Mail, Post office in Montreal

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Canada's national mail service is called Canada Post. Founded in 1867, it is the country's primary postal operator. Canada Post operates five days a week, Monday to Friday. Regular parcels and letters are delivered within 2 to 9 business days (Monday to Friday).

Depending on where you live, mail is delivered to a mailbox at your door, or to a community mailbox site. At centrally located community mailbox sites customers are provided with a key to a secure mailbox. These collection points are more common in rural areas.

Addressing

Letters are addressed:
Mr. John A. Smith (recipient)
Manager, Marketing Department (Title, Floor, etc.) - optional
10-123 Main Street NW (Address line 1 - a hyphen is placed between unit/suite/apartment number and the street number)
Toronto, Ontario M4B 1B4 (City, Province, Postal Code are all on one line)
Canada (Country - only indicated if mailing internationally)

Note that return addresses are indicated in the front, upper left corner of envelopes and packages.

A Canadian postal code is a six-character string that forms part of a postal address in Canada. Codes are alphanumeric, meaning they are in the format A0A 0A0, where A is a letter and 0 is a digit, with a space separating the third and fourth characters.

  • NL - A
  • NS - B
  • PE - C
  • NB - E
  • QC - G, H, J
  • ON - K, L, M, N, P
  • MB - R
  • SK - S
  • AB - T
  • BC - V
  • NU/NT - X
  • YT - Y

To search for a postal code you can use Canada Post's Postal Code Finder.

Prices

  • Letter within Canada up to 30g - $0.61
  • Letter within Canada over 30g up to 50g - $1.05
  • Letter to USA up to 30g - $1.05
  • Letter to USA Over 30g up to 50g - $1.29
  • Letter to USA up to 30g - $1.80
  • Letter to USA Over 30g up to 50g - $2.58

Post Offices

Most post offices are open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. There are also numerous postal counters in convenience stores with longer hours.

    Downtown post offices:
  • 1250 University
  • 3575 Avenue du Parc
  • 900 de la Gauchetière Street West
  • 1250 Sainte-Catherine Street East

To find your local Post Office use Canada Post's online locator service.

Post Office Boxes

Some people choose to rent a post office box (PO Box) through Canada Post. PO Boxes are locked compartments located in Post Offices. To rent a PO Box you must present a government issued photo ID, an agreement form, and rental fee. Fees vary depending on location and size of box.

Post Services

Change of Address

If you are moving within Canada, you can change your address with Canada Post to permanently redirect your mail from your old address to your new address. You can purchase change of address services for 6 or 12 months. Change of address fees are $235 within the same province for 12 months, $295 outside of the province for 12 months, and $695 to the USA or internationally.

Mail Redirection/Forwarding

If you are temporarily relocating your business or residence and planning on returning to your old address, Canada Post can temporarily redirect your mail to your current address for $85 per month within the province, $105 per month to another province, or $200 per month to the USA and internationally.

Mail Holding

Canada Post can hold mail for you while you are away from your home or business for 2 weeks or more. Held mail is delivered to you upon your return. Mail holding costs are $40 for the first 5 days and $7.50 for each additional weekday.

ePost

The ePost system allows companies to bills, flyers, account statements, pay stubs, or other correspondence to your ePost box. Using ePost you can also connect to online banking services to pay bills.

Money Orders

Money Orders can be purchased in Canadian and US dollars at Post Offices throughout Canada. The maximum amount for Money Orders is $999.99. Money order fees are $6.50 for orders destined for Canada and the United States. Canadian, American, and certain international Money Orders can be cashed at banking facilities and Post Offices in Canada.

In addition, MoneyGram allows you to send funds securely without a bank account or credit card. Fees vary according to country of destination.

Update 21/05/2013


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