Canada Post officials told MPs last week the Crown mail carrier has nearly used up the $1-billion federal loan meant to keep it solvent through the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

“You’re absolutely correct that we ran out of the cash injection kind of this month,” said Rindala El-Hage, the chief financial officer of Canada Post at a government operations committee meeting.

“That was very important for us to be able to maintain operations.”

Canada Post says it’s currently negotiating with the federal government for additional funding but said there is no timeline on when that could be approved.

El-Hage told MPs The $1- billion loan to Canada Post is repayable, with a deadline of December 2026, at which point the Minister of Finance may review and potentially renegotiate the terms.

CEO Doug Ettinger acknowledged the financial strain and said the corporation’s goal is to return to self-sufficiency.

“We know that our financial situation is unacceptable and cannot continue, but there are practical measures we can take to fix it,” he said.

“Our plan will return our organization to its mandate to serve all Canadians in a financially self‑sustaining manner, and it ensures Canada Post will remain a vital infrastructure.”

Ettinger said the transformation plan submitted to the government paves a path for Canada Post to break even by 2030.

“Mid‑2025 we were using our cash reserves. And so with the repayment of the $500‑million bonds that was due in July 2025, that was kind of the first trigger that we would be really, quote, unquote, running out of cash,” the El-Hage said.

“Up until July 2025, we were using our cash reserves to fund the operating losses that we had.”

From 2018 to 2024, the corporation recorded about $3.8 billion in operating losses.

Asked whether future federal funding would include restrictions on executive compensation or bonuses, El-Hage said there are no provisions in the current funding terms tying the bailout money to limits on pay.

Ettinger said Canada Post will need to invest in its operations to become competitive and cut costs.

“The minister made it clear these bailouts or injections have to stop. And by the way I 100 per cent agree with that, they need to stop as soon as possible,” he said.

Canada Post says it plans to modernize its operations by expanding the use of community mailboxes and updating letter-mail service standards to achieve cost savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“By converting more households to community mailboxes, we can provide a consistent level of service to Canadians, while also achieving significant cost savings,” he said.

The crown corporation is also investing in digital and IT systems to improve e-commerce and delivery logistics.

He said the changes will allow Canada Post to compete with gig-based shippers. Programs for seniors and people with functional limitations like door-to-door delivery and the accommodation program.

“We will protect postal services in rural, remote and Indigenous communities,” Ettinger said.