Introduction
Canada’s postal service is run and controlled by the federal government. Mail is delivered every weekday except on public holidays.
Watch our video to know more about Canadian Postal Services: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HajAjSdGMRw
How to mail a letter or parcel in Canada?
Process
- When it comes to mailing letters, remember to follow these standards. Proper addressing helps us handle your letters and deliveries so they arrive to their destination swiftly.
- How to properly address letters and packages going to or from Canada
- Use only capital letters while composing your message (also known as block letters).
- Put information like as title or floor above the street address.
- The street number and the unit/suite/apartment number should be separated by a hyphen. The # sign should never be used.
- Abbreviate the street type. Example: “AVE” for “Avenue.”
- See a comprehensive list of acronyms for street kinds.
- Reduce the length of the street name. Example: “SE” for “Southeast.”
- Detailed street address abbreviations are available here.
- On the same line, write down the city, province, and zip code.
- Abbreviate the province. The abbreviation “ON” stands for the province of Ontario.
- See a comprehensive list of abbreviations for provinces and territories.
- Put a space between the first and final three digits of the postal code. Don’t use hyphens.
- Put 1 gap between the city and province.
- Separate the postal code from the province with a comma.
Post offices in Canada
- In 2016, Canada Post delivered approximately 8.4 billion goods to more than 16 million locations, generating a combined operating profit of $7.88 billion.
- 25,000 letter carriers use a 13,000-vehicle fleet to distribute via conventional “to the door” service and centralised distribution.
- There are more than 6,200 post offices around the country, a blend of corporate offices and private franchises that are managed by shops, such as drugstores.
- In terms of area serviced, Canada Post delivers to a bigger region than the postal service of any other nation, including Russia (where Russian Post coverage in Siberia is confined mostly to villages along the railway) (where Russian Post service in Siberia is limited largely to communities along the railway).
- As of 2004, roughly 843,000 rural Canadian clients enjoyed residential postal delivery services.
Types of mail system Canada use
- Letter Mail – First Class (Used for Non-Promotional/Non-Marketing Communication Mails)
- Personalized Mail – Standard Class (Used for Personalized Marketing Communication Mails) – Formerly Addressed Admail
- Neighbourhood Mail – Bulk Mailing (Used for New Customer Acquisition) – Formerly Unaddressed Admail
- Publications Mail – (Used for Newsletters, Newspapers and Magazines)
- Parcel Mail – Used for Mailing Parcels and Packages
How does Canada post-delivery work?
- A centralised system works throughout all the government and private-sector post offices, delivering to thousands of Canadian authenticated addresses every day using the conventional way of “to the door” delivery.
- Correspondence for personal and business purposes is sent via postal services.
- On a daily basis, businesses and people alike send out a wide variety of correspondence and promotional materials.
- Moreover, eCommerce enterprises rely on multiple postal providers to execute all their transactions.
- While selecting the best courier choice, consumers check at the costs and the delivery time supplied by the service provider.
- Canada Post Office Hours
- Across five days a week, Canada Post employees perform eight-hour shifts.
- From 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the postal services deliver mail and parcels to commercial locations.
- For residential delivery, the times are from 9:00 am through to 8:00 pm.
- All business deliveries are done till 5:00 pm in order to not miss deliveries owing to late times since a lot of individuals like to wrap up at 5:00 pm.
Canada post shipping rates
Standard Lettermail postal rates Pay normal postage rates by using a combination of stamps comprising the required value stated in the chart below or pay the precise amount by going in to the post office.
- Canada
- 0—30g
- $1.07 / stamp
- $0.92 / stamp in a booklet
- Over 30g—50g
- $1.30
- U.S.
- 0—30g
- $1.30
- Over 30g—50g
- $1.94
- International
- 0—30g
- $2.71
- Over 30g—50g
- $3.88
- Standard size mail
Items such as letter envelopes, postcards and standard cards.
Weight | Price |
Up to 30 g Up to 5 sheets of paper* |
$1.07 for a single stamp or $0.92/stamp in a booklet |
Over 30 g up to 50 g Up to 9 sheets of paper* |
$1.30 |
Non-standard and oversize mail
Items such as large documents, oversize envelopes and heavy cards.
Weight | Price |
Up to 100 g Up to 20 sheets of paper* |
$1.94 |
Over 100 g up to 200 g Up to 40 sheets of paper* |
$3.19 |
Over 200 g up to 300 g Up to 60 sheets of paper* |
$4.44 |
Over 300 g up to 400 g Up to 80 sheets of paper* |
$5.09 |
Over 400 g up to 500 g Up to 100 sheets of paper* |
$5.47 |
Canada postal customer service
Canada Post Phone Numbers and Emails
Toll-Free Number:
- (866) 607-6301
Customer Service:
- (877) 683-5895
Volume-Based Commercial Customer
Commercial Billing And Payment Support
- (800) 267-7651
Money Order Verification:
- (800) 563-0444
Canada Post Contact Information
Canada Post Website:
Corporate Office Address:
Canada Post PO BOX 90022 2701 Riverside Drive Ottawa, Ontario K1V 1J8 CanadaConclusion
- To mail a letter or parcel, you have to pay postage.
- The cost of the postage depends on the weight and size of the letter, where it is going and on how soon you want it to get there.
- You may buy postage online or at any post office. For example, stamps may be purchased at newsstands.
- Letters and small parcels (that have adequate postage) can go into the red Canada Post postal boxes on the street.
- If you are sending a parcel to a different nation, you must fill out a customs form.
- The form details the contents of the parcel and their financial worth.
- You may receive a customs form from a post office near you.
Watch our video to know more about Canadian Postal Services: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HajAjSdGMRw
FAQs
How can I find out the status of my parcel shipment?
Track your products using tracking, delivery notification card, or reference numbers.
How will I find out if my local post office has closed or is not keeping regular hours?
- As the present scenario progresses, several post offices may close temporarily owing to a multitude of circumstances. Facilities where they are housed, for example, can be on a personnel hiatus.
- Companies are watching this closely and will warn consumers through door signs at any affected sites.
- Visit canadapost.ca and use the Find a Post Office feature to locate the closest post office. Open post offices around you may be shown on a map, and the information is updated on a daily basis.
- Please notice that the hours of some post offices may temporarily change from the hours shown on our website owing to the COVID-19 issue.
Do I need a stamp to mail a letter in Canada?
-
- To mail a letter or parcel, you have to pay postage.
- The cost of the postage depends on the weight and size of the letter, where it is going and on how soon you want it to get there.
- You may buy postage online or at any post office.
- In general, there is no regulation prohibiting the transmission of mail without a postage stamp.
- To ensure that the envelope goes to the correct location, you should never include a return address in an unstamped letter.
- Then, the receiver will have to pay the shipping price.
Can I track when my mail will be delivered?
- Track is a internet tracking tool. Track your package’s progress, estimate delivery time and confirm delivery with the use of a tracking number from an email notice, a shipping label or a receipt.
- Use your tracking number, the number on your delivery notification card, or another reference number to verify delivery. Learn more about where to find your tracking number.
- It is possible to track items that have barcodes.
- Track is not available for incoming Registered Mail™ International, Small Packet™ USA – Air, Small Packet™ International – Air, and Small Packet™ International – Surface. It is only possible to track overseas shipments while they are in transit through Canada (via air or surface).
What is the difference between post and mail?
- Regular mail is sent by the public postal service while courier mail services are administered by private firms.
- Using a courier, you may send letters, parcels, pallets of product, and much more just as you would with a standard postal delivery service.
- Unlike postal services, which may often take days or weeks to deliver letters and packages, a courier service offers an all-inclusive package that gathers and delivers items in the shortest amount of time feasible.
How does mail get sorted in Canada?
- When a person leaves a letter in the red mailbox on the corner, the box is cleared at a set time and the letter is hauled by truck to the main post office where parcels, big envelopes and metered mail are segregated out and the rest is sent to be cancelled.
- Mail addressed to the community in which it was posted is categorized by street names into letter-carrier routes or sent to postal stations for the letter carriers, who sort it by street and home number for delivery.
- The mail carrier takes roughly 16 kilogrammes at a time in their bag.
- Most of the remaining mail is transported by truck to relay boxes along the route of the letter carrier.
- Large packages are delivered by drivers.
- Mail addressed to areas outside the community is processed, bundled and forwarded to the country, city or distribution facility for that address.
- There it is sorted again and packed into boxes to be picked up, passed over to the letter carriers or rural postal couriers for delivery to the addressee.
Links
- https://settlement.org/ontario/daily-life/communication/postal-services/how-do-canadian-postal-services-work/#:~:text=The%20postal%20system%20in%20Canada,Find%20a%20post%20office
- https://www.postgrid.ca/classes-of-canadian-mail/#:~:text=Lettermail%20%E2%80%93%20First%20Class%20(Used%20for,Customer%20Acquisition)%20%E2%80%93%20Formerly%20Unaddressed%20Admail
- https://canada-post.pissedconsumer.com/customer-service.html
- https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/personal/sending/letters-mail/postage-rates.page