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.

The On-time Delivery Guarantees apply to the delivery of domestic parcel services, including Flat rate boxes, Expedited Parcel™, 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.

Find the delivery standard from your postal code to a Canadian destination at canadapost.ca/deliverytool.

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 resumed our pre-pandemic processes for signatures at the door for all products as of July 4, 2022.

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 has implemented a Tactical Pandemic Response Toolkit (TPRT) to guide its response to COVID-19 going forward and allow for early detection of increased cases in the workplace.

Under this risk-based approach for targeted sites, enhanced safety protocols are deployed for Canada Post’s employees for a 21-day period.

Please note the precautions in place during TPRT do not prevent customers from dropping mail in our facilities and depots or accessing our retail counters and Post Offices.

Canada Post continues to follow guidance from public health as part of its on-going efforts to keep employees, and the people we serve, safe during COVID-19. For our guidelines, please see here Mandatory Face Covering Practice | Policy and Practice Centre (cpggpc.ca)

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.

The vaccination requirement does not apply to retail customers visiting our post offices.

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.

Mail and parcels destined to the United States continue to be delivered.

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

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 following safety measures implemented throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

Canada Post has implemented a Tactical Pandemic Response Toolkit (TPRT) to guide its response to COVID-19 going forward and allow for early detection of increased cases in the workplace.

Under this risk-based approach for targeted sites, enhanced safety protocols are deployed for Canada Post’s employees for a 21-day period.

This includes physical distancing measures. 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. Our employees are frequently informed about the measures to protect themselves and others.

We are taking sensible precautions. Our cleaning crews have adjusted their cleaning protocols, and Canada Post has implemented sanitization as part of its Tactical Pandemic Response Toolkit (TPRT) in targeted facilities.

The health and safety of our employees and the public is our top priority. Staying home when sick is an important safety measure to keep our workplaces safe; 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 do not allow the employee to return until they are cleared to do so through the daily self-assessment.

Canada Post has implemented enhanced cleaning and sanitization as part of its Tactical Pandemic Response Toolkit (TPRT) in targeted facilities where increased cases are detected within the workplace.

As of July 6, 2022, Canada Post has suspended its mandatory Vaccination Practice.