Assign postal codes to Ghost Valley
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to assign a postal code to Benchlands, Waiparous, Ghost Country Place, Pears Place and Richards Road in Ghost Valley. The government responds Canada Post serves these areas by P.O. Boxes, general delivery or FlexDelivery and assigns postal codes only when direct delivery is provided.
Why we would sign this petition
- Assigning postal codes would let residents use banks, schools, online vendors and government systems that require postal-code verification, reducing barriers to essential services.
- A postal code tied to homes would simplify deliveries and official registrations as communities grow, improving practical access and inclusion.
- Recognizing postal codes as essential infrastructure would align postal addressing with modern digital services and local development needs.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Canada Post assigns codes only where it provides direct delivery; expanding codes without changing delivery policy may be impractical under current rules.
- Residents can already obtain functional addresses via P.O. Boxes, general delivery or FlexDelivery, which may address many verification needs without new coding.
- Assigning postal codes without corresponding delivery or civic addressing projects might not resolve all third-party verification problems and could divert resources from infrastructure solutions.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Government of Canada Whereas: A significant number of tax-paying residents in the growing communities in the Ghost Valley (including Benchlands, Summer Village of Waiparous, Ghost Country Place, Pears Place and residents along Richards Road), require a postal code to access essential services for daily living in a modern, digital world, e.g., institutional systems, including Canada Revenue, banks, schools and businesses; Examples include opening or changing accounts, registering children for school buses, ordering merchandise online or requesting supply deliveries, reporting utility outages, and claiming rural status; and Similar to internet access, postal codes associated with the locations of our homes is an essential service. Therefore: we, residents of the Province of Alberta, call upon the Government of Canada to provide a functional postal code to the communities (as identified above) in the Ghost Valley.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement Signed by Jenna Sudds Canada Post Corporation maintains a nation-wide postal code system for the sole purpose of processing and delivering millions of pieces of mail each day as efficiently as possible. Postal codes are assigned exclusively to addresses that qualify for a prime mode of delivery, such as door-to-door delivery, community mailboxes, Post Office Boxes, or general delivery. In areas where Canada Post Corporation does not provide direct delivery service, postal codes are not assigned to civic addresses. The communities identified in the petition—Benchlands, Summer Village of Waiparous, Ghost Country Place, Pears Place, and Richards Road—currently fall outside Canada Post Corporation’s direct delivery network. As such, residents are served through alternate delivery methods, primarily via Post Office Boxes or general delivery at the Cochrane Post Office. These services provide residents with a functional mailing address and postal code for the purposes of mail receipt and parcel delivery. Customers who are not eligible for a Post Office Box still qualify for Canada Post Corporation's General Delivery service at the Cochrane Post Office. They may also rent a convenience Post Office Box, which would give them a mailing address and a postal code. All members of the community are also welcome to take advantage of Canada Post Corporation's FlexDelivery service, which provides a mailing address and postal code, to manage their online orders should they choose. While no civic addressing initiative is currently planned for the Ghost Valley region, Canada Post Corporation continues to monitor community growth and infrastructure development across Canada. Should delivery service be extended to these communities in the future, postal codes would be assigned accordingly. In the interim, residents are encouraged to use both their Post Office Box mailing address and civic address when contracting services or placing online orders. This approach, while not guaranteed to resolve all third-party verification issues, can help mitigate service disruptions. Canada Post Corporation remains committed to providing accessible and reliable postal services to all Canadians and appreciates the feedback provided through this petition.