Canada Post urges shoppers complete online Christmas shopping now – adjusts shipment deadlines

As Canada Post responds to the full impact of the changes Canadians are making in response to safety and travel restrictions, the postal operator is working to safely deliver the pre-Christmas surge.

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Not only are Canadians shopping online in record numbers for gifts and other items, but they’ve also seen a huge influx of customers at post offices shipping gifts to replace their traditional holiday visits.

As a result, Canada Post is adjusting its holiday parcel shipping deadlines within Canada and asking Canadians to do their shipping and online shopping as soon as possible this week.

Responding to safely process and deliver

Canada Post began ramping up early this peak holiday season to respond to the expected demand and the need to maintain important safety measures in everything we do. Its plants have been operating around the clock, processing record volumes which then go out for delivery each day.

The postal operator has added more than 4,000 seasonal employees, increased its fleet by more than 1,000 vehicles, worked with commercial customers to manage the flow of parcels and encouraged Canadians to shop and ship as early as possible, beginning in early October.

Last weekend Canada Post delivered 1.1 million parcels across the country and expects heavy deliveries to continue through this week and next. Even with processing and delivery moving well with additional resources, there is a limit to what the carrier can safely process and deliver. Customers should expect delays.

Canada Post revised holiday parcel shipping deadlines

In a statement, Canada Post said it, “understands the importance of the items we’re currently processing and delivering in record numbers and thank Canadians for the patience they have shown us this year. We remain committed to reliable and timely service and have revised the following shipping guidelines to help us safely deliver the pre-Christmas parcel surge.”

However, it also revised holiday season shipping dates for its service levels:

• Priority – Local, regional, and national shipments need to be mailed by Friday, December 18.
• Xpresspost – Local and regional shipments need to be mailed by Friday December 18; National shipments need to be mailed by Thursday December 17.
• Flat rate box – Local and regional shipments need to be mailed by Friday December 18; Regional shipments need to be mailed by Wednesday December 16 (Some areas may be able to wait until December 18). Nationally, the deadline ranges from Dec 11-17, making this service level problematic now for most shipments.
• Regular Parcel – Only local shipments are recommended now and must be mailed by December 18. Most deadlines for regional and national shipments have passed.

In conclusion, the safest option now when ordering online and choosing Canada Post as the shipping carrier is to select either Priority or Xpresspost. Equally, sellers and online merchants should steer customers to these service options to avoid late-arriving shipments.

Canada Post also reminded customers that on-time delivery guarantees have been suspended since March 18, 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and the operator is working under revised health and safety rules, which includes some changes to its delivery process for items requiring signatures.