TORONTO — Canada Post is raising its mailing rates on Monday.

The cost of mailing a first-class letter within Canada will increase to 54 cents from 52.

Letters to the United States increase by two cents to 98 cents, while letters to all other foreign countries rise by a nickel to $1.65.

The Crown corporation also plans to cash in on online shopping with a 100 per cent increase in postal rates for thick envelopes that are widely used to ship Internet purchases.

Packages weighing between 200 grams and 500 grams will jump to $5.50 from $2.25.

That's drawing criticism from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which says it opposes "arbitrary prices increases" for what it calls undependable service.