Service Standards
The following sections are covered in this chapter:
2 | What Are Service Standards? |  |
Canada Post delivers all mail in its local postal facilities which is scheduled for delivery that day. To ensure the timeliness of mail delivery, Canada Post has developed service standards for all products and services. Service standards are the maximum number of business days Canada Post is committed to delivering the mail, although delivery can take place earlier. Not all service standards are guaranteed. To find out whether a particular service offers On-time Guarantee, refer to the appropriate service chapter.
These standards do not include the day of mailing, (e.g. one-day standard means delivery on the next business day). Service standards are measured from the next business day after deposit to the first delivery attempt. For all services, weekend deposits are considered as being deposited on Monday or on the first business day after a statutory holiday.
Canada Post’s distribution network is constantly monitored to ensure service standards are met. Mail items which do not meet product specifications for the service requested, or are not packaged and addressed correctly may not be delivered within the service standards.
Service standards are not applicable to redirected or returned items. Service standards apply but are not guaranteed for items shipped using a Return Service label. Service standards are subject to change without notice.
Where the destination city/town is the same as the originating city/town.
For Priority Courier, Xpresspost, Xpresspost Certified, Regular Parcel and Expedited Parcel, see Table 11: “Local Delivery Area – Forward Sortation Areas*”.
Where the destination city/town is in the same province as the originating city/town.
Where the destination city/town is in the same region as the originating city/town. For a description of each region, see Table 9: “Canadian Regions” and Table 10: “Postal Codes of Remote Centres”.
From anywhere in Canada to anywhere in Canada.
From anywhere in Canada to all of U.S.A. and up to 220 international destinations.
3 | Direct Marketing and Transaction Mail – Domestic | |
Service standards are estimates of how long it will take for the mail to be delivered from the point of deposit to the destination point. Service standards are not guaranteed.
3.1 | Direct Marketing and Transaction Mail Service Standards |
Table 1 contains general service standards. The following symbols and conventions are used:
(L = local, P = provincial, N = national).
Table 1: General Service Standards for Direct Marketing and Transaction Mail Services
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*
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Dimensional Addressed Admail may require an additional day for delivery. |
Table 2: Service Standards – Within Province
For service standards of Addressed Admail originating from and destined to major urban centres, see section 5.3 “National Service Standards Grids”.
For Addressed Admail originating from and/or destined to a non-major urban centre, one day must be added to the delivery standard indicated in the National Service Standards Grids. See section 5 “National Service Standards” for more information. To find the standard in these grids, use the major urban centre(s) closest to the point of origin and/or destination. If you are unsure of which major urban centre(s) to use, see Table 7: “Non-major Urban Centres”.
For Addressed Admail items mailed from and to the centres listed below, the majority of items will be delivered within a three-day delivery window.
For example, delivery of Addressed Admail items mailed from Montréal to Winnipeg will typically occur within a three-day delivery window, starting on the 4th business day, as the delivery service standard is between 4 to 6 business days.
As we strive to improve and exceed our delivery performance, some of our items may be delivered early. Delivery service standards are estimates only.
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NOTE :
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A quick reference grid relating to these centres is available on the Canada Post website. |
3.1.2
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Catalogue Mail, Dimensional Addressed Admail, and Publications Mail
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Table 3: Service Standards – Within Province
For service standards of Catalogue Mail, Dimensional Addressed Admail and Publications Mail originating from and destined to major urban centres, see section 5.3 “National Service Standards Grids”.
For Catalogue Mail, Dimensional Addressed Admail and Publications Mail originating from and/or destined to a non-major urban centre, one day must be added to the delivery standard indicated in the National Service Standards Grids. See section 5 “National Service Standards” for more information. To find the standard in these grids, use the major urban centre(s) closest to the point of origin and/or destination. If you are unsure of which major urban centre(s) to use, see Table 7: “Non-major Urban Centres”.
3.1.3
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Publications Mail (Time-committed)
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Table 4: Publications Mail (Time-committed Service Standards – Within Province
For service standards of Publications Mail (time-committed) originating from and destined to major urban centres, see section 5.3 “National Service Standards Grids”.
For Publications Mail (time-committed) originating from and/or destined to a non-major urban centre, one day must be added to the delivery standard indicated in the National Service Standards Grids. See section 5 “National Service Standards” for more information. To find the standard in these grids, use the major urban centre(s) closest to the point of origin and/or destination. If you are unsure of which major urban centre(s) to use, see Table 7: “Non-major Urban Centres”.
Unaddressed Admail service standards are comprised of two components:
- Transportation time
- Delivery cycle.
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NOTE :
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For AdCard items, the designated supplier’s production standards must be added to Canada Post’s service standards. |
Transportation time – Transportation time refers to the time (in business days) it takes to move items from the originating office to the office(s) from which the material will be delivered.
3.1.4.1
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Transportation Time – Local
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If Unaddressed Admail items are deposited at the same office from which they will be delivered, transportation time does not apply. However, in major urban centres, a main postal facility serves several other facilities within the same geographic area. In this case, the transportation time applies to moving the items from the main facility to other Canada Post facilities within the same area.
3.1.4.2
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Transportation Time – Within Province
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Table 5: Unaddressed Admail Transportation Time – Within Province
3.1.4.3
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Transportation Time – National
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For service standards of Unaddressed Admail originating from and destined to major urban centres, see section 5.3 “National Service Standards Grids”.
For Unaddressed Admail originating from and/or destined to a non-major urban centre, one day must be added to the delivery standard indicated in the National Service Standards Grids. See section 5 “National Service Standards” for more information. To find the standard in these grids, use the major urban centre(s) closest to the point of origin and/or destination. If you are unsure of which major urban centre(s) to use, see Table 7: “Non-major Urban Centres”.
Delivery cycle reflects the number of business days normally required to complete delivery of properly prepared Unaddressed Admail items. The delivery cycle must be added to the transportation time.
Delivery Cycle – Letter Carrier Routes: Items must be deposited or arrive at the office of delivery by 11:00 a.m. the day before the delivery cycle is required to begin.
An item enclosed in a wrapper/envelope is considered as an envelope, except in the case of a co-op mailing.
Table 6: Unaddressed Admail Delivery Cycle – Residential and Business Distribution Delivery Cycle – Non-Letter Carrier Routes: The delivery cycle at Non-Letter Carrier offices for Unaddressed Admail items weighing up to 500 g is normally complete the business day following receipt of Unaddressed Admail items at the office of delivery, or on the date specified on the Unaddressed Admail Delivery Slip, whichever is later.
The delivery cycle at Non-Letter Carrier offices for Unaddressed Admail items weighing more than 500 g and up to 1000 g is normally complete between 3 and 5 business days following receipt of Unaddressed Admail items at the office of delivery.
Service Standards for AdCard Items: The service standards for AdCard items are determined by combining the Unaddressed Admail service standards and the designated supplier’s production standards. The designated supplier’s production standards are the number of business days from final client approval of the AdCard artwork and mailing plan to deposit of the items at the Ottawa Mail Processing Plant.
For mailings of up to 2.5 million items, the designated supplier’s production standards will vary from 5 to 15 business days. To obtain the production standards for mailings over 2.5 million items or for items including a creative option, contact a Canada Post representative.
3.1.5
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Business Reply Mail, Lettermail, Incentive Lettermail, and Registered Mail
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For Business Reply Mail, the service standard for the following links is 4 business days. For Lettermail, Incentive Lettermail and Registered Mail, the service standard for the following links is 3 business days.
- between St John’s NF, Halifax NS, Charlottetown PE, Moncton NB and Saint John NB
- between Halifax NS and Fredericton NB
- between Campbellton NB (E3N), Campbellton DCF NB (E0K), Dalhousie NB (E8C), Kedgwick NB (E8B), Saint-Quentin NB (E8A), Matane QC (G4W), Mont-Joli QC (G5H), Mont-Joli DCF QC (G0J), Rimouski QC (G5L-G5N), Rimouski DCF QC (G0C, G0K) and Gaspé QC (G4X)
- between Ottawa ON, Ontario province and Québec province
- between Montréal QC, Ottawa ON and Toronto ON
- between Saint-Régis QC (H0M) and Cornwall ON (K6H-K6K)
- between Ingolf ON (P0Y) and Winnipeg MB
- between Winnipeg MB, Thunder Bay ON (P7A-P7L), Dryden ON (P8N), Fort Frances ON (P9A) and Kenora ON (P9N)
- between Winnipeg MB, Regina SK and Saskatoon SK
- between Lloydminster SK (S9V, T9V) and all Alberta and Saskatchewan provinces.
The Ottawa local service standard applies to the following Forward Sortation Areas in the Québec province: J0X, J8L, J8M, J8N, J8P to J9A, J9B, J9H, J9J.
Table 7: Non-major Urban Centres
4 | Parcels – Domestic | |
The service standard is calculated from the day of posting (day 0) plus the number of business days required for delivery. For all services, weekend deposits are considered as being deposited on Monday or on the first business day after a statutory holiday.
Items deposited after the last collection time specified on the street letter box or after the post office cut-off time, as applicable, are considered as being deposited on the next business day.
4.1 | Parcels General Service Standards |
Table 8 lists the general service standards for domestic Parcels Services. To calculate specific service standards between origin and destination points, refer to section 5.3 “National Service Standards Grids”.
Table 8: General Service Standards for Parcels Services Table 9: Canadian Regions Table 10: Postal Codes of Remote Centres The first three characters of the postal code represent the FSA – Forward sortation area. The last three characters of the postal code represen | 
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