Q&A with Drilon Beqa on navigating Canada Post strikes and evolving courier demands
Q: Hey Drilon, you’ve been frequently featured on news recently – once in November/December 2024 during the Canada Post strike, and again two weeks ago in May 2025. Let’s start with the Calgary Herald coverage about couriers anticipating increased demand during the strike. How did this actually play out for Flash Express?
A: The uptick was noticeable for our courier business but still manageable. I noted an uptick of 20 more delivery requests in a week – a drop in the bucket compared to our average of 1,000 deliveries in a typical week. “It’s a little bit, but not too extreme,” as I mentioned to the Herald. The strike definitely pushed businesses to rethink who they deliver with.
Q: There’s no doubt the Canada Post strike forced businesses to reconsider their delivery options. How much of this new business have you retained once Canada Post resumed operations?
A: We’ve retained the business of many small and medium businesses in Calgary post-strike – things like legal documents including passports for legal firms, cheques for SMBs that need cheque delivery, phones, clothes and delivery of crucial prescriptions. But for businesses that ship cross-country, they continue to rely on Canada Post for their deliveries.
Q: That sounds like it’s bringing in substantial extra business. Would you say it’s more than 50% of your total turnover before the strike, or less?
A: I wouldn’t say 50%, but requests are coming in steady as SMBs in Calgary rethink their delivery strategy. It would be more in the 20-30% mark.
Q: That’s a relatively significant boost in work orders. Are you finding it challenging to serve your existing client base with this increased demand?
A: Yes, extended hours were required and we needed extra staff to handle the volume while maintaining service quality for our established clients.
Q: On December 10th, 2024, you mentioned for CTV News Calgary: “We’re now doing a lot of Christmas presents, a lot of paycheques for companies that can’t get their paycheques out.” I imagine employees would hate having their paycheques delayed, especially with companies still not using electronic transfers. What systems does Flash Express use to handle these crucial deliveries for Calgary businesses?
A: It’s true that many companies in Calgary still rely on cheque payments to pay other businesses. I’ve gotten desperate calls from business owners to pick up cheques that were delayed due to the strikes or completely lost in the mail. Their accountants were scrambling to issue new cheques and get them delivered ASAP. Small courier companies like ours were seen as saviours. We use robust SaaS systems for online order placement, tracking, and final delivery notifications so business owners have peace of mind that their delivery was completed 100% on time, which we did!
Q: On May 20th, 2025, you spoke with Global News Calgary about inflation and the carbon tax. You must be pleased with lower gas prices. Is that really helping small businesses, and how?
A: We’re used with the government raising taxes, but this one came as surprise. As a courier company, we have certain measures to protect our profitability, such as fuel surcharges which fluctuate with current gas prices. Removing the carbon tax by the federal government really relieves pressure both on the courier company and the charges passed on to small businesses here in Calgary. It was a challenge and honestly uncomfortable communicating and introducing the surcharges to my current client base, but this change is now a relief for all parties involved.
Q: Can a local courier provide all the services that Canada Post offers? Is it truly replaceable?
A: Not really, and this is crucial to know. Local courier companies in Calgary are not authorized to deliver sensitive documents such as driver IDs or CRA documents. We must give credit where due – Canada Post actually does a lot of heavy lifting by taking on deliveries to out-of-town shared PO boxes. With that said, only Canada Post has the database and information regarding who the addressee of the PO box is.
Thank you Drilon for shedding light on the delivery industry, specifically in YYC!
