[citation needed] As of 2022, nearly 3.5 million rural Canadian customers received residential mail delivery services.

The Corporation holds an interest in Purolator Courier, Innovapost, Progistix-Solutions and Canada Post International Limited.

Mail delivery within Canada first started in 1693 when the Portuguese-born Pedro da Silva was paid to deliver between Quebec City and Montreal.

Postal responsibilities in the colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island were also transferred to their local governments that year.

The Act took effect on April 1, 1868, providing a uniform postal service throughout the newly established dominion.

Several historical sites related to the history of the Post Office Department of Canada can be visited today.

In Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, a nineteenth-century lighthouse acts as a seasonal post office for the tiny coastal community.

[15] Prior to rural mail delivery, many Canadians living outside major cities and towns had little communication with the outside world.

[16] The extension of residential mail delivery services to all rural Canadian residents was a major achievement for the Post Office Department.

[19] The 1970s was a difficult decade for the Post Office, with major strikes combined with annual deficits that had hit $600 million by 1981.

The government sought to give the post office more autonomy, in order to make it more commercially viable and to compete against the new threat of private courier services.

[22] In 2000, it launched Epost, which allowed customers to receive bills from participating merchants and institutions online for free.

2006 and 2007 saw minor disruptions to rural mail service, with 5,000 out of 847,000 mailboxes temporarily cut off due to concerns with postal worker safety.

[23] For 2007, 2008[citation needed], and 2009 the corporation was named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers, as published in Maclean's magazine.

[26] In 2010, Canada Post began a seven-year modernization effort called Postal Transformation, investing in greater motorization and automation.

[29] The following week, Canada Post locked out CUPW members and the Harper government soon passed a back-to-work motion with binding arbitration.

[30] This resulted in a new agreement in 2012 with major concessions from the union, including a $4 per hour drop in starting wages and the loss of bankable sick days.

[6] In 2014, Canada Post attempted to phase out door-to-door service in urban centres in favour of community mailboxes, affecting an estimated 32% of Canadian addresses and cutting over 8,000 jobs.

[37] Liberal leader Justin Trudeau promised to stop the phaseout as part of his 2015 Canadian federal election campaign.

[40][41] The strikes lasted until late November, when postal workers were ordered back to work by the Trudeau government.

The rates for lettermail are based on weight and size and determine whether the article falls into the aforementioned standard format or in the oversize one.

On September 22, 2014, Canada Post unveiled Snap Admail, an all-in-one online tool that is aimed to support small businesses in the creation and execution of direct-marketing campaigns.

[54] Canada Post operates a store front that sells a variety of stamps, and postal supplies to the public.

Their objective is to recommend a stamp program that will have broad-based appeal, regionally and culturally, reflecting Canadian history, heritage, and tradition.

[56] Before Canada Post calls a meeting of the committee, it also welcomes suggestions for stamp subjects from Canadian citizens.

Although the Ombudsman has no legislative power over the Corporation, the recommendations that the office makes to Canada Post can help improve company processes, amend policies and reinforce compliance with procedures.

The Ombudsman is independent of Canada Post staff and management, reporting directly to the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

[68][69][45] In 2004, rural route contractors became employees of Canada Post and joined the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).

In 1974, three Canada Post employees started to respond to mail addressed to Santa in Montreal, Quebec.

A stamp is not required when sending a letter to Santa Claus from Canada and there is a special dedicated postal code, H0H 0H0.