod, owner of Cyanotype Paper Goods, is encouraging her customers to shop local amid the Canada Post strike.

Because her shop sells light-weight paper products, she previously relied on letter mail to send out orders.

When postal workers hit the picket lines, she said she decided not to swap suppliers.

"When your products are really small and really light, sometimes you end up with a shipping cost that's more than the product," Holod said. "That doesn't feel very good for people, so I didn't want to operate that way if I could avoid it."

Heather Thompson, of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, said this is a pivotal time of year for many small businesses, with almost a third of sales coming in between now and Christmas Eve.

If customers are worried their orders may be delayed, they could look elsewhere.

"With the strike looming, this could really impact consumer confidence," Thompson said. "They may choose to go with a bigger distributor to ensure that they're good."

On the other hand, she said the loss of Canada Post services could positively impact businesses, with more people looking to shop local and avoid delays or missed deliveries.

"We saw this a lot during the pandemic when there was so much pressure on different suppliers … One-day shipping became three weeks, so we saw a lot of people actually going to shop locally."

The owner of Cyanotype Paper Goods said shipping small items, like stickers, can often cost more than the items themselves. It's one reason she won't be shipping products during the Canada Post strike. (Miriam Valdes-Carletti)Holod is counting on it.

"Most of my sales are local, so I'm really lucky in that I can direct people to local shops and also to some craft fairs that we'll be doing," she said, adding she's open to problem-solving.

"Maybe I can arrange a local drop off if they're nearby," she said. "(Customers) might find other places to buy their gifts, and that's OK too."

If you are a small business that can't rely on local traffic this holiday season, Thompson recommends shopping around for suppliers and keeping customers in the loop.

"You can switch, but you have to make sure you're communicating that to your consumer – that this strike may or may not actually impact the consumer." 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti