Order Fixing the Day on Which this Order is Made as the Day on Which Division 2 of Part 5 of the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 Comes into Force: SI/2026-33

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 13

Registration
SI/2026-33 July 1, 2026

BUDGET 2025 IMPLEMENTATION ACT, NO. 1

Order Fixing the Day on Which this Order is Made as the Day on Which Division 2 of Part 5 of the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 Comes into Force

P.C. 2026-651 June 22, 2026

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, under section 199 of the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1, chapter 3 of the Statutes of Canada, 2026, fixes the day on which this Order is made as the day on which Division 2 of Part 5 of that Act comes into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order in Council (Order) brings into force Division 2 of Part 5 of the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 (BIA).

Objective

The objective of this Order is to bring into force amendments to the Canada Post Corporation Act (the Act) that empower Canada Post Corporation (Canada Post) to adjust stamp rates without Governor in Council (GIC) regulatory approval, while retaining the legislative criteria requiring that rates remain fair and reasonable and consistent so far as possible with providing revenue, together with any revenue from other sources, sufficient to defray operational costs.

Background

Amendments to the Act were introduced as part of Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 and received royal assent on March 26, 2026.

Prior to the amendments, Canada Post made regulations prescribing rates of postage and related conditions, with approval of the GIC. The regulatory process involved prepublication in the Canada Gazette, a 30-day public representation period, a ministerial recommendation, and GIC approval — overall, a four- to six-month process.

In 2025, the Industrial Inquiry Commission into the Canada Post Corporation, led by Commissioner William Kaplan, identified the rate approval process as “time-consuming” and specifically recommended its reform in Recommendation No. 7. Canada Post reiterated this position in the context of the Government’s Red Tape Reduction consultation, characterizing the current process as “lengthy and burdensome in administrative effort.”

Implications

The statutory amendments are designed to strengthen Canada Post’s long-term revenue generation by enabling timely rate adjustments aligned with Canada Post’s operational costs, thereby reducing its reliance on public money.

Specifically, the amendments

Consultation

The deregulation of the postage rate-setting process is a structural reform that responds to a recommendation from the 2025 Industrial Inquiry Commission into Canada Post, which the Government accepted in September 2025. Prior to the publication of the Industrial Inquiry Commission’s report in May 2025, Commissioner William Kaplan undertook extensive consultations with a broad range of organizations in connection with Recommendation No. 7, which called for the reform of the postage rate-setting process. The breadth of these consultations, and the broad support that emerged in favour of streamlining the rate-setting framework while preserving protections for vulnerable users, informed both the Commission’s recommendation and the Government’s legislative response.

In addition, stakeholders were consulted through the parliamentary process for Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1. Concerns related to the adequacy of protections for preferential postage categories, specifically, free postage for persons who are blind or partially sighted and reduced rates for library materials, were identified by library organizations and accessibility advocates. To address these concerns, the government’s proposed approach enshrines protections for these services within the deregulated model.

Canada Post will continue to be bound by the rate requirements set out in legislation and the Canadian Postal Service Charter, including the affordability and public notification requirements. Canada Post will implement a transparent notification and consultation process to govern rate changes under the amended framework, which will include stakeholder communication, public consultation opportunities, Board of Directors review, and clear written justification prior to any increase.

Contacts

Krista Leben
Director
Regulatory Affairs
Canada Post
2701 Riverside Drive
Ottawa ON
K1A 0B1
Telephone: 613‑808‑9119
Email: krista.leben@canadapost.postescanada.ca

Eugene Gourevitch
Director
Postal Affairs Secretariat
Portfolio Affairs
Public Services and Procurement Canada
Building Portage III
11 Laurier Street
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X 4A6
Telephone: 343‑548‑8042
Email: Eugene.Gourevitch@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca