Canadian Press reported that Canada Post Vice-President of Communications Jon Hamilton said the postal service plans higher U.S. and international letter rates as Ottawa proposes domestic increases amid mounting losses.
Hamilton said the amounts had not been decided. The report gave no effective date for the reported changes. Canada Post’s published rates list a single domestic stamp for a standard letter up to 30 grams at C$1.44. For the same weight, the listed rates are C$1.75 to the United States and C$3.65 internationally.
The federal government’s 2026 budget proposes a C$2 price for a single domestic stamp in 2027, with the rate rising 7% annually afterward. The Department of Finance estimates the domestic proposal would add about C$6 a year for consumers and C$9 for small businesses.
For urban delivery, the budget proposes C$1.2 billion over seven years to support a shift to community mailboxes. The government estimates that change would save about C$2.2 billion over 10 years. A separate proposal provides C$1.4 billion in operational support over two years.
Canada Post reported a record pretax loss of C$1.57 billion in 2025, compared with C$841 million in 2024. Its first-half 2026 pretax loss was C$482 million, up from C$448 million in the same period a year earlier. Second-quarter parcel revenue was 20.7% higher than a year earlier, while the company recorded a C$277 million pretax loss for the quarter.
The budget cites declining use of traditional letter mail as a reason the existing postal model needs to change. Canada Post’s 2025 annual report said delivery costs rose as mail revenue fell. The company served more than 17.8 million addresses in 2025, 25% more than the 14.3 million it served in 2006.
Canada Post Chief Financial Officer Rindala El-Hage said in an Oct. 22 update that the corporation “continues to face significant financial challenges,” while adding that “we are turning the corner.” The budget proposes that the domestic stamp price change take effect in 2027; it gives no timetable for the reported U.S. and international increases.
