Best Canada Post Shipping Rates for Your eCommerce Store 2022

If you have an eCommerce store in Canada and sell to customers all over the country, shipping cost is a key factor to consider.  

Fortunately, Canada has large numbers of local and international shipping carriers, which provide domestic and cross-border shipping services at reasonable pricing. If you want to offer faster overnight shipping to your customers, you can get that too at relatively cheaper rates. 

In the highly competitive eCommerce market, faster shipping has become a key differentiating factor that gives retail businesses an edge over their competitors. 

A report by Future of Commerce shows that 60 percent of customers confirmed fast shipping had a significant influence on their decision to purchase from a business.  

These days, customers expect more and want next-day or overnight delivery while shopping due to the high benchmark set by eCommerce giants like Amazon and others. 

While providing faster shipping, eCommerce businesses also need to think of shipping costs. Offering fast shipping bearing higher costs will significantly reduce the profit margin of your retail store. 

A shipping carrier like Canada Post provides a wide range of shipping options at affordable rates.

Canada Post is the national courier in Canada and the largest commercial entity for domestic shipping in terms of volume. Canada Post began its operations in 1867 and is the only company that can send mail and package services to all the addresses in the country. 

Why Canada Post is an Ideal Carrier for Your eCommerce Store?

Canada Post is much more than just Canada’s national postal service. With more than 6,200 postal offices, Canada Post makes shipping convenient and flexible for eCommerce and other businesses. 

Besides its domestic coverage, Canada Post is also an efficient shipping option to US addresses and over 190 countries, integrating services, including tracking, signature confirmation, and others. 

You can get affordable shipping rates that suit your budget and delivery timeline. You can choose the shipping that works for your retail business and your customers by going through their offers, features, and costs.  

Also, since Canada Post has been keeping up with the growth rate of the eCommerce industry in Canada, online stores find the courier reliable to send even bulk shipments. 

Besides, compared with other shipping carriers, Canada Post has more affordable shipping costs and mostly wins over the competition. 

Studies show that nearly 84 percent of consumers make a buying decision based on free and fast shipping. Also, 30 percent of online shoppers said they add more items to their cart to be eligible for free shipping. 

Keeping these statistics in mind, as an eCommerce business owner, you would want to ensure your customers have a memorable shopping experience by providing fast, reliable, fast, and free or affordable shipping.

Using Canada Post shipping services to deliver customers’ orders to addresses across Canada at affordable rates is an important and wise decision for your eCommerce business. 

By signing up with an integrated shipping platform like ShippingChimp that has all the major shipping services from major carriers, including Canada Post, you can automate and streamline your shipping process based on package weight, dimensions, destination, and others. 

Shipping Options of Canada Post

Regular Parcel

Canada Post Regular Parcel has an estimated time frame for shipping between 2 and 9 business days for domestic shipments if they are from a major urban center. 

If the shipments are from non-major and remote centers, the estimated delivery time is up to 14 business days. There is no on-time delivery guarantee for regular parcels. 

To send shipments through Canada Post Regular Parcels, you need to print shipping labels based on your parcel weight or use stamps. You may have to buy a 500g envelope for $5.47. 

The process of sending packages is a bit different. For example, if you send a 2.2-pound regular parcel to Ottawa, it will cost around $20.41, which is nearly $13 cheaper than the XpressPost.

Using the Regular Parcel is a good choice for small businesses that do not usually send bulk shipments frequently and can’t get the benefit of bulk orders discount. For this type of shipment, customers also expect a longer delivery window for cheaper shipping. 

Most parcels take the least number of days if the shipments are from one major city to another. 

The only possibility of delivery delays can be during the holiday season, which is the busiest season for Canada Post. 

Key Points of the Regular Parcel Service:

• This shipping service has the cheapest shipping rates by Canada Post for domestic deliveries within Canada.
• Parcel delivery to local addresses may take up to 2 business days, regional deliveries could take up to 5 days, and national deliveries are up to 9 days.
• Options of signature and identity paid are available.

Expedited

Expedited Parcel is a fast and low-cost ground shipping service within Canada. Local shipping takes 1-2 days, regional shipping takes 1-4 days, and shipping to national addresses takes 2-8 days. 

You can track your packages and get the on-time delivery guarantee. This shipping service is ideal for bulk shipping. 

The Expedited shipping cost is similar to Regular Shipping, but with faster speed. For example, if you need to ship a 2kg parcel from Montreal to Vancouver via Expedited shipping, it will cost CAD23.51. 

Sending through Regular Parcel will also cost CAD23.51. However, the Expedited shipping will take 3-5 working days, which is faster than Regular Shipping (2-10 working days). 

Actual delivery times depend on origin, destination, weather conditions, and other factors. 

Key Points of the Expedited Parcel Service:

• Expedited is the cheapest and fastest shipping option by Canada Post for domestic deliveries.
• Parcel delivery to local addresses could take up to 2 days, regional deliveries could take up to 4 days, and national deliveries are up to 8 days.
• Liability coverage up to $100 and additional liability coverage up to $5,000 are available.
• Options of signature and identity services are available.

XpressPost

Canada Post XpressPost provides next-day delivery service to most local and regional addresses for packages from major urban centers. 

The estimated timeline for national shipments is 2 days. Packages for non-major and remote can usually get packages delivered between 2 and 8 business days. XpressPost is the only shipping option with the “Deliver to Post Office” feature.

For example, if you want to send a package weighing 2.2 pounds to Ottawa, it will cost around $33.27. You can buy prepaid XpressPost envelopes and boxes in bulk from post offices across Canada. The costs will be reasonable if your parcels remain within a specific weight. 

You may have to create a commercial account with Canada Post to get discounted prices. To send a prepaid parcel up to 1.36kg (below 3 pounds) to a regional address will cost $18.05, and a package weighing up to 5kg (11 pounds) will cost $24.35.

The shipping rates for XpressPost are calculated based on the package size, dimensions, origin, and destination.

Origin codes are below: 

• Zone A: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. 
• Zone B: Ontario and Quebec. 
• Zone C: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. 
• Zone D: Northwest Territories and Yukon. 

After getting the Origin Code, you can check the overall Rate Code that depends on the destination province.

According to the calculation, sending a 2.2-pound package (with average length, width, and height) from Ontario to Manitoba will cost around $45.30 with guaranteed delivery in 2 business days. 

These costs will be payable when you purchase a shipping service directly from Canada Post. If you use an integrated shipping automation platform, you can get attractive discounts from different shipping carriers.

Key Points of the XpressPost Service:

• Delivery takes 2-8 business days with an on-time delivery guarantee;
• Tracking included;
• Delivery confirmation with updates;
• Delivery to post office box service;
• $100 of liability coverage;
• Postal presentation and handling services.

Priority

Priority shipping by Canada Post is the fastest shipping option available. Through this shipping, a package usually reaches its destination by the next day, even in the case of national shipments. 

Shipping packages from non-major or remote centers will take between 2 and 8 business days to reach the destination.

The cost of Priority shipping to Canadian addresses depends on the destinations. Shipping fees start at around $14.73 and can go up to $230.35. For example, sending a package weighing 2.2 pounds to Ottawa will cost nearly $33.27. 

You can get the estimated fee through Priority shipping fees based on the package dimensions, weight, and destination mentioned on the Canada Post website.

If you need to ship packages to the US or any other international destination using Priority Worldwide, you should compare the destination Rate Code to its price. If you use a shipping automation platform, rate comparison happens automatically.  

For example, to ship a package weighing 2.2-pound to the US will cost around $71.33. The package sent through Priority shipping will reach the US destination within a few days.

Also, it is crucial to remember that if you are a contract customer, buying prepaid envelopes prepaid can reduce the shipping cost in certain situations.

Buying prepaid envelopes may not be beneficial if you send packages of varying sizes and weights. You may also integrate Web Services to update your customers about real-time shipping costs for their purchases.

Key Points of the Priority Parcel Service: 

• The fastest domestic service in Canada;
• Guaranteed next-day delivery;
• Shipping rates are relatively higher;
• An excellent option for time-sensitive shipping;
• Priority Worldwide with delivery in 2-3 business days, guaranteed;
• Liability coverage up to $100;
• On-time guaranteed delivery.

Canada Post Shipping Rates at a Glance

Domestic Shipping Rates:

Shipping Services	Weight	Delivery Time	Price
Canada Post Regular Parcel	Up to 30kg	2 to 9 business days	Starts from $9.67
Canada Post Expedited Shipping	Up to 30kg	2 to 8 business days	—
Canada Post XpressPost	Up to 30kg	2 to 8 business days	Starts from $10.61
Canada Post Priority Shipping	Up to 30kg	Next day	Starts from $22.01

International Shipping Rates:

Shipping Services	Weight	Delivery Time	Price
Canada Post Regular Parcel	2kg	2 to 3 business days	Starts from $147.64
Canada Post XpressPost	2kg	4 to 7 business days	Starts from $59.65
Canada Post Priority Shipping	2kg	4 to 7 business days	Starts from $49.36

Canada Post Features

Canada Post is a leading courier service provider, and you can get a wide range of benefits and features while shipping through it. 

Here are the key features of Canada Post shipping:

• Flat Rate Fees: Boxes for shipping are available online at flat rates in packs of 12. You can buy a box and send your package to any address in Canada. As long as the weight of the box is below 5kg, it will ship. Boxes are available in small, medium, and large sizes to meet your varying shipping requirements.

• Tracking Facility: Canada Post provides free tracking services to help customers easily track and manage their parcels. Customers can receive delivery status via phone, email, or SMS.

• Insurance: Canada Post also provides basic liability coverage for specific shipping services. You can even buy liability coverage for your shipment. Expedited, Xpresspost, and Priority shipping come with up to $100 liability coverage for domestic and international shipping.

• Collect on Delivery: Customers can pay upon collecting their packages during the delivery. The sender can collect up to $5,000 from the recipient during the delivery. This service is available for shipments sent within Canada. A sender has to pay $7.25 as the COD fee plus shipping fees to use this service.

• Signature Confirmation: Services like signature and ID come with shipping options, such as Priority, Xpresspost, and Flat rate box shipping. It means the carrier will only release a parcel after the recipient signs for it. There is also an option to get a hard-copy signature of the recipient as the delivery confirmation. 

• International Shipping Available: Canada Post also delivers packages to other countries, including the US, and to many countries worldwide. Besides, you can save significantly on the international shipping rate

If you are a Canadian eCommerce store owner who wishes to find the best rates for shipping your package, use ShippingChimp’s shipping cost calculator.