CPAA has led its own campaigns and participated in others with our allies. Here are some of the issues we’re working on. We welcome your support!

Increased Services

Contact your MP and tell them you want increased services at the post office.

Postal Banking / Financial Services

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• Financial services Update

At our Oct. 2021 annual meeting we reported that Canada Post, had a press release on July 29, 2021, to announce their partnership with the Toronto Dominion bank, to provide small loans anywhere from $1,000 to $30,000 dollars in post offices across Canada. Initially, there were 126 CPAA offices selected for a pilot test in Nova Scotia and Alberta.  If these pilots were successful,  Canada Post would expend the services through out the country.

One year later we are happy to report that these pilots have been very successful, and we now can say that we provide small business loans in 2,342 CPAA operated post offices. To date,  1400 hundred loans have been approved. There are still 170 CPAA sites that need to be onboarded.

This was not exactly the vision that CPAA had for increased financial services, particularly partnering with one of the big 5 banks, after they pulled out of our communities. However, the upside is that the interest rate for the loans is better than a Money Mart or credit card interest. Not everyone is eligible for a line of credit, so this service is helping community members that have no other options and need money quickly. Our vision was to have an independent publicly owned postal bank. Like the ones in other countries that have proved to be very successful. At least this is a start, as underserved Canadians in rural Canada now have access to increased financial services.

I encourage all of you to fill out the surveys regarding financial services from Canada Post, as it helps with monitoring the results of the services.

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CPAA has been vigorously advocating for bringing back financial services to rural post offices. As bank branches leave rural communities across Canada, it’s clear the post office can fill that gap. In 2015, we produced a study on why rural Canada needs postal banking. We have also worked with CUPW on “A Bank For Everyone,” a joint campaign.

We have lobbied MPs, and sent them petitions and postcards. We have mobilized support for better services at the post office from hundreds of municipalities. We’ve also talked about Canada Post’s existing partnerships with fintech companies and about the successful pilot projects with banking counters at CPAA offices. And we have negotiated financial services language in our new collective agreement (Appendix R) !

• Read our study, based on surveying thousands of rural post offices.
• Read more about the postal banking campaign and sign up to get updates.
• Contact your MP and tell them you want them to support financial services at the post office.
• Tell us your story: why is postal banking important to you?

Watch and share this video of CPAA National President Brenda McAuley speaking to postal banking at the 2017 CLC Convention.

Better Internet

There’s a big gap between the quality of the internet services in Canada’s cities and the service we get in rural areas. We know our communities need this basic service to thrive in today’s world. The CPAA wants to be part of the solution to the digital rural-urban divide. We’ve been connecting Canada for over a century and are in the best position to keep doing that.

We’re gathering information and would like to hear from our members and from rural residents about getting internet services in your communities. Please contact us!

Delivering Community Power

Imagine a Canada Post that is leading the way in transitioning to a cleaner, greener and fairer economy. The CPAA is part of that vision, advanced by the Delivering Community Power campaign for a 100% renewable economy that addresses inequality, empowers us to make change, and improves our lives.Our post office can deliver that.

Imagine …

• Charging stations for electric vehicles at post offices
• A renewable energy postal fleet
• Postal banking that provides inclusive financial services, especially to those underserved by commercial banks, like in rural and many Indigenous communities
• Mail carriers checking in on seniors and people with mobility issues, keeping more people in their own homes for longer
• Post offices as community hubs for digital access and social innovation, connecting communities and climate-friendly businesses to customers
• A consolidated last-mile delivery service that eases congestion in urban centres and reduces the environmental impact of our cities

Lobby Day 2018