Need to mail passport application and docs to the UK from Ottawa. Challenging:
1. Canada Post recommended not shipping with them now due to Royal Mail cyber attack issues - is it still an issue and would it affect incoming from Canada?
2. "Cheapest" other option was FedEx and they want $160! Is this normal? It's basically an A5 envelope with paperwork in it.

Anyone mailed anything like this recently?

Not heard of cyber issues.
Under normal circumstances most people seem to prefer the courier option for some reason not trusting Canada Post with the registered option. But I thought CP was around $25 compared to courier $70 or something like that.
$160

Yep, Royal Mail still struggling to get back up - apparently hit the one computer system they use for all international stuff - I can't post links but you can Google "royal mail ransomware". An article from yesterday does say "dispatch" but I wonder if incoming is affected also. Could even be the reason for the high FedEx prices - it's a while since I sent anything and I know Covid+Ukraine+whatever has increased prices but a $160 cheap option for an envelope seems crazy - expected about $50.

The one issue i had with Canada Post was that after paying for registered post it turns out the package is only tracked within Canada, once its arrived in UK there was no record so unable to track it. I was lucky and our old passports arrived safe and sound.

As you might find elsewhere on this forum I mailed my UK passport renewal application from ON to UK last year using Canada Post. I did not even bother with a tracked package, just regular mail, I think it was just over $6 at the time. Everything worked out no problem except a longer delay than expected but due to issues in the UK end of the system but not CPs fault. I sent my expired UK passport and my actual current Canadian passport, just be sure you don't plan to leave Canada in the next several months!

I just sent something via registered mail to the Inland revenue- it was tracked all the way and only took about a 9 day period before it showed up as being delivered.

Unless it’s changed recently, you only need to send colour copies of your Canadian passport. I’ve even seen posts where people forgot to do that but their new UK one was still processed.

Use parcel hero, I’m in ALberta now. And I too had to do the exact same thing as you. I went to ups because I like them the most and they wanted $135 for 4 day shipping. I was like erm no it was only 2 passports.

I was disgusted. Anyway I went onto parcel hero which my mother uses lots to send us stuff to Canada. And it cost me £32 and they came and picked up the parcel from me here in Cochrane and delivered it to the address I listed in England. It got there and I tracked it every bit of the way. 4 days I was over the moon.