The postal service will shut down on Sept. 1 and will cease sending mail starting Oct. 31, Canada Post announced Thursday.
The service, which was established in Canada’s 1940s as an industry competitor to the Canadian Post, will no longer offer commercial deliveries.
“Canada Post’s business model is now irrevocably broken, and it is not in our interest to continue to operate a business that is unsustainable,” the company said in a statement.
The announcement came as postal customers and other Canadians protested on social media against the service’s closure, saying they had been using the service to send mail.
In a letter to customers on Friday, the service said it would be “inappropriate” to comment further on the matter.
“The service we provide today is better than it has ever been, and Canada Post is better because of it,” the letter said.
The letter added that the service was already operating “with a low operating cost to the government.”
The company also said it is working to bring back the postal system to what it called a “normal operating condition.”
A company spokesperson said the company will provide an update on its plans “as soon as possible.”
The announcement comes as a major shift in Canada Post, whose parent company is privately held Crown corporations and is run by the Prime Minister’s Office.
It is also a setback for the Liberals who have promised to overhaul the nation’s postal system.
The Conservative government announced in July it would eliminate the service as part of its $2.6-billion package to modernize Canada Post.
Canada Post also announced a new online customer portal that would make it easier for customers to get rid of their old mail.
The government says the online portal will save money and provide “more choice and choice at lower prices.”
Canada Post said it will offer free shipping on all of its parcels to any customer, regardless of their address, for 30 days after it shuts down.