Parks Canada sends memo encouraging employees to buy from Amazon amid decision to leave Quebec, tariff war with U.S.

A Prime delivery truck drives past Amazon's DXT6 warehouse in the Montreal suburb of Lachine on Monday, Jan.27, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

A memo from Parks Canada encouraging employees to join Amazon’s business program to purchase office and other supplies is causing waves, according to an exclusive report by Noovo Info.

The e-mail was sent on Monday afternoon, just as the Canadian government was working to convince U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend his tariff threat.

• READ MORE: Canada and the U.S. have avoided a trade war for now. Here are the latest updates

It also comes less than two weeks after Amazon announced that it would be closing all its facilities in Quebec and returning to a third-party delivery model.

“We are pleased to announce that Parks Canada has established a business account with Amazon for the purchase of low-value goods,” reads the notice, a copy of which was obtained by Noovo Info. “This new program simplifies your purchasing process and allows you to take advantage of the vast selection of products and competitive prices that Amazon offers.”

Managers will be allowed to make purchases up to $10,000 with a Parks Canada purchasing card without having to issue a call for tenders.

The limit is $5,000 for other employees.

“My colleagues simply couldn’t believe it,” one employee told Noovo Info.

A Parks Canada manager, who is not authorized to speak to the media and asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from her employer, acknowledges that the note was sent at a bad time.

“It’s bad timing,” she admitted, pointing out that the directive had been in the works for some time.

Nevertheless, she says she is urging employees to buy from local suppliers wherever possible.

“It’s not an incentive to buy with Amazon,” she said. “It’s to give us information about what the employees bought.”

• READ MORE: Quebec union confederation calling for Amazon boycott, planning legal action

Tuesday, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) launched a boycott campaign against the e-commerce giant, calling on the public and politicians to demonstrate on Feb. 15.

“There are 450 agencies in the federal government, and maybe the memo hasn’t made it everywhere,” said CSN President Caroline Senneville, adding she knows a few federal ministers “who won’t be happy about this.”

• READ MORE: Amazon closing all Quebec warehouses

Following Amazon’s Jan. 22 decision to close all its facilities in Quebec, municipalities across the province have said they would stop doing business with the retail giant.

The Canadian government also spoke out at the time, demanding that Amazon “immediately” reconsider its decision to close all its distribution centres in Quebec and threatening to review its commercial relationship with the company if nothing is done.

Amazon has denied that the closure is linked to the unionization of employees at the DXT4 facility in Laval, Que.