Canada Post workers in Edmonton were walking picket lines Friday after the start of a nationwide strike. With mailboxes expected to remain empty and Canada Post's red and blue postal vans sitting idle, Edmontonians who rely on the postal service are being told to brace for delays.

OTTAWA—Canada’s unionized postal workers walked off the job, halting handling of almost all mail and parcels and threatening lengthy delivery delays heading into the busy holiday season. The strike by tens of thousands of Canadian Union of Postal Workers members began early Friday after a year of contentious bargaining failed to yield a collective contract agreement for mail carriers.

Canada Post has stopped delivering mail across the country as of Friday because tens of thousands of postal workers are on strike over wages, working conditions and other issues. The shutdown will affect millions of Canadians and businesses nationwide,

About 55,000 Canada Post workers went on strike for the second time in six years on Friday after their union said it had failed to reach a pay deal with the postal operator in the run-up to the holiday season.

Canada Post workers are on strike, a move that will force businesses and consumers to seek shipping alternatives ahead of a busy holiday season.

Canadians may face delays in getting their holiday gifts and purchases this year after workers at the national postal service went on strike.