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Does Canada Post Deliver on Weekends (Saturdays or Sundays)?

By 25 November 2024November 26th, 2024No Comments
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Does Canada Post Deliver on Weekends? What are their Delivery Hours on Saturday and Sunday?

Canada Post does not operate on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays). All their post offices work only five days a week. No mail is accepted or delivered on weekends. You can’t drop off your mail at the post office on these days or inquire about an upcoming delivery. 

However, Canada Post also has some authorized private post offices across the country. These post offices have their own timings, and some of them might even work on weekends. It is the only way people can receive mail on weekends. A local delivery within a city takes 2 days. Provincial and national deliveries could take up to 3 and 4 business days. 

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In contrast, international deliveries are completed within 4 to 7 days. These timeframes could give you a fair idea about when you will receive your mail. Canada Post follows an 8-hour working day for five days a week. They handle commercial deliveries from morning 9:00 am to evening 5:00 pm. For residential deliveries, the timings are from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm. 

Some authorized private post offices have the authority to complete your deliveries on weekends or public holidays, for example, the Canada Post office in Edmonton Calgary. 

Key Takeaways 

  • Canada Post does not officially operate on weekends and public holidays. 
  • Some of the authorized private post offices may make deliveries on Saturdays or Sundays. 
  • Canada Post does not offer any services on national, territorial, or provincial holidays. 
  • The postal service follows a standard 8-hour working day for five days a week. 
  • Canada Post faced many challenges during COVID-19 from unprecedented demand to and low workforce.  

Canada Post Office Hours and Delivery Schedule on Saturdays or Sundays

  • Canada Post offices work 8 hours a day for five days a week.
  • The postal services deliver mail and packages from morning 9:00 am to evening 5:00 pm to commercial addresses.
  • For residential deliveries, the timings are from 9:00 am up to 8:00 pm.
  • All business deliveries are completed by 5:00 pm in order to not miss deliveries due to late timings as a lot of people tend to wrap up at 5:00 pm.

On the other hand, mail delivery to residential places is completed late because a lot of people are available at their homes to receive the mail only during late evenings. Canada Post has fixed these timings to reduce parcel delivery failures and to speed up the process.

They do not deliver on any statutory holidays like New Year’s Day and Christmas. There are a lot of other days when Canada Post does not operate, which we will discuss below. There might still be some queries: Does Canada Post deliver on Sundays?

Many people believe that Canada Post operates for the entire year without any holiday breaks and weekend offs. This belief is because there are numerous subsidiary post offices owned by the private sector that have the authority to process and complete your deliveries on weekends and even during holidays—for example, the Canada Post office in Edmonton Calgary.

Canada Post has one of its private sector franchises in Edmonton city, in the name of Shoppers Drug Mart. Their in-store services are very convenient to avail of and have the same working standards as that of the official post offices.

Moreover, they provide all the post office services like post office boxes, stamps, pickup, shipping, money orders, credit and debit card payments, and government forms like Passport Canada and Revenue Canada. It operates on all 7 days of the week with some changes in the service timings. From Monday to Friday, their office is open from 7:30 am to 8:00 pm. On Saturdays, they provide postal services between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. It works effectively even on Sundays from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Hence, if you have some urgent work or need to ship your mail fast, you can visit one of these offices and get it done.

But, it should be noted that not all private post offices operate on all days. There are some of these franchises that also operate only from Monday to Friday. In Calgary, there is one such postal outlet named “Exchange Gift and Convenience” that works only five days a week from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. However, it does offer all postal products.

Hence, if you think the official post office is far from your area, you can always locate and visit these private sector offices in your area at your convenience. With the help of these outlets, Canada Post can sometimes deliver on weekends. Please note that the deliveries can be delayed due to poor weather conditions, lack of manpower, and holidays.

List of Holidays Across the Year When Canada Post Does Not Deliver Mail and Parcel

We have already found out the answer to questions like Does Canada Post deliver on Saturdays? How does Canada Post deliver on weekends? There are a couple of more things you should be aware of about Canada Post deliveries. Every year, there are certain holidays wherein the post offices, and probably the private outlets as well do not operate. It is recommended that you know about these holidays well in advance to avoid any surprises or inconveniences.

Below is a list of holidays in 2021 when Canada Post will be non-operational. Some of these holidays are national, while others are either provincial or territorial.

  • 1st January – New Year’s Day (National)
  • 2nd April – Good Friday (National)
  • 5th April – Easter Monday (National)
  • 24th May – Victoria Day (National)
  • 24th May – Patriots’ National Day (Québec’s provincial holiday)
  • 24th June – Québec’s National Holiday (Québec’s provincial holiday)
  • 1st July – Canada Day (National)
  • 2nd August – Civic Holiday (Only in Ontario, Nunavut, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Labrador, and some northwest territories)
  • 2nd August – Natal Day (Only in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island)
  • 2nd August – New Brunswick Day (Only in New Brunswick)
  • 2nd August – British Columbia Day (Only in British Columbia)
  • 2nd August – Heritage Day (Only in Alberta)
  • 16th August – Discovery Day (Only in Yukon)
  • 6th September – Labour Day (National)
  • 11th October – Thanksgiving Day (National)
  • 11th November – Remembrance Day (National)
  • 25th December – Christmas (National)
  • 26th December – Boxing Day (National)

On national holidays, Canada Post and most of its private sector outlets are closed. Hence, if you are wondering: Does Canada Post deliver on Sundays through its private post offices?

The answer is yes, but is subjective to the timings of these offices. Though Canada Post does not operate on territorial and provincial holidays, the post offices in other territories and provinces do operate on those days.

For example, on Québec’s National Holiday, Canada Post will remain non-operational only in Québec. The post offices in all the other places work as usual.

Does Canada Post Provide Weekend Deliveries During Covid-19?

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada Post has been facing an increase in demand and is taking several steps to reduce delivery delays. Since March 2020, they have been facing unprecedented demand and have recruited a lot of temporary personnel along with full-time employees to overcome the lack of workforce to process and deliver billions of parcels across the year.

More and more people have started using the postal services in Canada due to the prevailing curfew wherein people cannot physically meet their loved ones.

In this scenario, does Canada Post deliver on weekends?

Officially, the answer is still no. However, it did add weekend deliveries during the holiday season as the number of mail items to be delivered increased drastically, and they were operating at record levels.

Canada Post has suspended an on-time delivery guarantee from March 2020. Owing to these conditions, Canadians are expected to face delivery delays. Some mail items might even be delivered earlier than expected. Hence, the estimated delivery dates are flexible, and Canada Post has urged its customers to be patient with them.

Moreover, some parcels are being transferred from one post office to another as per capacity for processing. Hence, customers might notice that their mail is taking a different route rather than the shorter, regular one.

During the holiday season, Canada Post had pushed up the delivery deadlines due to the unprecedented increase in the number of mail. They also informed their customers about the same and recommended they ship earlier.

Does Canada Post deliver on Sundays during holidays? Yes, in 2020, Canada Post added a lot of pickup locations, and weekend deliveries and extended their working hours.

Furthermore, it improved its tracking technology enabling its customers to follow their mail trails right from processing up to delivery. It has added a lot of seasonal workers during COVID-19 and purchased a lot of new fleet vehicles to complete deliveries on time. Hence, you should expect delivery delays but be assured that Canada Post will get it done and keep you informed.

Final Words About Does Canada Post Deliver on Weekends?

Does Canada Post deliver on Saturdays? How are some people receiving mail during weekends? How long does it take for Canada Post to deliver? – these are some of the questions addressed in this blog. In conclusion, Canada Post does not deliver on weekends as it works only five days a week. You need to complete all your work before the weekend or wait till Monday.

However, for urgent mailing, you can always locate the postal outlets that are nearby and use their services. These private-sector post offices also provide all the same services and use the same postal standards. Canada Post is still working during Covid-19 but has suspended deliveries to a lot of places. Hence, you need to check their website to check whether they can deliver to your destination country.

PostGrid‘s print & mail network allows you to speedily and easily send out mail through Canada Post and get it delivered on time.