Maybe you’re new to Canada. Or maybe you just don’t mail that many letters, which isn’t too surprising. With email, texting, FB messenger and Snapchat, not that many people do. But eventually the time comes when you need to send something irl. In Real Life. So when the time comes, where do you find a Canada Post mailbox? Good question!

The reason you’ve never seen, or noticed, a Canada Post mailbox or post office is because they are all conveniently located inside of other local businesses. Most Canadian post offices are in drugstores, copy shops, bookstores or tobacco shops. As a government institution, the Canada Post has no real competition, so they don’t need to bother with a lot of advertising or self-promotion. But rest assured, post offices do exist in Canada. They are just situated inside of other facilities rather than having free standing, independent premises of their own.

If all you need to do is mail a letter, you don’t really need to go to a post office. You can look for a red Canada Post mailbox on the street. They are pretty easy to find. But if you’re having trouble finding one of these bright red boxes, you can simply go into a drugstore, and you’ll probably find a post office. Also, most office buildings, department stores and residential apartments in Canada have an outgoing mail box or slot located somewhere on the ground floor.

Finding the Canada Post Office

With more than 6,000 post offices around the country, it’s sometimes easier to find a post office than a Canada Post mailbox.

In drugstores, the most common opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 9pm. In other locations, postal services are likely available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. The majority of post offices are also open on Saturdays, with reduced opening hours, and some are even open on Sundays. The easiest way is to find the nearest post office and check its operating hours is through the Canada Post locater tool online.

Other services at the Canada Post Office

At the post office, of course, you can do more than just mail a letter. Oversized packages won’t fit in the Canada Post mailboxes, so that’s one reason you might need to find a post office instead. You also need stamps or postage if you want to mail a letter with the Canada post. You can buy your stamps online or at the post office. Domestic postage on regular letters up to 30 grams is 90 cents. Regular letters to the U.S. cost $1.20 and a regular international letter takes $2.50 in postage. If you are sending a package to a foreign country, including the U.S., you will need to fill out a short customs form.

Like the U.S. Post Office, Canada Post also offers postal money orders. For $4.50 to $7.00, depending on the currency and the destination of the money order, the post office can provide a money order. If the denomination is less than $1000, you can also get a money order from a bank.

What’s a “Super Mailbox”?

You may have heard this term, and perhaps it sparked your interest. But before you get too excited, this usually just refers to a larger mailbox for incoming mail for multiple residents. Each resident has a separate unit with a lock, and the super mailbox also has a slot for outgoing mail.

Postage tips for Christmas

One more service to keep in mind with the Canada Post are you holiday letters to old Saint Nick. Your kids can write a letter to Santa Claus and send it from the post office with the following postal code: H0H 0H0. There is a good chance you’ll receive an answer, because more than 15,000 employees and retirees of the Canada Post answer the letters every year!

Final thoughts

When it comes to sending letters and packages from Canada to anywhere in the world, you can count on the Canada Post. Even in the age of digital media, when stamps and mailboxes seem about as useful as a carrier pigeon or a smoke signal generator, it’s still reassuring to know that the post office is open and operating. It just might not feel that way when you drive from one side of the city to the other without seeing a post office.

ARIANNE Relocation has been helping families and professionals relocate and settle in Canada for more than 20 years. We help our clients understand the the local customs, the local neighbourhoods and the ins and outs of Canadian society. Check out our website to learn more about our full range of relocation products and services.

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