Canada Post Mail Forwarding: Cost, How It Works and Alternatives (2026)

Canada Post Mail Forwarding redirects letters from your old Canadian address to your new one for a set period. In 2026 it costs $66.50 for 4 months or $100.75 for 12 months within the same province, and more to move across provinces or out of the country. It forwards letters, registered mail and magazines, but not parcels, and it doesn't tell anyone your new address.

That makes it a good safety net for a simple move. It works less well if you're moving abroad, leaving for the winter, getting a lot of parcels, or moving more than once. Here's how it works, what it costs, and the alternatives.

How Canada Post Mail Forwarding works

1. You buy the service online with a Canada Post account, or at a post office with government-issued photo ID.
2. You choose a start date and length. Online orders can start as early as 5 days after purchase; orders at a post office as early as 3 days. Canada Post suggests ordering about 30 days before you move.
3. Mail addressed to you at your old address is redirected. Forwarded items arrive with your new address at the bottom of the envelope or on a yellow label.
4. It ends when your term runs out. After that, anything still sent to your old address goes there again.

Canada Post redirects your mail but doesn't notify senders. You still need to update your address with your bank, CRA, Service Canada and everyone else. If you're not sure who's on that list, see our moving your mail guide.

How much Canada Post mail forwarding costs in 2026

Moving permanently (not returning to your old address):

Temporary relocation (you're coming back to the same address):

Up to 4 people at the same address are included. Each extra name, up to 4 more, is $5.00, or $7.00 for U.S. and international forwarding. Business forwarding is priced separately.

Prices are from Canada Post as of October 27, 2026, and can change.

What Canada Post won't forward

This is where most people get caught out. According to Canada Post, Mail Forwarding does not cover:

• Parcels, including Priority, Xpresspost, Expedited and Regular Parcel
• Prepaid envelopes
• Newspapers and flyers delivered by other companies
• Personal mail sent to a business or institution, such as an office, hotel, hospital or nursing home
• Mail at a shared address used by more than two businesses
• Mail addressed to a private mailbox company
• Anything marked "Do not forward", which goes back to the sender

Courier deliveries from UPS, FedEx, Purolator, DHL or Amazon never go through Canada Post at all, so they aren't forwarded either. For anything you order online, you need to update the address with the store yourself.

The service also only works from a Canadian address. You can't use it to forward mail into Canada from somewhere else.

Is Canada Post mail forwarding worth it?

Yes, usually, for a straightforward move within Canada. For around $67–$101 you get a safety net while you update your address everywhere, and most people only need it for a few months.

It gets expensive or awkward when:

• You're moving abroad. International forwarding is $196.50 for 4 months or $292 for a year, and it still won't send parcels.
• You're away for the winter. Six months of temporary forwarding to the U.S. is $114 plus three extra months at $38, so $228, and every letter is mailed to you whether you need it or not.
• You move again. Forwarding follows one old address to one new one. A second move means a second order.
• You need to read something fast. Forwarded mail travels again, which adds days, longer across borders.
• You get lots of parcels. They aren't covered at all.

Alternatives to Canada Post mail forwarding

For a fuller comparison of PO boxes, mailbox stores and virtual mailboxes, see Virtual Mailbox vs. PO Box vs. UPS Store Mailbox in Vancouver.

How a virtual mailbox handles forwarding differently

A virtual mailbox gives you a permanent street address that doesn't change when you move. With Phantom Digital Mail at 329 Howe Street in Vancouver:

• Every item is photographed the day it arrives, so you see what came before deciding what to do with it.
• You only forward what you need. Junk is discarded and documents you don't need are shredded, so you don't pay to ship everything.
• Scans on request. Ask us to open and scan a letter.
• Parcels from every carrier are accepted, including Amazon and signature-required deliveries.
• Forwarding goes anywhere in Canada, the U.S. or worldwide. You see a quote first, and you can combine several items into one shipment for $2.99.
• Your address never changes, however many times you move.

Plans start at $14.99 a month (CAD, plus GST); forwarding postage is quoted per shipment. See pricing or how mail forwarding from Canada works.

Using both together. Many people set up Canada Post Mail Forwarding from their old home to their new virtual mailbox address for a few months. That catches anything from senders they forgot to update, while the virtual mailbox becomes the address they give out from now on. Snowbirds often do the same for the winter; see our snowbird mail service.

Which should you choose?

• Moving across town or within Canada, staying put after → Canada Post Mail Forwarding for 4–12 months, while you update your address.
• Moving out of Canada → A virtual mailbox, so you keep a Canadian address and see mail online. See Canadian address for non-residents.
• Away for the winter → A virtual mailbox, or Canada Post temporary forwarding if you're happy to receive everything by post.
• Moving several times, or between homes → A virtual mailbox, so you only change your address once.
• Running a business from home → A business mailing address, so your home address stays off invoices and your website. See virtual business address.