COVID-19 frequently asked questions

Since the pandemic began, Canada Post has followed the guidance of public health authorities and made the safety of our employees and customers our top priority. These measures, combined with the heavy demand for parcels, means our ability to process has been slowed down. While parcel processing and delivery is expected to continue at a high pace, customers may experience some delays as important safety measures continue.

You can track your item and check the latest shipping status at canadapost.ca or using our mobile app. Our call centre agents will not have any further information. Check here for regular updates.

As we continue to adjust our operations to provide timely, reliable service Canadians, our On-time Delivery Guarantees have resumed for parcels shipped within Canada.

Parcels shipped prior to August 23, 2021 will not qualify for the guarantee.

The On-time Delivery Guarantees will apply only to the delivery of domestic parcel services, including Expedited Parcel, Flat Rate Boxes, Xpresspost and Priority. At this time, International delivery guarantees remain suspended. While we remain committed to providing timely and reliable service, given the unpredictability of the COVID-19 situation, guarantees remain subject to change.

You can track your item and check the latest shipping status at canadapost.ca or using our mobile app. Our call centre agents will not have any further information. Check here for regular updates.

Customers should continue to track their parcels on our website or our mobile app for the latest information. It’s important to understand that our call centre agents are open to serve, but have no further details if your item is delayed and you are looking for a status update. A service ticket can be opened up online too.

We are safely resuming deliveries of some signature items to the door. We will capture a verbal signature while maintaining a safe distance of at least six feet, or two metres.

We will capture a verbal signature and deliver the following:

• Signature items, including passports
• Proof of Age (POA) items
• Items with customs due

For Proof of Identity, Registered Mail and Xpresspost Certified items, we will leave a delivery notice card (DNC) that directs you to a local post office for pick up. We will capture your signature at the post office.

The health and safety of our employees and all Canadians remains our highest priority. If we cannot safely deliver your item, we will leave a DNC and direct you to a post office for pick up.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) have assured us the risk when handling mail, including international mail, is low.

According to the PHAC, there is no known risk of coronaviruses entering Canada on parcels or packages. In general, because of poor survivability of coronaviruses on surfaces, there is a low risk of spread from products or packaging shipped over a period of days or weeks. Currently, there is no evidence of COVID-19 being transmitted by imported goods or packages.

Given the huge volume of mail and the challenge of locating individual items, it will not be possible for us to search for and deliver individual items for customers. However, customers who face hardship or other exceptional circumstances should call our customer care team at 1-877-683-5895.

The World Health Organization and the Public Health Agency of Canada have said that there is a low risk of COVID-19 spread from mail and packages. Likewise, the likelihood of surface contamination of mailboxes and parcel lockers is low. The surfaces of these kinds of mail receptacles are not considered frequently touched surfaces, so they are not disinfected regularly. When Canada Post employees deliver to a community mailbox or to a parcel locker, they do not touch the individual compartment door that a given customer uses to retrieve their mail or parcel. Instead, our employees use a master key to open the entire panel all at once.

We understand that people rely on their local post office. We are committed to serving Canadians while taking action to keep our people and our communities safe. We will continue to review and quickly adapt our approach with health and safety as our primary goal.

Most corporate post offices and franchises are currently open, but the situation can change rapidly in a given location or region. To verify if a post office near you is open, please visit “find a post office”on the Canada Post website.

Canada Post employees and contractors working on behalf of the company at post offices are required to wear masks or face coverings at all times. Customers must respect the local, regional or provincial mandates pertaining to wearing a face covering in retail stores. To assist our customers in this regard, door signage indicates whether a face covering is required or merely recommended. In areas where there is no requirement that customer wear a mask, Canada Post still recommends the use of a face covering. This is part of our ongoing efforts to keep employees, and the people we serve, safe during COVID-19. For our guidelines please see here.

Physical Distancing: We are asking waiting customers to please space themselves 2 metres (6 feet) apart, and floor decals are now in place in most post offices to assist customers in respecting the spacing requirement. For smaller offices or during busy hours, offices may be required to limit the number of customers in-store.

We understand the importance of our post offices and are working hard to serve our customers. As the current situation continues, some post offices may close temporarily due to a number of factors. For example, the buildings they are located in may close temporarily, or for staffing reasons. We are monitoring this closely and will advise customers through door signage at any affected locations.

To find the nearest post office, go to canadapost.ca and enter your location in Find a Post Office. A map will display open post offices near you and this data is updated daily. Please note that the hours of some post offices may temporarily differ from the hours posted on our website due to the COVID-19 situation.

Businesses or organizations that require a temporary stop of mail at their location can purchase Hold Mail online here.

Any business planning to reopen before the expiry of its Hold Mail service should cancel the service online or with our Customer Service line at 1-877-262-5762. Mail delivery will resume on the business day following the cancellation.

Hold Mail service applies to mail items but we will try to accommodate parcels to the extent that we can given the limited space in some of our facilities.

The Mail Forwarding service directs mail to a new address. For businesses operating from a new or temporary location, this service means mail delivery continues uninterrupted. Business customers can sign up for Mail Forwarding here.

Any business planning to reopen before the expiry of its Mail Forwarding service should cancel the service online or with our Customer Service at 1-877-262-5762. Mail delivery will resume to the regular address on the business day following the cancellation.

Increased parcel volumes combined with new safety protocols and pandemic measures in Canada and the U.S.A are creating delays for customers. We have adjusted our delivery standards to better reflect expected delivery times, however service may not be consistent, and some items may be delivered beyond published delivery standards. Consumers and business shippers should consider the additional delivery time when making commitments to recipients in the U.S.A.

We suspended on-time delivery guarantees on March 18, 2020 due to the unique circumstances we are operating in. The suspensions remain in effect for Xpresspost^TM-USA and Priority^TM Worldwide.

Mail and parcels destined to international destinations continue to be delivered.

International mail and parcel services are impacted by COVID-19. Some international postal operators have suspended mail operations and there is less air transportation available. Service is flowing to and from most destinations and the situation continues to evolve. We regularly update our list of available international destinations on our Delivery service alerts page.

Service to some destinations may be delayed. We have adjusted our international delivery standards to better reflect expected delivery times. Delays are the result of both limited air transportation and changes in how postal operators deliver. Like Canada Post, many international postal operators have introduced changes to eliminate customer interactions at the door and support physical distancing. These changes may delay delivery and signatures will not be available on some items.

Our goal is to continue providing timely and reliable service. But in light of the current challenges, we have suspended the On-time delivery guarantee for Xpresspost ^TM-International and Priority^TM Worldwide until further notice.

International mail and parcel services are severely impacted by COVID-19. However, Canada Post continues to deliver all mail and parcels once they arrive in Canada. If you have ordered something from abroad, you may experience a longer than normal waiting period. You can check the status of trackable postal items coming to Canada from an international sender here. If you need more information, please contact the sender.

Yes, and to keep our employees and customers safe, we continue to ask all Canadians to practice physical distancing while our employees are out delivering in the community, and when you visit a post office. You can read more here.

As well, if your business has arranged for parcel pickup, please place your items and paper work on the counter or in a location that allows you to back away in order for our employee to maintain a 2-metre distance from you or your staff.

We thank Canadians for their continued understanding and support for the measures we’ve put in place for everyone’s safety.

Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our employees. We communicate daily to our employees about this issue. They are informed about the measure to protect themselves and others, such as hand washing, avoiding shaking hands and avoiding contact with others who show symptoms of respiratory illness. We have provided nitrile gloves to employees in processing facilities.

We are taking sensible precautions. Our cleaning crews have increased frequency of cleaning of high-touch items such as door handles, light switches and table tops. When an employee has been at work prior to being put in self-isolation by public health, we have protocols to do a deep clean of the workstation and, if they used one, their corporate vehicle. If an employee who has been at work before being confirmed positive for COVID-19, we have protocols to sanitize the workplace and, if they used one, their corporate vehicle.

The health and safety of our employees and the public is our top priority. We take steps to initiate any on-site cleaning and sanitizing measures in the workplace. We also inform the local joint health and safety committee. We do not allow the employee to return to work until we have ensured, through Canada Life, that they are medically cleared to do so. To help with their peace of mind during such a difficult time, we offer eligible employees special leave so that they will continue to be paid.

The safety of our employees and the public is our top priority. We would take steps to initiate any on-site cleaning and sanitizing measures in the workplace. We also inform the local joint health and safety committee. We do not allow the employee to return to work until we have ensured, through Canada Life, that they are medically cleared to do so. To help with their peace of mind during such a difficult time, we offer eligible employees special leave so that they will continue to be paid.

The employees team leader would also work with the provincial Public Health Authority on the additional required steps, such as contact tracing and implementing any necessary quarantine steps for co-workers, notifying customers and limiting access to the building.