VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The government-owned corporation that delivers mail in Canada is taking steps to stop home delivery.

Canada Post is initiating talks with 13 communities to begin converting about 136,000 addresses from door-to-door delivery to community mailboxes, a standalone unit with designated space for each of the multiple residences it serves. It is the first step in a move that will end home delivery for about 4 million addresses over the next five years.

“It’s a process that can take six to nine months from beginning to end,” Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton said in an interview. “Nothing will happen right away.”

Hamilton said Canada Post will work with city planners and neighborhoods to determine the best locations for community mailboxes.

Hamilton said of the 17.6 million addresses Canada Post currently serves, 75% already have some form of centralized delivery. Some people use community mailboxes or a post office box, while others live in an apartment or condominium.

Hamilton said eliminating home delivery would save Canada Post about CDN $400 million (US$291.96 million) a year.

It has been facing staggering financial losses. Canada Post said in November its losses in the first nine months of 2025 topped CDN$1 billion (US$73 million).

Hamilton said Canada Post would not lay off workers due to the delivery changes. “This will reduce the number of letter carriers. They will have work, but it will be elsewhere," he said.

Canada Post currently employs around 60,000 people.

The process to end home delivery is beginning after meetings with union officials, the corporation said in a statement.

Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers will begin voting Monday on whether to ratify new contract agreements with the national mail carrier.

They have been without a new contract since November 2023, and the union has staged two nationwide strikes and a series of other disruptions during contract negotiations.

A resident of one of the affected communities said losing her home mail delivery wouldn't be an issue.

“It won’t actually bother me at all,” said Liane Beadon, 44, who lives in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and works remotely from home. “I think it’s a smart move in order to preserve having mail delivery and keeping costs low for Canadians.”