Canada Post’s decision to phase out home delivery in more Winnipeg neighbourhoods is not welcome news for Bernice Lamontagne, who’s about to turn 85 and uses a cane to get around.

“No, I really do not like that idea, not at all,” she said. “I can hardly walk and I cannot go to the mail.”

On Thursday, the Crown corporation announced 136,000 addresses in 13 communities across Canada will see their door-to-door delivery halted later this year. Instead, people will be required to get their mail at community mailboxes.

Seven area codes in Winnipeg — representing about 16,000 addresses — will be impacted by the change, which is expected to begin in late 2026 and be finished early next year.

Lamontagne said her sister’s neighbourhood went through a conversion a few years ago and getting to the community mailbox in winter is a horrible experience, because nobody clears the snow.

“It’s not good at all,” she said.

Federal and provincial governments want people to live in their homes longer, to take the burden off long-term care facilities, but this decision makes it more difficult to do so, Lamontagne said.

On top of that, she said, tapping her mailbox while standing on the front steps of her North End home, “I just bought a new one. It matches the colour of the house.”

She’s not the only one frustrated by Canada Post’s announcement.

“We’re very disappointed . It’s negatively going to impact the quality of service for those citizens and customers,” said Eric Toupin, Canadian Union of Postal Workers rep for the Prairies.

It could also result in an estimated 25-30 per cent of the letter carriers currently serving those Winnipeg neighbourhoods losing their jobs, he said.

“This decision by Canada Post is very sad.”

The affected areas have postal codes that start with R2P, R2R, R2V, R2W, R2X, R3E and R3H, including West Kildonan, Seven Oaks, Inkster Gardens, The Maples, William Whyte, Sargent Park and Weston.

Community mailboxes are not new to all of the city. Parts of Winnipeg transitioned from home delivery in 2014, and even before that, some new developments were built with community mailboxes.

The latest round of conversions is part of Canada Post’s plan to eliminate all household delivery over the next five years as it undergoes restructuring to stay financially viable.

There are four million addresses that still receive home delivery in the country. Eliminating that will save the corporation $400 million a year, Canada Post has said.

The corporation has said it will work with people dealing with mobility challenges.

Its Delivery Accommodation Program provides supports to make mailboxes easier to use, such as sliding trays, Braille or a more accessible compartment, and in some cases, weekly home delivery may be provided on a seasonal, temporary or permanent basis, Canada Post said in a statement..

More than 17,000 households across the country currently rely on some form of accommodation, the statement said.