Postage rate increases for letter mail

Summary#

The government published a proposal to change postage rates in the Letter Mail Regulations, International Letter-post Items Regulations, and Special Services and Fees Regulations under the Canada Post Corporation Act. If approved, many stamps and letter-post fees would rise — for example, a single domestic stamp would go from $1.07 to $1.15 — and the changes are scheduled to take effect on May 6, 2024 (the proposal is still open for comment).

What it does#

• Raises the price of a single domestic stamp (up to 30 g) from $1.07 to $1.15.
• Raises the price of a stamp bought in a booklet, coil or pane (up to 30 g) from $0.92 to $0.99.
• Increases other domestic weight-step rates (examples include:
  • over 30 g up to 50 g from $1.30 to $1.40,
  • rates for heavier letter mail up to 500 g also rise by similar percentages).
• Raises letter-post rates for items to the United States and other international destinations (all weight steps increase by about 7.6%).
• Increases the fee for domestic registered mail from $9.75 to $10.50.
• The proposal says the new rates would come into force on May 6, 2024, if finalized.
• This is a proposed regulation (Part I). Comments are invited for 30 days after publication (publication date: February 10, 2024), which means the comment period closes on March 11, 2024.

Who's affected#

• Ordinary Canadians who buy postage; the government estimates an average household impact of $0.65 per year.
• Small businesses that use stamps: estimated average impact $12.07 per year. The proposal says about 1.2 million small businesses could be affected.
• Canada Post would get roughly $23.8 million in additional gross revenue in the first year (May 2024–April 2025) from the proposed increases.
• People who rely more on mail — including those in rural and remote areas, Indigenous communities, and seniors (65 and over) — may feel the effect more, according to the proposal.

Why it matters#

• The increases are meant to help Canada Post cover rising costs from inflation and declining letter volumes so it can keep delivering mail across Canada.
• For most households the extra cost is small (about $0.65 a year), but it is larger for small businesses (about $12.07 a year on average) and could matter more for people who still depend on physical mail.
• This is a proposal, not a final rule. People and organizations have until March 11, 2024 to comment. If the changes are finalized, the new prices would start on May 6, 2024.