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Service Standards

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Last updated: 2008-09-29

1

What’s In This Chapter

The following sections are covered in this chapter:

2

What Are Service Standards?

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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.

2.1

Local

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*”.

2.2

Within Province

Where the destination city/town is in the same province as the originating city/town.

2.3

Regional

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”.

2.4

National

From anywhere in Canada to anywhere in Canada.

2.5

Outside of 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

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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.

The following symbols and conventions are used in Table 1: L = local, P = provincial, N = national.

Table 1: General Service Standards for Direct Marketing and Transaction Mail Services
Services
Major Urban
Centres
Non-major
Urban Centres
Northern Regions
and Remote Centres
Addressed Admail*, Catalogue Mail, Publications Mail
L = 3 days
P = up to 5 days
N = up to 12 days
L = 3 days
P = up to 5 days
N = up to 13 days
L = 3 days
P = up to 6 days
N = up to 13 days
Business Reply Mail
L = 3 days
P = 4 days
N = 5 days**
L = 3 days
P = 4 days
N = 5 days**
L = 3 days
P = up to 7 days
N = up to 9 days
Lettermail, Incentive Lettermail, Registered Mail
L = 2 days
P = 3 days
N = 4 days**
L = 2 days
P = 3 days
N = 4 days**
L = 2 days
P = up to 6 days
N = up to 8 days
Publications Mail (time-committed)
L = 2 days
P = up to 4 days
N = up to 10 days
L = 2 days
P = up to 4 days
N = up to 12 days
L = 2 days
P = up to 5 days
N = up to 12 days
Unaddressed Admail (plus Delivery Cycle)
L = 2 days
P = up to 4 days
N = up to 11 days
L = 2 days
P = up to 4 days
N = up to 13 days
L = 2 days
P = up to 5 days
N = up to 13 days
*
Dimensional Addressed Admail may require an additional day for delivery.
**
Some exceptions apply. For more detailed information, see the remainder of section 3.5 “Business Reply Mail, Lettermail, Incentive Lettermail, and Registered Mail”.

3.1

Addressed Admail

3.1.1

Within Province

Table 2: Service Standards – Within Province
Area
(Incoming or Outgoing Mail)
Service Standard
(Business Days)
Ontario
P0T to P0Y, P7A to P9N
5
Québec
G0C, G0E, G0G, G4V, G4X, J0Y, J0Z
5
British Columbia
V0C, V0J, V0V
5
All Other
4

3.1.2

National

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”.

3.1.3

Delivery Window

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.

St. John’s (NL)
Québec
Toronto
London
Saskatoon
Edmonton
Halifax
Montréal
Hamilton
Windsor
Winnipeg
Vancouver
Saint John (NB)
Ottawa
Kitchener
Regina
Calgary
Victoria
NOTE :
A quick reference grid relating to these centres is available on the Canada Post website.

3.2

Catalogue Mail, Dimensional Addressed Admail, and Publications Mail

3.2.1

Within Province

Table 3: Service Standards – Within Province
Area
(Incoming or Outgoing Mail)
Service Standard
(Business Days)
Ontario
P0T to P0Y, P7A to P9N
5
Québec
G0C, G0E, G0G, G4V, G4X, J0Y, J0Z
5
British Columbia
V0C, V0J, V0V
5
All Other
4

3.2.2

National

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”.

3.3

Publications Mail (Time-committed)

3.3.1

Within Province

Table 4: Publications Mail (Time-committed Service Standards – Within Province
Area
(Incoming or Outgoing Mail)
Service Standard
(Business Days)
Ontario
P0T to P0Y, P7A to P9N
4
Québec
G0C, G0E, G0G, G4V, G4X, J0Y, J0Z
4
British Columbia
V0C, V0J, V0V
4
All Other
3

3.3.2

National

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”.

3.4

Unaddressed Admail

Unaddressed Admail service standards are comprised of two components:

  • Transportation time
  • Delivery cycle.
NOTE :
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.

3.4.1

Transportation Time – Local

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.

3.4.2

Transportation Time – Within Province

Table 5: Unaddressed Admail Transportation Time – Within Province
Area
(Incoming or Outgoing Mail)
Service Standard
(Business Days)
Ontario
P0T to P0Y, P7A to P9N
4
Québec
G0C, G0E, G0G, G4V, G4X, J0Y, J0Z
4
British Columbia
V0C, V0J, V0V
4
All Other
 
3

3.4.3

Transportation Time – National

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”.

3.4.4

Delivery Cycle

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
Category
Weight
Length
Width
Delivery Cycle
Standard
up to 115 g
(4.1 oz)
30.50 cm
(12 in)
15.24 cm
(6 in)
3 business days
over 115 g up to 230 g
(4.1 oz - 8.1 oz)
30.50 cm
(12 in)
15.24 cm
(6 in)
5 business days
Oversize
up to 230 g
(up to 8.1 oz)
30.50 cm
(12 in)
over 15.24 cm up to 22.85 cm
(over 6 in up to 9 in)
5 business days

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.

3.5

Business Reply Mail, Lettermail, Incentive Lettermail, and Registered Mail

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
Entry Point
Local FSAs
Forward FSAs
Calgary AB
T1X, T1Y, T2, T3
T0J-T0M, T1A-T1W, T4A-T4H, T4N-T4T
Charlottetown PE
C1A-C1E
C0A, C0B, C1N
Edmonton AB
T5, T6, T8A-T8H, T8N
T0A-T0H, T0N-T0V, T4J, T4L, T4V, T4X, T7A-T7Z, T8L, T8R-T9N
Fredericton NB
E3A-E3E
-
Halifax NS
B2V-B3B, B3H-B4G
B0E-B0W, B1A-B2N, B2R-B2T, B3E, B3G, B4H-B5A, B6L, B9A
Hamilton ON
L0R, L0S, L2A-L3M, L7L-L7T, L8E-L9K, N0A, N0E, N1A, N3L-N4B
-
Happy Valley/
Goose Bay NL
A0P 1C0, A0P 1E0, A0P 1S0
Other A0P
Iqaluit NU
X0A 0H0, X0A 1H0
Other X0A
Kitchener/Waterloo ON
N0B, N0G, N0K, N1C-N3H, N4N, N4W, N4X-N5A
N0C, N0H, N4K-N4L
London ON
N0J, N0L-N0N, N4G, N4S-N4V, N4X, N5C-N7G, N7S-N7X
-
Moncton NB
E1A-E1J
E1N, E1V-E1X, E2A, E3N-E4Z, E6A-E9H
Montréal QC
H1A-H9Z, J0L, J0N, J3E-J3N, J3V-J5C, J5R, J5Y-J6A, J6J-J6K, J6R, J6V-J7R, J7V, J7W
G0X, G8T-G9X, J0A-J0K, (for J0M add 3 business days), J0P-J0W, J0Y, J0Z, J1A-J3B, J3P-J3T, J5J-J5M, J5T-J5X, J6E, J6N, J6S, J6T, J7T, J7X-J7Z, J8A-J8H, J9E, J9L-J9Z
Ottawa ON/
Gatineau QC
J0X, J8L-J9A, J9B, J9H, J9J, K0A, K1A-K4R, K7C, K7S
H0M, K0B-K0J, K4S-K7A, K7G-K7R, K7V-K8H
Québec/Lévis QC
G1A-G3A, G3E, G3G, G3J, G3K, G6C, G6J, G6K, G6V-G7A
G0A-G0W, G0Y, G0Z, G3B, G3H, G3L, G3M, G3N, G3Z, G4A, G4R-G6B, G6E, G6G, G6L-G6T, G7B-G8P,
(for A0R and A2V, add 6 business days)
Regina SK
S4L-S4Z
S0A, S0C, S0G, S0H, S0N, S2V, S3N-S4H, S6H-S6K, S9H
Saint John NB
E2E-E2S
E0G, E2V, E3L, E5A-E5V
Saskatoon SK
S7H-S7W
S0E, S0J-S0M, S6V-S6X, S9A, S9V, S9X, T9V
St John’s NL
A1A-A1H, A1N
A0A-A0N, A1K-A1M, A1S-A2N, A5A, A8A
Toronto ON
L0A-L0J, L0N, L0P, L1A-L1Z, L3P-L3T, L3X-L4L, L4P, L4S-L7K, L9L, L9N, L9P, L9R, L9T-L9W, M(all)
K0K-K0M, K7R, K8N-K9V, L0K-L0M, L3V, L4M, L4N, L9M, L9S, L9Y, L9Z, P0A-P0S, P1A-P6C, Eastern Canada: P0T-P0X, P7A-P9N
Vancouver BC
V0X 1T0, V1M, V2P-V4S, V4W-V7Y
V0A-V0N, V0T, V0V, V0X, V1A-V1Z, V2A-V2N, V4T-V4V, V8A-V8J
Victoria BC
V0R 1L0, V0R 1L1, V0R 1N0, V0R 2L0, V0R 2P0, V0R 2W0, V8L-V9E, V9L, V9Z
V0P, V0R, V0S, V8K, V9G-V9K, V9M-V9Y
Whitehorse YT
Y1A
V0W, Y0A, Y0B
Windsor ON
N0P, N0R, N7L, N7M, N8A-N9Y
-
Winnipeg MB
R1A, R1B, R2C-R4L, R5A
P0Y, R0A-R0M, R1N, R4H-R4L, R5G-R9A, S0P, X0C
Western Canada: P0T-P0X, P7A-P9N
Yellowknife NT
X1A
X0B, X0E, X0G

4

Parcels – Domestic

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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
Delivery Area
Priority
Courier
Xpresspost and
Xpresspost Certified
Expedited
Parcel
Regular
Parcel
Major Urban Centres
Local
Noon next day
Next day
1 day
2 days
Regional
Noon next day
2 days
1 to 3 days
3 to 5 days
National
Noon next day to 1 day
2 days
2 to 7 days
4 to 9 days
Non-Major Urban Centres
Local
Noon next day
Next day
1 day
2 days
Regional
Noon next day up to 2 days
2 days
Up to 4 days
Up to 6 days
National
Next day up to 3 days
3 days
Up to 11 days
Up to 12 days
Northern Regions and Remote Centres
Local
Noon next day
Next day
1 day
2 days
Regional
Up to 5 days
Up to 5 days
Up to 6 days
Up to 8 days
National
Up to 7 days
Up to 7 days
Up to 13 days
Up to 13 days
Table 9: Canadian Regions
Region
Geographical Area
Urban Centres
Atlantic Region
New Brunswick
  • Fredericton NB
  • Saint John NB
  • Moncton NB
Newfoundland and Labrador
  • St. John’s NL
 
Nova Scotia
  • Halifax NS
 
Prince Edward Island
  • Charlottetown PE