Dear Reader,
Yesterday, the Canadian government announced that Canada Post is "effectively insolvent." They plan on ending home delivery in favour of community mailboxes, are extending delivery timelines (ie it will take more time to get your mail and it probably won't be every weekday), and they plan on closing some rural post offices.
The labour union, which was in negotiations with Canada Post, was seemingly taken by surprise by all of this and immediately declared job action. Canada Post services have come to a complete halt today, Friday, September 26.
As a small Canadian business that relies on Canada Post to service my Canadian readers, this restructuring is not welcome news. And a complete shutdown of the postal system, even for a short time, hurts my business significantly.
At a time when American customers are wary of cross-border shopping from a Canadian business (even though there are no tariffs on books and magazines!), and I theoretically could be building a more robust subscriber base in my own country, Canada Post has hindered my business since last year's work stoppage during the busiest season, and with unreliable service and ongoing uncertainty. The enormous financial losses Canada Post is claiming for 2025 are its own fault.
So, unfortunately, for Canadian subscribers whose copies of #67 were mailed on September 19, if you have not received this issue yet, you will have to wait until the strike action ends.
I have no information on how long the strike will be or how long it will take for deliveries to resume. If the work stoppage is ongoing, I will provide access to a digital version of issue #67 on October 1st.
If you placed an online order more recently and received tracking info with a Canada Post link, your item will be held by Canada Post until they resume deliveries.
New orders destined for Canadian urban centres can still be sent from my fulfilment partner via courier services. Please use a physical street address when placing your order so that we can utilize alternative delivery services in urban areas. Any order with a PO Box will be held until Canada Post is functional.
Canadian Preorders for the Glue book: I am exploring alternative options to Canada Post for dispatching the finished books, but I won't have a solution until next week. Orders placed now will be fulfilled by other carriers where available and when inventory arrives in the first few weeks of October.
US-destined subscriptions are sent via USPS and overseas shipments are sent via other carriers and are not impacted by Canada Post.
❤️
Enough of that, time to get personal.
Honestly, I didn't feel like getting out of bed today.
I have had a long list of very impactful and exhausting situations to deal with, and this latest one is yet another external problem that is completely out of my control. Yet, I still have to figure out a solution.
My sales this month seem to have gone off a cliff. They're down 44% from this time last September. Considering the situation in the USA, it is understandable why my American customers (70% of my readers) are hesitant to subscribe, renew their subscriptions, or purchase books.
Anyway, I did get out of bed.
And Finley and I started the day by making crepes. Some with hazelnut spread, others with peaches and raspberry. That was the highlight of the day!
I dealt with my tasks and did what I needed to do. Then I had a bath to soak my brain and tune out for a bit.
Updating my website with info about Canada Post and sending this message was the last thing on my list of things to do today.
I'll sleep in tomorrow; that's totally allowed on the weekend!
Thanks for reading this message. And more importantly, for reading my magazines and books.
And hey—do you want a way to read older issues of UPPERCASE instantly, without any shipping headaches?
Try the UPPERCASE Archive!
I've got the first fifty issues of the magazine ready for you. And last weekend, I surprised readers in the Archive with the UPPERCASE Compendium of Craft & Creativity, a beloved book from a decade ago that was the precursor to my Enyclopedia series.
The discount 'keepgoing' gives CA$10 off a print subscription/renewal. *This message is sent to a general list, not segmented based on past purchases.
