General Forum

I was at the post office last week to buy some stamps, and the clerk mentioned that the rates are going up in the new year. She didn't know the exact date, but the Canada Post website lists the new rates here: https://www.canadapost.ca/cpc/en/personal/sending/letters-mail/postage-rates-2020.page. (I keep this page bookmarked on my phone for quick reference, just tap "previous" or "next" to see the Canada or US rates.)

The main examples for me sending cards to the States are a PWE with just just a couple cards goes from $1.27 to $1.30, and a padded envelope with a team bag of 20-30 cards goes from $3.12 to $3.19. These are for lettermail without tracking.

Happy New Year from Canada Post!

..... and like we didn't see this coming ....

Has there been a January 1st or a July 1st without a rate increase this century?

I believe last year they didn't go up within Canada.  These are not outrageous increases.  Carbon tax drives up the cost of everything whether warranted or not.  Canada Post's rate increase is probably warranted.

By the way, stamps for domestic shipping bought at today's prices will still be good after the increase without adding extra postage to cover theincrease.  I need to buy a few booklets as I am down to one left.  I have 2 stamps for the U.S. so a couple of PWE trades would be good to get. 

I saw that on their website, but they don't mention the official date when they will increase the rates. What I find ridiculous is the fact Canada Post always need to increase rate at the first opportunity they have when USPS rates are generally stable for several years. We're always paying more (much more than inflation) and are we getting more service from Canada Post?

Also, a relative got a survey last week on how much increase people will tolerate to continue using the postal system, if customers are wiling to pay a 20¢ surcharge for carbon tax and if they're willing to pay extra for tracking on lettermail.

How will this affect trading across the northern border? PWE seem OK, but what happens with larger packages? And what about this opening of packages?

Absolutely nothing we can do about it, like death and taxes, fuel prices and insurance. =)