Canada Post expands community mailbox rollout amid financial pressures
Dozens more communities across the country will switch to Canada Post’s community mailboxes as part of a broader plan to modernize the postal service.
Canada Post will move about 485,000 additional addresses from door-to-door delivery to centralized mailboxes by next year, including roughly 34,000 in the Maritimes.
This comes weeks after the company’s first announcement, stating it would convert about 136,000 addresses in 13 communities by late 2026 or early 2027.
Canada post says move is being driven in part by ongoing financial losses, as it works to return to self-sustainability without relying on taxpayers. The shift will improve security, with most mail and parcels delivered under lock and key, and help reduce delivery costs, noting that they are responsible for maintaining all community boxes for safety and accessibility.
Ensuring everyone can access their mail
Customers with functional limitations can access their mail through Canada Post’s Delivery Accommodation Program which provides free support for residents.
The program offers accommodations that make mailboxes easier to use, such as sliding trays, Braille features, or a more accessible compartment. In some cases, weekly home delivery may be provided on a seasonal, temporary, or permanent basis.
Residents can request an accommodation after receiving a letter notifying them of the location of their new community mailbox.
Where conversions will take place
The corporation is initiating discussions with local governments in the following communities to begin preparing for conversions in 2027:
* All numbers are approximate
| Province | Community | Number of addresses* |
| Nova Scotia | Halifax | 17,000 |
| New Brunswick | Fredericton, Oromocto | 17,000 |
| Québec | L’Ancienne-Lorette, Laval, Longueuil, Québec City, Saint-Hubert, Trois-Rivières | 139,000 |
| Ontario | Ajax, Brampton, Hawkesbury, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, Ottawa, Pickering | 158,000 |
| Manitoba | Portage la Prairie, Winnipeg | 17,000 |
| Alberta | Calgary, Edmonton | 56,000 |
| British Columbia | Burnaby, Colwood, Coquitlam, Esquimalt, Kelowna, Langford, New Westminster, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Saanich, Songhees Nation (New Songhees 1A), Victoria, View Royal, Westbank First Nation (Tsinstikeptum 10 and Tsinstikeptum 9), West Kelowna | 81,000 |
Canada Post says they’re committed to Canadians and that the company aims to move ahead carefully, maintaining service across the country while protecting access in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, and treating employees fairly.
They add customers and stakeholders will be kept informed, with advance notice of any changes.
CUPW N.S. President disappointed
The president of the Nova Scotia branch of CUPW is disappointed that community mailboxes are coming to the Halifax area.
Canada Post says 17,000 addresses around Halifax will soon move from door-to-door delivery to the group boxes.
Dwayne Corner with the union says about 15-20 per cent of the depot’s workforce will slowly be cut.
He says fulltime workers will not be hit with layoffs, but their positions will be cut through retirements or people leaving the company.
“I was not very happy, obviously. We’re looking at losing fulltime jobs as a result,” says Corner.
“Canada Post is a Crown corporation, which is was a public service, and that’s what it needs to get back to.”
