On September 25th, 2025, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) elected to go on strike in protest to the Canadian government's planned changes to close certain post offices and cancel delivery to four million addresses.
Due to the strike, USPS, Simple Export Rate, and UPS Worldwide Economy shipments to Canada aren't being accepted until further notice 🙈
We know this is a real pain in the peg leg, especially with the upcoming holiday rush! Here’s what you can do to get shipments to Canada in the meantime:
Use international UPS services to ship to Canada, except for UPS Worldwide Economy
UPS is still accepting shipments to Canada: UPS has not suspended shipments to Canada, so the best way to get shipments to your Canadian recipients while the strike continues to use an international UPS service.
Unlike USPS, which uses Canada Post for last-mile delivery in Canada, UPS moves packages through its private network 🌎 This means the Canada Post strike won't affect UPS at all, except for UPS Worldwide Economy.
UPS Worldwide Economy is not available for Canada: Canada Post handles last-mile delivery for UPS Worldwide Economy shipments, so you won't be able to use this service to ship to Canada until after the strike ends.
International UPS services may incur brokerage fees
Brokerage fees for international UPS shipments: All international UPS services may incur brokerage fees, which UPS charges as the customs broker for a shipment's import into a foreign country. These fees aren't included in your label cost and need to be paid for your recipients to get their packages.
What type of brokerage fees you'll see: UPS Standard® to Canada and Mexico typically incurs "Entry Preparation Fees" and higher brokerage fees compared to more express services like UPS Worldwide Express. Generally speaking, opting for a more premium/expedited UPS service may incur lower brokerage fees.
Read more about UPS brokerage fees.
Protect your booty with InsureShield!
Insure your Canadian shipments' value with InsureShield: Especially during the holiday season, we recommend ensuring your package's journey is covered with insurance. Run a tight ship with the ability to insure packages up to $10,000 with UPS services 💪 Learn more here.
Did your package going to Canada get sent back? Contact our crew!
Reach out for help with returned Canadian shipments: If you sent a package to Canada and it got returned to you because of the strike, contact our Support Crew for help! We'll see if we can get you sailing in the right direction ⛵