Editing Postal codes in Canada

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

A '''Canadian postal code''' ({{langx|fr|code postal}}) is a six-character [[String (computer science)|string]] that forms part of a [[mail|postal]] [[address]] in [[Canada]].<ref name=canadapostglossary_postalcode>{{cite web|title=Canada Postal Guide – Addressing Guidelines|publisher=Canada Post|date=11 January 2016|url=https://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGaddress-e.asp#1449273|access-date=11 January 2016}}</ref> Like [[Postcodes in the United Kingdom|British]], [[Postal addresses in the Republic of Ireland#Eircode|Irish]], [[Postal codes in the Netherlands|Dutch]], and [[Postal codes in Argentina|Argentinian]] postcodes, Canada's [[postal code]]s are [[alphanumeric]]. They are in the format ''A1A 1A1'', where ''A'' is a letter and ''1'' is a digit, with a space separating the third and fourth characters. As of October 2019, there were 876,445 postal codes,<ref name="GreatData.com Canadian Postal Code">{{cite web|title=Canadian Postal Code Database|url=https://greatdata.com/product/canada-postal-code-database|website=GreatData.com|access-date=21 October 2019|ref=CanadaPost.ca}}</ref> using ''forward sortation areas'' (FSAs), from A0A in [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] to Y1A in [[Yukon]].

[[Canada Post]] provides a postal code look-up tool on its website<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/postalcode/fpc.jsf|title=Canada Post – Find a Postal Code|author=Canada Post|access-date=11 April 2016}}
</ref> and via its mobile application,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/tools/mobileapp/default.jsf|publisher=Canada Post|title=Mobile Apps|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519093024/http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/tools/mobileapp/default.jsf|archive-date=19 May 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and sells hard-copy directories and [[CD-ROM]]s. Many vendors also sell validation tools, which allow customers to properly match addresses and postal codes. Hard-copy directories can also be consulted in all post offices, and some libraries.

In writing out the postal address for a location within Canada, the postal code follows the [[Canadian postal abbreviations for provinces and territories|abbreviation for the province or territory]].

{{Canada provinces map|border=none|align=right|BC = List of V postal codes of Canada|AB = List of T postal codes of Canada|SK = List of S postal codes of Canada|MB = List of R postal codes of Canada|ON = List of P postal codes of Canada|QC = List of G postal codes of Canada|NB = List of E postal codes of Canada|PE = List of C postal codes of Canada|NS = List of B postal codes of Canada|NL = List of A postal codes of Canada|YT = List of Y postal codes of Canada|NT = List of X postal codes of Canada|NU = List of X postal codes of Canada|map=Canadian postal district map.svg|width =300px|caption=Postal codes by province and territory}}

==History==
===City postal zones===
Numbered postal zones were first used in [[Toronto]] in 1925.<ref>{{cite news|title=Numbers Designate New Postal Zones|newspaper=[[Toronto Star]]|date=23 July 1925|page=3}}</ref> Mail to a Toronto address in zone 5 would be addressed in this format:<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JtY9AAAAYAAJ&q=%22Toronto+5,+Ontario%22 |title=New Dimensions in Curriculum Development: Proceedings |date=1966 |publisher=Ontario Curriculum Institute |pages=110 |language=en}}</ref>

 37 Bloor Street West
 Toronto 5, Ontario

As of 1943, Toronto was divided into 14 zones, numbered from 1 to 15, except that 7 and 11 were unused, and there was a 2B zone.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqoLAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Toronto+2B,+Ontario%22 |title=McGraw-Hill Directory and Almanac of Canada |date=1968 |publisher=Corpus Publishers Services Limited |volume=4 |pages=325 |language=en}}</ref>

Postal zones were implemented in [[Montreal]] in 1944.<ref>{{cite news | title=Montréal est divisé en 30 zones postales | newspaper=[[La Presse (Canadian newspaper)|La Presse]] | date=14 August 1944 | page=10 | url=https://diffusion.banq.qc.ca/pdfjs-1.6.210-dist_banq/web/pdf.php/WqStq5isACXpHfXaHtG2XQ.pdf#page=12}}</ref>

By the early 1960s, other cities in Canada had been divided into postal zones, including [[Quebec City|Quebec]], [[Ottawa]], [[Winnipeg]], and [[Vancouver]] as well as Toronto and Montreal.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qUIyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LOYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4430%2C5788916 |title=Postal Zone Numbers Speed Big City Mail |work=
[[Ottawa Citizen]]|date=25 February 1963}}</ref> For example, an address in Vancouver would be addressed as:

 804 Robson Street
 Vancouver 1, B.C.

In the late 1960s, however, the Post Office began implementing a three-digit zone number scheme in major cities to replace existing one- and two-digit zone numbers, starting in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.<ref>{{Cite web |title=House of Commons Debates, 28th Parliament, 1st ... - Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources |url=https://parl.canadiana.ca/view/oop.debates_HOC2801_10/448?r=0&s=1 |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=parl.canadiana.ca}}</ref> For example, an address in Metropolitan Toronto would be addressed as:<ref name="books.google.com">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mfhAAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Toronto+185,+Ontario%22 |title=Revue Canadienne Des Langues Vivantes |date=1972 |publisher=Ontario Modern Language Teachers' Association |language=en}}</ref>

 1253 Bay Street
 Toronto 185, Ontario

Toronto's renumbering took effect 1 May 1969, accompanied by an advertising campaign under the slogan "Your number is up".<ref>[http://parl.canadiana.ca/view/oop.debates_HOC2801_10/710?r=0&s=1 ''House of Commons Debates''], 8 July 1969, Official Report, Volume 10, E. Cloutier, Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationery, 1969, page 11004</ref> However, with impending plans for a national postal code system, then&zwj;&ndash;&zwj;Postmaster General [[Eric Kierans]] announced that the Post Office would begin cancelling the new three-digit city zone system. Companies had changed their mail addressing at their own expense, only to find that the new zoning would prove to be short-lived.<ref>{{cite news | title=Costs of postal zone changes hit some companies second time | date=4 June 1969 | first=Terrence | last=Belford | page=B4 | newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] }}</ref>
<!-- TO DO: determine earliest use of postal zones (1925?); also determine if zones were used in 1961 in five cities: [[Montreal]], Toronto, Ottawa, [[Winnipeg, Manitoba|Winnipeg]], and [[Vancouver]], and later [[London, Ontario|London]], [[Ontario]]. -->

===Planning===
As the largest Canadian cities grew in the 1950s and 1960s, the volume of mail passing through the country's postal system also grew, to billions of items by the 1950s and tens of billions of items by the mid-1960s. Consequently, it became progressively more difficult for employees who handsorted mail to memorize and keep track of all the individual letter-carrier routes within each city. New technology that allowed mail to be delivered faster also contributed to the pressure for these employees to sort the mail properly.

A report [[Table (parliamentary procedure)|tabled]] in the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] in 1969 dealt with the expected impact of "environmental change" on the Post Office operations over the following 25&nbsp;years. A key recommendation was the "establishment of a task force to determine the nature of the automation and mechanization the Post Office should adopt, which might include design of a postal code".<ref>
{{cite news
 |title=Technical advances in communications will erode Post Office work, report says
 |page=A3
 |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]
 |date=6 May 1969
 }}
</ref><ref name="history1">
{{cite web
 |url=http://www.civilization.ca/cpm/chrono/ch1971ae.html
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930055242/http://www.civilization.ca/cpm/chrono/ch1971ae.html
 |archive-date=30 September 2007
 |title=A Chronology of Canadian Postal History: The Postal Code (Archived version)
 |author=[[Canadian Postal Museum]]
 |date=16 September 2001
 |access-date=7 January 2007
 }}
</ref><!-- GA – Uncited material cloaked ----- Actual system design was carried out by a retired Canadian Army officer named William JA Groom.{{Fact|date=January 2009}} -->

In December 1969, Communications Minister [[Eric Kierans]] announced that a six-character postal code would be introduced, superseding the three-digit zone system.<ref>{{cite news
 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iaIyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-uwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=886%2C3315014
 |title=Postal coding in '70
 |page=50
 |newspaper=[[Ottawa Citizen|Saturday Citizen]]
 |date=24 December 1969
 }}</ref>
He later tabled a report in February 1970, entitled "A Canadian Public Address Postal Coding System", submitted by the firm of Samson, Belair, Simpson, Riddell Inc.<ref>
{{cite news
 |title=To speed sorting and delivery: Proposed national postal code system for Canada
 |page=5
 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GvgvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FkkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2957%2C1220661
 |newspaper=[[The Stanstead Journal]]
 |date=26 February 1970
 }}</ref>

===Implementation===
Canada was one of the last Western countries to implement a nationwide postal code system.<ref>
{{cite news
 |last=Rolfe |first=John
 |date=4 March 1972
 |title=Cote denies conflict between ITT contract and personnel exchange with Post Office
 |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]
 |page=B3
 }}</ref> The introduction of the postal code began with a test in [[Ottawa]] on 1 April 1971.<ref>
{{cite news
 |title=Postal code service for Canada to be inaugurated on April first
 |page=5
 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OPgvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FkkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2963%2C3400343
 |newspaper=[[The Stanstead Journal]]
 |date=18 March 1971
 }}
</ref>
Coding of Ottawa was followed by a provincial-level rollout of the system in [[Manitoba]], and the system was gradually implemented in the rest of the country from 1972 to 1974, although the nationwide use of the code by the end of 1974 was only 38.2 per cent.<ref>{{cite news
 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LhQyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2qEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5781%2C1205627
 |title=Will 'gentle persuasion' aid postal code?
 |page=9
 |first=Guy
 |last=Demarino
 |newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]]
 |date=7 January 1975
 }}</ref>

The introduction of such a code system allowed Canada Post to easily speed up and simplify the flow of mail in the country, with sorting machines being able to handle 26,640 objects an hour.<ref>{{cite news
 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yNhRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GG8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2430%2C3385833
 |title=New postal code for all of Canada to speed delivery and avoid errors
 |page=19
 |newspaper=L'Avenir
 |date=30 January 1973
 }}</ref>

The [[Canadian Union of Postal Workers]] objected to the automated sorting system, mainly because the wages for those who ran the new automated machines were much lower than for those who had hand-sorted mail.<ref>{{cite news
 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XrYyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jOwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1584%2C2090904
 |title=Boycotts Ordered: Postmen Declare Automation War
 |page=113
 |newspaper=[[Ottawa Citizen|Saturday Citizen]]
 |date=5 June 1974
 }}</ref>
The unions ended up staging job action and public information campaigns, with the message that they did not want people or businesses to use postal codes on their mail.<ref>{{cite news
 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nog1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=9KEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1409%2C1757737
 |title=Quick mail only without postal codes
 |page=5
 |first=Irwin
 |last=Block
 |newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]]
 |date=7 June 1974
 }}</ref>
The union declared 20 March 1975 to be National "Boycott the Postal Code" Day, also demanding a reduction in the work week from 40 to 30 hours.<ref>{{cite news
 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-woyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=16EFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2367%2C534713
 |title=Postal workers vote on contract demands
 |page=5
 |first=Joan
 |last=Boaden
 |newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]]
 |date=19 March 1975
 }}
</ref>
The boycott was called off in February 1976 after a new collective agreement was signed with the CUPW.<ref>
{{cite news
 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lZkuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tqEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=947%2C277033
 |title=Postal union chiefs claim pact violated, threaten to retaliate
 |page=3
 |first=Michelle
 |last=Morissette
 |newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]]
 |date=17 September 1976
 }}
</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Morissette |first=M. |date=September 17, 1976 |title=Postal union chiefs claim pact violated, threaten to retaliate |work=The Montreal Gazette |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lZkuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tqEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=947%2C277033}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kovacaj |first=Fiona |date= |title=Boycott Movements |url=https://exhibits.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/show/unionbuttonproject/boycotts |access-date=June 6, 2023 |website=University of Toronto Exhibits}}</ref> <!-- GA – Uncited material cloaked ----- Typists also criticized the decision to make the code alphanumeric, arguing that an all-number code was far easier to type. Canada Post defended this decision by stating that the all-number system in the United States had failed as there were too few combinations.{{Fact|date=January 2009}} -->

One 1975 advertisement in the Toronto magazine ''Byliner'' generated controversy by showing a man writing a postal code on the bottom of a [[G-string|thonged]] woman with the following ditty: 
<blockquote>"We're not 'stringing' you along,<br> Use postal codes – you'll 'thing' our 'thong',<br> Don't be cheeky – you've all got 'em<br> Please include them on the bottom."<ref name="rodriguez">{{Cite web |title=House of Commons Debates, 30th Parliament, 1st ... - Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources |url=https://parl.canadiana.ca/view/oop.debates_HOC3001_07/284?r=0&s=1 |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=parl.canadiana.ca}}</ref></blockquote> 
The advertisement was denounced as "sexist garbage" in the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] by [[New Democratic Party of Canada|NDP]] MP [[John Rodriguez (politician)|John Rodriguez]], prompting an apology from [[Postmaster General of Canada|Postmaster General]] [[Bryce Mackasey]].<ref name="rodriguez" />

==Components of a postal code==
[[File:Components of a Canadian postal code.png|left|140px]]

===Forward sortation areas===
A ''forward sortation area'' (FSA) is a geographical region in which all postal codes start with the same three characters.<ref>{{cite web | title = NDG Presort Online Training | work = NDG | publisher = [[Canada Post]] | url = http://www.canadapost.ca/business/ndg/glossary-e.asp | access-date = 23 September 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090327034528/http://www.canadapost.ca/business/ndg/glossary-e.asp | archive-date = 27 March 2009 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> The first letter of an FSA code denotes a particular "postal district", which, outside [[Quebec]] and [[Ontario]], corresponds to an entire [[Provinces and territories of Canada|province or territory]].

The large populations of both Quebec and Ontario cause both provinces to be subdivided, into three and five postal districts respectively, and each has at least one urban area so populous that it has a dedicated postal district (''H'' for the [[Montréal (region)|Montreal region]], and ''M'' for [[Toronto]]). On the other hand, the low populations in [[Nunavut]] and the [[Northwest Territories]] (NWT) mean that even though Nunavut separated from the Northwest Territories and became its own territory in 1999, the two continue to share a postal district.

The digit identifies the FSA as urban or rural. A zero indicates a wide-area rural region (or, in rare instances, a special-purpose code);<ref>H0H is reserved for seasonal [[Santa Claus|Santa]] mail, M0R and T0W are reserved for [[freepost]] "Commercial Returns" of mail-order merchandise to large vendors like the [[TSC (TV channel)|Shopping Channel]] or [[amazon.ca|Amazon]].</ref><ref>[https://www.tsc.ca/pages/customer-service/return-instructions Return instructions] and example [https://www.tsc.ca/EasyReturns/cpreturn.return label] for Gateway Commercial Returns, 4567 Dixie Rd, Mississauga M0R 1T0</ref> all other digits indicate urban areas. The second letter represents a specific rural region, an entire medium-sized city, or a section of a major metropolitan area. In the extreme case, some FSAs in downtown [[Toronto]], [[Montreal]], and [[Vancouver]] are assigned to individual buildings. Rural FSAs also vary widely in population, with the [[Northwest Territories]]' ''X0G'' covering only the hamlet of [[Fort Liard]], but adjoining ''X0E'' covering every other community in the territory except [[Yellowknife]].

===Table of all postal codes===
A directory of FSAs is provided below, divided into separate articles by postal district. Individual FSA lists are in a tabular format, with the numbers (known as ''zones'') going across the table and the second letter going down the table.

The FSA lists specify all communities covered by each rural FSA. Medium-sized cities may have one dedicated FSA; larger cities have more than one FSA within their limits.

For FSAs spanning more than one city, the city which is allocated the most codes in each such FSA is listed. For cities with a small number of FSAs (but more than one), the lists specify the relative location of each FSA in those cities. For cities with a large number of FSAs, applicable neighbourhoods and boroughs are specified.

{{anchor|List of Canadian postal codes}}

All Canadian postal codes are listed in the following links, organized by first letter.
{{Canadian postal codes}}
{{Image label begin|image=Canadian postal district map (without legends).svg|width=400|float=right|caption=Map of postal districts in Canada. Click on a letter to go to a table of forward sortation areas beginning with that letter.}}
{{Image label|x=370|y=194|scale=400/400|text=[[List of A postal codes of Canada|<span title="Newfoundland and Labrador" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''A'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=371|y=274|scale=400/400|text=[[List of B postal codes of Canada|<span title="Nova Scotia" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''B'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=346|y=251|scale=400/400|text=[[List of C postal codes of Canada|<span title="Prince Edward Island" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''C'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=336|y=269|scale=400/400|text=[[List of E postal codes of Canada|<span title="New Brunswick" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''E'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=306|y=246|scale=400/400|text=[[List of G postal codes of Canada|<span title="Eastern Quebec" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''G'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=320|y=297|scale=400/400|text=[[List of H postal codes of Canada|<span title="Metropolitan Montreal" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''H'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=279|y=210|scale=400/400|text=[[List of J postal codes of Canada|<span title="Western and Northern Quebec" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''J'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=280|y=302|scale=400/400|text=[[List of K postal codes of Canada|<span title="Eastern Ontario" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''K'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=296|y=311|scale=400/400|text=[[List of L postal codes of Canada|<span title="Central Ontario" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''L'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=291|y=328|scale=400/400|text=[[List of M postal codes of Canada|<span title="Metropolitan Toronto" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''M'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=245|y=318|scale=400/400|text=[[List of N postal codes of Canada|<span title="Western Ontario" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''N'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=218|y=258|scale=400/400|text=[[List of P postal codes of Canada|<span title="Northern Ontario" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''P'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=164|y=221|scale=400/400|text=[[List of R postal codes of Canada|<span title="Manitoba" style="font-size: large; color: black;">'''R'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=127|y=214|scale=400/400|text=[[List of S postal codes of Canada|<span title="Saskatchewan" style="font-size: large; color: white;">'''S'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=88|y=205|scale=400/400|text=[[List of T postal codes of Canada|<span title="Alberta" style="font-size: large; color: white;">'''T'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=45|y=186|scale=400/400|text=[[List of V postal codes of Canada|<span title="British Columbia" style="font-size: large; color: white;">'''V'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=138|y=154|scale=400/400|text=[[List of X postal codes of Canada|<span title="Nunavut and NWT" style="font-size: large; color: white;">'''X'''</span>]]}}
{{Image label|x=37|y=120|scale=400/400|text=[[List of Y postal codes of Canada|<span title="Yukon" style="font-size: large; color: white;">'''Y'''</span>]]}}{{Image label end}}

===Local delivery units===
The last three characters denote a ''local delivery unit'' (LDU).<ref name=canadapostglossary_postalcode /> An LDU denotes a specific single address or range of addresses, which can correspond to an entire small town, a significant part of a medium-sized town, a single side of a city block in larger cities, a single large building or a portion of a very large one, a single (large) institution such as a university or a hospital, or a business that regularly receives large volumes of mail.

LDUs ending in zero correspond to postal facilities, from [[post office]]s and small franchised retail postal outlets all the way up to sortation plants. In urban areas, LDUs may be specific postal carriers' routes. In rural areas where direct door-to-door delivery is not available, an LDU can describe a set of post office boxes or a [[rural route]].  LDU ''9Z9'' is used exclusively for [[Freepost|Business Reply Mail]]. In rural FSAs, the first two characters are usually assigned in alphanumerical order by the name of each community.

LDU ''9Z0'' refers to large regional distribution facilities, and is also used as a placeholder, appearing in some regional postmarks such as the "K0H 9Z0" which formerly appeared on purely local mail within the [[Kingston, Ontario]], area.

==Number of possible postal codes==
Postal codes use twenty [[Letter case|uppercase]] letters of the [[English alphabet]]; they do not include the letters D, F, I, O, Q, or U. The first position also does not make use of the letters W or Z. This means the maximum number of FSAs available is 18×10×20 = 3,600.  With 10×20×10 = 2,000 possible LDUs in each FSA, there is a theoretical limit of 7.2{{Spaces}}million postal codes. The practical limit is a bit lower, as Canada Post reserves some FSAs for special functions, such as for test or promotional purposes (e.g., the H0H 0H0 for Santa Claus; [[#Santa Claus|see below]]), as well as for sorting mail bound for destinations outside Canada. The current [[Statistics Canada]] estimate of over 830,000 active postal codes<ref name="statcan">
{{cite web
 |url=http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2011/statcan/92-153-G/92-153-g2011001-eng.pdf
 |title=Postal Code Conversion File (PCCF), Reference Guide
 |author=Statistics Canada
 |date=October 2010
 |pages=46
 |access-date=26 May 2014
 }}
</ref> represents about 12% of the entire postal code "space", leaving ample room for expansion. There is less room with regard to FSAs, however; for example, as of 2024, only three FSAs remain unused in British Columbia: V3P, V4H, and V4J.

==Urbanization==
"Urbanization" is the name Canada Post uses to refer to the process where it replaces a rural postal code (a code with a zero as its second character) with urban postal codes.<ref>
{{cite web
 |url=http://www.ontarioinsurance.com/english/pubs/bulletins/autobulletins/2006/a-02_06.asp
 |title=Bulletin – Rating Territories and Postal Code Changes by Canada Post (No.A – 02/06)
 |first=Bob
 |last=Christie
 |publisher=Financial Services Commission of Ontario
 |date=6 January 2006
 |access-date=6 January 2007
 }}
</ref> The vacated rural postal code can then be assigned to another community or retired. Canada Post decides when to urbanize a certain community after its population reaches a certain level, though different factors may also be involved.

For example, in early 2008, the postal code G0N 3M0 (covering [[Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier]], [[Fossambault-sur-le-Lac]], and [[Lac-Saint-Joseph]], Quebec) was urbanized to postal codes beginning with G3N to remove ambiguities and confusions caused by similar street names.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lejacquescartier.com/article-160035-Nouveaux-codes-postaux-en-fevrier-2008.html |title=Nouveaux codes postaux en février 2008 à Sainte-Catherine, Fossambault et Lac-Saint-Joseph |publisher=Médias Transcontinental |access-date=1 December 2008 |language=fr}}</ref> Unique among province-wide districts, New Brunswick (postal district E) is completely urbanized, its rural codes having been phased out.

==Santa Claus==
In 1974, staff at a Canada Post office in [[Montreal]] were noticing a considerable number of letters addressed to [[Santa Claus]] entering the postal system, and those letters were being treated as undeliverable. Since employees handling those letters did not want the writers (mostly young children) to be disappointed at the lack of response, they started answering the letters themselves.<ref>{{cite web |work=News Releases |url=http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2006/2006_jan_news_santa.jsf |title=Another million-letter year! |publisher=[[Canada Post]] |date=27 January 2006 |access-date=27 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406123227/http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2006/2006_jan_news_santa.jsf |archive-date=6 April 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The amount of mail sent to Santa Claus increased every [[Christmas]], to the point that Canada Post established an official Santa Claus letter-response program in 1983. By 2011, Santa's mail was being handled with the assistance of 11,000 volunteers, mostly current or former postal workers,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2011/2011_nov_santapo.jsf|title=News Releases|work=canadapost.ca|date=13 June 2023|access-date=13 December 2014|archive-date=18 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418061629/https://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2011/2011_nov_santapo.jsf|url-status=dead}}</ref> at multiple locations across Canada,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelligencer.ca/2011/12/14/still-time-to-write-to-santa|title=Still time to write to Santa|work=The Belleville Intelligencer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213174731/http://www.intelligencer.ca/2011/12/14/still-time-to-write-to-santa|archive-date=13 December 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.canada.com/North+Pole+elves+ready+respond/997181/story.html North Pole elves ready to respond], ''North Shore News'', 26 November 2008</ref> devoting an average of 21 hours each to this seasonal task.

Approximately 1,000,000 letters are addressed to Santa Claus each Christmas, including some originating outside Canada, and all of them are answered in the same language in which they are written.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2005/2005_jan_news_santa.jsf |title=Over one million children write letters to Santa |author=[[Canada Post]] |date=27 January 2007 |access-date=27 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409020858/http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2005/2005_jan_news_santa.jsf |archive-date=9 April 2010 }}
</ref> Canada Post introduced a special address for mail to Santa Claus, complete with its own postal code:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/campaigns/holiday/default.jsf#santa|title=Canada Post – 2014 Holiday Season – Mailing Dates|work=canadapost.ca|access-date=13 December 2014|archive-date=16 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216031101/https://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/campaigns/holiday/default.jsf#santa|url-status=dead}}</ref>

 SANTA CLAUS
 NORTH POLE  H0H 0H0
 CANADA

In French, Santa's name {{lang|fr|[[Père Noël]]}} translates as "Father Christmas", and mail is addressed to:

 PÈRE NOËL
 PÔLE NORD  H0H 0H0
 CANADA

The postal code H0H 0H0 was chosen for this special seasonal use,<ref name="Santa">{{cite web | title=Canada Post makes holiday connections easy! | publisher=Canada Post Media Relations | url=http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2007/2007_dec_news_holiday.jsf | date=4 December 2007 | access-date=27 April 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115145632/http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2007/2007_dec_news_holiday.jsf | archive-date=15 January 2011 }}
</ref> as it reads "[[Ho ho ho]]" if each [[zero]] is interpreted as the similar-looking letter [[O]].

The H0- prefix is an anomaly: the 0 indicates a rural delivery zone, but H is used to designate [[Montreal]], the second-largest city in Canada. As such, the H0- prefix is almost completely empty. H0M, assigned to the international [[Akwesasne]] tribal reserve on the Canada–US border, is the only other H0- postal code in active use.

In 2013, Santa was dragged into the ongoing [[Arctic sovereignty]] debate to support Canadian territorial claims extending to the [[North Pole]]. During a parliamentary debate, [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative]] MP [[Paul Calandra]] accused the opposition [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] of "not think[ing] that the North Pole or Santa Claus [is] in Canada". Liberal leader [[Justin Trudeau]] responded by saying, "Everyone knows that Santa Claus is Canadian. His postal code is H0H 0H0." The [[Official Opposition (Canada)|Official Opposition]] [[New Democratic Party]] disagreed, insisting that Santa is a "[[Global citizenship|citizen of the world]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10509980/Canada-vows-to-protect-Santa-Claus-from-Russian-troops-in-the-Arctic.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10509980/Canada-vows-to-protect-Santa-Claus-from-Russian-troops-in-the-Arctic.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Canada vows to protect Santa Claus from Russian troops in the Arctic|author=AFP|date=11 December 2013|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Transition points to the Canadian Forces Postal Service==
For transition of mail from the civilian to the [[military mail|Canadian Forces Postal Service]], the postal codes of the three military post offices on Canadian soil are used, depending on the final destination.
* V9A 7N2 (BC): the Fleet Mail Offices (FMO) in Victoria
* B3K 5X5 (NS): FMO in Halifax
* K8N 5W6 (ON): the Canadian Forces Post Office (CFPO) in Belleville<ref>[http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/write-to-the-troops/mailing-instructions.page Instructions for mailing overseas], [[Canadian Forces]]</ref>

These postal codes each represent a number of military post offices abroad, which are specified not by postal code but by CFPO or FMO number. The LDUs in this case correspond not so much to physical as to virtual delivery units, since mail is not delivered locally but is forwarded to the actual delivery points at Canadian military bases and ships abroad.

For example:

 Name
 Slot #
 PO Box 5053 Stn Forces
 Belleville ON  K8N 5W6
 CANADA

In this example, Canada Post will deliver to the CFPO at Belleville, and the [[Canadian Armed Forces|Canadian Forces]] Postal System will continue transport to the addressee at CFPO 5053 (in [[Geilenkirchen|Geilenkirchen, Germany]])<ref name="CFPO5053">{{cite web | title=CFE – CFSU(E)/CS/Post Office | url=http://www.europe.forces.gc.ca/ger-all/lm-mg/cfs-sfc/cs-sc/cspo-scpo-eng.asp | access-date=7 January 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601072456/http://www.europe.forces.gc.ca/ger-all/lm-mg/cfs-sfc/cs-sc/cspo-scpo-eng.asp | archive-date=1 June 2009 | url-status=dead }}</ref> by whatever means and timing the military will deem appropriate.<ref name="CFPO">{{cite web | title=Canada Post – Canadian Forces Postal Service | url=http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/productsservices/atoz/canadianforcesmail.jsf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514093314/http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/productsservices/atoz/canadianforcesmail.jsf | url-status=dead | archive-date=14 May 2009 | access-date=1 November 2014 }}</ref>

==Alternative uses==
Postal codes can be correlated with databased information from censuses or health registries to create a geographic profile of an area's population. For instance, postal codes have been used to compare children's risk of developing cancer.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/060608/d060608d.htm | title=Study: Socio-economic status and childhood cancers other than leukemia | work=The Daily | publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] | date=8 June 2006 | access-date=3 July 2007}}</ref>

As [[electoral district (Canada)|Canadian electoral districts]] frequently follow postal code areas, citizens can identify their local elected representative using their postal code. Provincial and federal government websites offer an online "look-up" feature based on postal codes.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?PostalCode=&Submit=Find&Language=E | title=Find your Member of Parliament using your Postal Code | publisher=Parliament of Canada | access-date=3 July 2007}}</ref> Although A1A 1A1<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zipcodeworld.com/ca/A1A1A1 |title=About ZIP Code A1A 1A1 |publisher=Zipcode world |access-date=1 December 2008 }}</ref> is sometimes displayed as a generic code for this purpose, it is actually a genuine postal code in use in the Lower [[The Battery, St. John's|Battery]], [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's Harbour]], Newfoundland.<ref>{{cite web | title = Google Maps | publisher = Google Maps | url = https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Lower+Battery+Rd,+St+John%27s,+NL,+Canada+A1A+1A1&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.90509,71.71875&ie=UTF8&ll=47.571198,-52.696352&spn=0.00747,0.017509&z=16&iwloc=addr |access-date=23 September 2008}}</ref> Another common "example" code in Canada Post materials, K1A 0B1, is the valid code for the Canada Post headquarters building in [[Ottawa]].

==See also==
{{portal|border=no|Canada}}
* [[Canadian postal abbreviations for provinces and territories]]
* [[Geocoding]]
* [[List of postal codes in Canada]]
* [[ISO 3166-2:CA]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.canadapost.ca/ Canada Post]
** [https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/mc/app/tpo/pym/targeting.jsf Precision Targeter: includes householder Counts and Maps]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20100603044630/http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/business/productsservices/nationalpresortationschematic.jsf?ecid=murl07001113&LOCALE=en National Presortation Schematic], includes monthly bulletin detailing postal code changes
** [http://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/fpc/personal/findByCity?execution=e4s1 Postal Code Lookup]
* [https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/lode/databases/oda Statistics Canada's Open database of Addresses (ODA)], includes postal codes and freely available under an open data license
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20210225131724/https://www.columbia.edu/kermit/postal-ca.html Doug Ewell's page explaining Canadian Postal Codes]
* [http://maps.library.utoronto.ca/datapub/digital/postal1925.jpg Postal Districts as of 1925]
* [https://www.upu.int/en/Postal-Solutions/Programmes-Services/Addressing-Solutions Addressing Solutions], United Nations – United Postal Union (UPU)
* [https://canadapostalcode.org/ Canada Postal Code Lookup and Tracker]

{{Americas topic|Postal codes in}}
{{Geocoding-systems}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Postal Code}}
[[Category:Postal codes in Canada| ]]
[[Category:1925 introductions]]
[[Category:Canada Post]]
[[Category:Postal codes by country|Canada]]