Canada Post says it has seen a shortage of more than eight million parcels amid an ongoing strike that has effectively shut down the postal system for nine days compared with the same period in 2023.

As Canada Post unionized workers enter the second week on the picket lines, small businesses in Nova Scotia are missing out on holiday sales. Some are changing how they do business.

Canada Post saw hundreds of millions of dollars drain out of its coffers last quarter, due largely to its dwindling share of the parcels market — while an ongoing strike continues to batter its bottom line.

Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business , talks with Financial Post’s Larysa Harapyn about the nation-wide mail strike, its impact on small businesses, which are “still fairly large users of postal services,