NDP leader calls on Canada Post to drop fuel surcharge over holiday rush period
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wants Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step in to see Canada Post scrap its fuel surcharge on deliveries over the upcoming holiday rush period.
To help cover rising costs, Canada Post announced in September it would be adjusting its longstanding fuel surcharge on shipping rates on a weekly basis, depending on the price of diesel.
As of Nov. 28, Canada Post is currently charging an 39.5 per cent surcharge for domestic services, after diesel reached nearly $2.30 a litre earlier this month.
Singh told reporters Tuesday the prime minister should consider the cost of living increases for Canadians, and questioned whether the federal government approved the decision for Canada Post to impose a nearly-40 per cent surcharge.
“It's going to be more expensive for families to send packages or to deliver to their loved ones over the holiday season,” Singh said. “Serious questions are raised about whether the Liberal government and the prime minister looked at the impact that this increased surcharge would have on Canadians and considered ways to mitigate that.”
Singh called the surcharge “gouging,” while seeming to suggest the federal government direct the Crown Corporation to scrap the policy over the busy holiday period.
Canada Post spokesperson Valérie Chartrand wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca the fuel surcharge is based on the average price of diesel across Canada as measured by an independent company, and Canada Post understands “the impact this can have on customers.”
“Due to the fluctuation of fuel prices and their significant impact on operational costs, fuel surcharges are applied year-round as a standard industry practice for parcel shippers,” Chartrand wrote. “As Canada Post manages the largest transportation network in Canada, with thousands of vehicles in our fleet, this has been part of our standard practice for nearly 20 years.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek addressed the policy during Question Period Tuesday, saying, “Canada Post Corporation operates at arm's length from the government.
“But we do have regular conversations with Canada Post in terms of their initiatives, we monitor this very closely. I'm in communication with that board, and I commit … to help continue that type of conversation.”
IN DEPTH
Date set for Trudeau to meet with premiers to talk health deals
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that he’s invited premiers to Ottawa for a 'working meeting' to discuss a health-care funding deal, on Feb. 7.

The deal to keep Trudeau in power is contingent on action on these NDP priorities this year
As the minority Liberals plot out their policy moves ahead of the 2023 parliamentary sitting, weighing heavily are commitments Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh that have to be acted on this year in order to uphold the two-party confidence-and-supply deal. Here is what needs to get done to keep the deal alive.
Canada may be turning corner on inflation, but Bank of Canada governor not ruling out 'mild recession'
Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem says he thinks Canada is 'turning the corner' on inflation, but he isn't ruling out that the country could enter a 'mild recession.' In an English-language broadcast exclusive interview with CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, Macklem encouraged Canadians to prepare a 'buffer' to withstand 'tougher times.'
Here's what central players had to say as the Emergencies Act inquiry hearings wrapped
After six weeks, more than 70 witnesses, and the submission of more than 7,000 documents into evidence, the public hearing portion of the Public Order Emergency Commission wrapped up on Friday.
Trudeau on 'tough' economic headwinds, unapologetic for 'tinfoil hat' rhetoric
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat down with CTV National News Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor Omar Sachedina for a year-end interview to reflect on the political shifts experienced in 2022, and to contemplate the challenges ahead in 2023. Here is a full transcript of the interview.
Opinion
opinion | Don Martin: Trudeau has a new retirement roadmap, now that Ardern's called it quits
Like Jacinda Ardern, Justin Trudeau’s early handling of the pandemic was a reassuring communications exercise where harsh isolation measures went down easier with a hefty helping of government support, Don Martin writes in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca. 'But like the New Zealand Prime Minister, the Canadian PM's best days are arguably behind him. '

opinion | Don Martin: How bad was the committee hearing over holiday travel woes? Let me count the ways
The Standing Committee on Transport gathered Thursday with MPs demanding an explanation for how that highly unusual Canadian winter combination of heavy snow and cold temperatures which delayed or cancelled thousands of post-pandemic reunions. What they got was a gold-medal finger-pointing performance, writes Don Martin in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
OPINION | Don Martin on Pierre Poilievre's seven New Year's resolutions to top polls in 2023
From a more coherent public health and carbon tax position, to cutting the 'Freedom Convoy' connection and smiling more, Pierre Poilievre has seven New Year's resolutions to woo the voters in 2023, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
opinion | Don Martin's prediction on whether Trudeau will stick around for another election
Find out what 'the best brains in Canadian politics' are predicting for Canadian politics in 2023, in Don Martin's exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
OPINION | Don Martin: Fort Myers Beach rises again as the Canadian snowbird migration arrives
Hope was in short supply just ten weeks ago on this 10-kilometre spit of sand at the end of the migration route for tens of thousands of Canadian snowbirds, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca from Florida's Fort Myers Beach. But there are signs, he says, things may return to normal much faster than anyone expected.
ANALYSIS & INSIGHTS
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 EXCLUSIVE | Interviewing a narco hitman: my journey into Mexico's cartel heartland
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.

OPINION | Selling a home? How to know if you qualify for a capital gains exemption
When selling a home, Canadians may be exempted from paying capital gains tax on a residential property -- if it's their principal residence. On CTVNews.ca, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew explains what's determined as a principal residence, and what properties are eligible for the exemption.
Health Canada maintains use of COVID prevention drug Evusheld despite FDA pullback
Health Canada says it will continue to recommend COVID-19 prevention drug, Evulsheld, despite U.S. FDA pulling back its emergency use authorization due to concerns around its efficacy against Omicron subvariant 'Kraken.'
Tyre Nichols' brutal beating by police shown on video
Memphis authorities released video footage Friday showing Tyre Nichols being beaten by police officers who held the Black motorist down and repeatedly struck him with their fists, boots and batons as he screamed for his mother and pleaded, ''I'm just trying to go home.'
Aryna Sabalenka beats Elena Rybakina for Australian Open women's title
Aryna Sabalenka, a 24-year-old from Belarus, who won her first Grand Slam title by coming back to beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Saturday night, using 17 aces among her 51 total winners to overcome seven double-faults.
Inflation-focused Pierre Poilievre back to Parliament as health-care talks loom
With a deal under negotiation between Ottawa and provinces, and premiers invited to a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in early February, the issue remains one where the Tory leader's position appears somewhat murky, including to some inside his own party.
Palestinian gunman kills 7 near Jerusalem synagogue
A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing seven people, including a 70-year-old woman, and wounding three others before he was shot and killed by police, officials said.
Police say 3 dead, 4 hurt in fourth California mass shooting this month
At least three people were killed and four others were wounded in a shooting in California area early Saturday morning.
How to fix a howitzer: U.S. offers help line to Ukraine troops
Using phones and tablets to communicate in encrypted chatrooms, a rapidly growing group of U.S. and allied troops and contractors are providing real-time maintenance advice -- usually speaking through interpreters -- to Ukrainian troops on the battlefield.