Quebec fears Canada Post strike will jeopardize municipal elections
Posted September 30, 2025 3:27 pm.
Last Updated September 30, 2025 3:59 pm.
The Quebec government is urging Ottawa to reach a rapid agreement with Canada Post’s union so that election notices for municipal elections can be sent to voters – despite the strike.
“They’re an extremely important communication and electoral mobilization tool in Quebec. People are used to receiving these cards. So we’re asking the federal government and the Canada Post union to put themselves in solution mode,” said Minister of Municipal Affairs Geneviève Guilbault at a press briefing at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
These notices are sent to voters before municipal elections and contain voting information.
“In a situation where the burden would fall on citizens to go find that information themselves, we believe it could potentially impact voter turnout,” said Guilbault. “We hope not, of course, but we want to do everything possible to encourage participation.”
“Every election brings up the same issue: voter turnout,” added Guilbault. “We need to promote and encourage participation through those cards, it’s a critical issue.”
“According to the Elections Act, municipalities with 20,000 or more inhabitants have a legal obligation to distribute election notice cards. The lack of distribution would directly compromise the smooth running of the Nov. 2 election for nearly six million citizens, or 66 per cent of the population,” the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) stated in a press release.
The UMQ is calling for the distribution of election notice cards to be considered an essential postal service.
“We believe democracy is important—even within the union world, where they too hold elections for key positions,” said Guilbault. “From our side, we believe democracy matters in every community in Quebec. So we’re asking, please, that Canada Post work collaboratively with the postal workers’ union to ensure we can reach a consensus.”
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) called a national strike last Thursday, hours after Ottawa announced the end of home mail delivery for almost all Canadian households within 10 years.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
