DHL Express Canada stopped its services early Friday due to a strike and lockout, leading to a pause in thousands of parcel deliveries across the nation.
The shutdown, which affects 2,100 truck drivers and other staff, coincided with new legislation banning replacement workers.
DHL linked the pause to stalled negotiations with the Unifor union and the new rules preventing new hires from taking over the jobs of federally-regulated employees who are on strike or locked out.
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The German-owned delivery service, which serves 50,000 clients in Canada including Lululemon, Shein, and Siemens, managed to operate for the first twelve days of the work stoppage but started scaling back earlier in the week as the new rules came into effect.
According to Unifor president Lana Payne, the company had started using replacement workers, a claim that DHL has not disputed, which she argued was legal at the time but detrimental to fair pay.
Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu mentioned that she met with both parties on Wednesday after DHL requested her intervention to help resolve the deadlock.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
