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Home : Top Stories : Cost to mail a letter within North America rises

Cost to mail a letter within North America rises

A Canada Post worker delivers mail in Waterloo Region on Wednesday, July 6, 2011.
A Canada Post worker delivers mail in Waterloo Region on Wednesday, July 6, 2011.

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Date: Monday Jan. 16, 2012 6:49 AM ET

TORONTO — It costs two cents more to mail a letter today within North America.

The cost of mailing a first-class letter within Canada is now 61 cents and letters to the United States now cost $1.05.

Letters to overseas destinations jump a nickel to $1.80.

Canada Post says the increases are part of a five-year pricing strategy initially announced in 2009.

The rate hikes come as more Canadians rely on email, texting, Facebook, Twitter and other electronic communications.

During last June's rotating strikes by postal workers followed by a 10-day lockout, Canada Post said letter volumes had dropped 17 per cent over the past five years.

Comments are now closed for this story

Sal
said

I still send Christmas cards - far fewer than ever, but once a year, I use Canada Post.


Speargrass
said

From my view point the qualifications to work for CPC are very basic. Most positions do not require a post secondary education, and they are not required to continually upgrade their qualifications to maintain their current job. Yet compared to many post secondary qualified workers they are extremely well paid. CPC seems to be one of the most expensive and yet most inefficient systems in the industrialized world. If mail has dropped of by 17%, then they should be operating with 17% less workers!


Pip
said

Why is it that, in the 60's and 70's, delivery was much faster than now? Three days from Toronto to Northern Manitoba for a first class letter. Now the Canada Post STANDARD is at least 4 days inter-provincial (see display in any post office). We can't blame the conservative government, as most of the time since '68 - and earlier - has been Liberal government. Come to think of it, service only declined since the Canada Post Corporation Act came into being in 1981, under Trudeau - a Liberal. Sure there were 8 years of Mulroney after, but then 12 years of Chretien. I guess we blame the Liberals for all this.


rmsbl4
said

During the last strike letter volume went down 17% so shouldn't there be a decrease in manpower instead an increase in rates?


rmsbl4
said

@ Lumberjack What prices have gone down. Are youtalking here or back home. I have lived here for 42 yrs and I can't remeber prices going down.


JP
said

Here we go again..pay more get less..mail in Canada is extremely slow especially mailing anything at a private mail vendor (drug store etc)..time to stamp out the increases!!


Stewie
said

It sounds like many on here would rather deliver their mail themselves. I looked into being a postal employee but the job doesn't pay enough to pay my bills. Sounds like the ignorant folks on here think mail should be delivered by children, their the only ones that could afford to work for less.


Mr John.
said

That is.61 +tax..When I owned my art gallery we mailed 500 invites for each new show...that was 8-10 times a year.
Each time the post went up we had to edit the mailing list in order to keep the exhibit costs under control.The raising of post also
forced us to cancel a Christmas card sent annually to clients.
When sending a package and adding an extra to make sure it arrives in X days...that is a pile of bunk/BS/robbery.I mailed a package from Montreal to the South Shore of N.S. for Christmas.For $17.10 cents.For the 4 day deal it would have been $48.56.I sent at regular---it arrived,picked up in 2.5 days.
The same occured last year as well as package sent to me from the same address.
Cards sent in Montreal taken from less then one day to as long as 4-5 days to the same building on the same st and mailed at the same time at the same postal station..????
No matter what season there is no way that mails should take anymore then 5 days at most to almost any part of Canada.



Dale Robinson
said

Broken down that is only 20 cents to get your mail to it's destination and 40 cents storage fee.


Estebahn78
said

CPC uses the monopoly on lettermail to subsidize the cost of mailing a parcel within Canada. Lettermail is dying and the lockout sure didn't help. Once this "Whiny, Dinosaur" is gone/privatized you will have no choice but to use the more expensive options. Amazon ships very large amounts of parcels so naturally they would get a preferential rate, much like going to costco when you shop. The junk mail you write of also helped to give CPC it's most profit ever. 453 million net profit last year. You probably didn't hear this during the lockout because they held the numbers back till August instead of releasing them in MAy like they usually do. It's hard to cry poor with a half a billion in your pocket.


cj
said

Canada Post is useless! Yes we delivered your registered letter; here is the confirmation certificate that it was delieverd. Oops. You received it back from us as undeliverable? Oh well. Better luck next time.


Ross
said

See this is what happens when you folks who vote for the Conservatives you can not trust them this will happen for the next 2 years also so we will have to grin and bear as they say.


Angry Danny
said

Go nuts.....!!!!!!
raise it all you want....
Does anyone even use this archaic way of life anymore except around Christmas????
if "video killed the radio star" well "e-mail destroyed the post office"


az
said

CP will eventually end up like the auto workers, asking too much for an inferior service. There are not too many things I say " the US does it better", but in the case of the mail, they do. Unless I am sending a normal size and weight envelope, I use every option other then CP. They are putting them self out of business. I have also been the long time believer that if your rates go up, your service should get better.


terri
said

I have lots of negative stories about Canada Post and misdirected mail but there is one thing that my carrier does well. She pays attention to the "no unaddressed mail, flyers or advertising" sticker on my mailbox. This prevents most junk mail but not, alas, political info in the last election, real estate solicitations or handyman type ads. They'll never get my vote or business as literacy is one of my basic requirements for support.


Lisbet Sellwood
said

I send first class mail to stay in touch with family and friends. We all love to get a letter in the mail from someone we know. It's cheaper than a coffee. One stamp is virtually free. And it is cheaper than taking public transit or using a tank of gas to visit. them. I am happy to pay for the privilege of having reliable mail service. Happy to help keep people employed, too.


pegger
said

@island girl
The same scam just happened in Winnipeg. We got told to reduce our wter usage, then they said they weren't getting enough income from billing so they had to raise the price per litre. I guess shady Katz isn't the only one to pull this one.


Bob NS
said

The use is down so the revenues are down then they increase the cost to make up for the losses instead of downsizing. Same for the power companies. They had encouraged us to be more efficient to save energy. We all did so their sales went down and so they increase the price to make up the difference.Same with the gas companies went their sales go down because consumers are driving fuel efficient vehicles.I don't want play that game and so if I can afford it I buy it and that includes SUV for instance.Unless companies are faced with a humongous drop in their sales would they consider cutting back on expenses instead of rising prices.Bob NS


minnie mouse
said

it took three weeks for my Christmas card to reach my sister - I think the postie must have walked it all the way from my house to hers, that would just about cover three weeks


Sam C
said

As we know, Canada Post has tried to introduce some cost-cutting measures, only to be met with much wailing and gnashing of teeth by CUPW. Since fewer of us are using this service, perhaps it should be reduced to three days a week, or even two days. Having said that, I don't expect the cost of a stamp to drop, and since I rarely send anything by post, I can't find it in me to complain about the cost.


Ian
said

Although a two cent raise is minimal, I have a hard time accepting this when the overall service continues to deteriorate. When it takes a week or so to get a letter acrosss the country something is fundamentally wrong. I see my mailman about three times a week and he is always in a truck. What happened to the good old days of a postman actually walking their route. When the posties were on strike no one seemed to care that much aside from the small businesses as well as those home based businesses who depended on the service. I say keep the service, but reduce mail delivery to two or three times a week and install the green boxes. By doing so, you can reduce the workforce to realistic and efficient ???? levels while also maximizing the use of government vehicles.


P/T postie
said

@Bill Moyer, you CAN stop the admail, it is the consumer's choice. I agree, there is a lot going into recycling at our house too, but we like to get our community newspapers, and it's all or nothing.


rose
said

Give me a break that 2 cents is going to brake the bank. You don't bat an eye lash when the gas prices jump $0.10. minus 32 in Calgary today and every letter carrier will be out there delivering the mail you you. Witch other carrier company will deliver your letter for less than a dollar? I would much rather get a letter in the mail than an e mail.


Andrew
said

The cost goes up maybe they will deliver all of the mail now instead of just some. So many times letters sent to me just vanish into the nether world never to be seen again. If anyone sends me anything important I tell them to either send it on the bus or make sure I need to sign for it or it never shows up in my "super box".


Karen - Rouyn-Noranda
said

Having children who live away from our home town, I do send packages and mail, real Christmas cards too. I use Post Canada because they offer good service and much better rates than any other means of transportation.


Lumberjack
said

I have been living in Germany for the last two years and the prices have gone down considerably. Whats up in Canada?


sarah
said

I receive mail not addressed to me at least once a month. I do not receive mail that is addressed to me (monthly bills), at least once a month. Sometimes, a neighbour who has received it walks over and puts it in my mailbox. I worry at tax season because I have no idea what info might be missing. I have had problems stopping and restarting delivery, with clerks charging different stamps for the same Christmas card sent on different days, with the mail person walking through our yards rather than using the sidewalk (wears an unwanted path eventually). If CP was a restaurant, people wouldn't come back. t can't imagine it costing more!


Modern Messenger
said

Raising the price of mailing a letter is not just their "5-year strategy," but their "every-year strategy." CP has done this for a long time, and their service and usefulness just keep deteriorating. Redundant, costly service. Do we really need it?


Vern in Alberta
said

My pay statements are sent to me in the mail. Employer says it would be too costly to change over to e-mail, and a lot of the employees don't have e-mail. We work at all kinds of sites, so it is not like I am in the same building as payroll.

The Post Office is forever delivering my mail elsewhere and I receive other peoples mail. Complaints fall on deaf ears at Canada Post.

I suppose they need the money to give the workers their bonous cheques, which will be delivered by couier rather than through the mail.


Steve T
said

OK, come on people, it is sixty one cents. This is a financial hardship? I don't agree with a lot that Canada Post does, including their whiny union, but sending a letter is still very inexpensive.What needs improving is the time of service (a week to get a letter within Canada???), and the cost of priority post and other package services. I paid nearly $30 to send a medium-sized package within Canada over the holiday season, to ensure it got there within 4 business days. Yet, somehow, Amazon and other online retailers can offer free shipping on orders over $25. I think Canada Post is gouging the consumer, to subsidize preferential rates they give to online retailers.


Bill Moyer
said

Other than birthday cards and parcels, I rarely use the post office. I sure wish you could opt out of their junk mail delivery. I fill my recycle box every week with garbage they stuff into my slot. Would it not be better for the environment if they didn't deliver it at all. Perhaps Canada Post could put junk mail display racks at their many locations - you could take what you want - rather than stuffing all our boxes with this unwanted garbage.


island girl
said

People DON'T use Canada Post, they they raise the price to cover their losses. You know where that's headed. Reminds me of Victoria BC. They put pressure on citizens to conserve water with the threat of raising their rates to 'discourage use'. So people cut waaaay down, so much that revenues were so low, the city put through a huge water rate increase to make up the shortfall. Result: Pay the same or more for less product/service. The Canadian way!!!


Jason
said

Mail delivery should be stopped, we have a community mailbox in our town, a centralized location where the mailman delivers the mail.

walking around door to door? waste of time and money.


joe canada
said

Only time I really use the mail is for christmas cards.


sharon
said

One would think that the post office, with declining sales, would try to be more creative and flexible to customers, e.g. no price increase on postage. I think that they have created their own headache because it is very expensive to send parcels, larger envelopes, etc.


Will
said

Postal service is useful and neccessary. However, CP keeps raising rates and service is getting worse. Remember 8 cents airmail to Europe? How about home delivery 6 days a week? Now we are lucky to see a carrier (in a truck) twice a week. CP needs to clean up its act and give decent service before they start raising the rates.


Dale
said

...and now the number of letters being mailed will drop even lower.


George V.
said

Fewer and fewer of us use this old antquated snail mail sysyem. it is only used if there are no alternatives. With all the new electronic gadgetsr used to forward information the post office is well at the back of the line except for delivering junk mail, they're #1. By increasing costs it will just mean more people will find better and faster alternatives.


allan
said

I havent purchased a stamp in years what with the internet, FEDEX, etc. Scrap the post offices, they are dinosaurs


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