A Canadian ZIP code or postal code comprises a six-character alphanumeric code which is a key component of a mailing address. The postal code system in Canada is regulated by Canada Post, the country’s mail service. This systematic and well-planned postal code system is the cornerstone of the Canadian Post Corporation.
The Canadian postal code list is very long as the country currently has approximately 876,445 postal codes. But no worries! You can easily look up Canadian ZIP codes or postal codes through the online search tool provided by the official Canadian Post website.
What Is the Format of the Canadian Postal Code?
Canada’s postal codes share close similarities with the postcodes of the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands, as all of these have alphanumeric characters.
However, the Canadian postal codes are in the format of K1K 1K1, where ‘K’ is an alphabet and ‘1’ is a numeral, with a space separating the third and the fourth character.
Canadian postal code contains two very important components which denote—Forward Sortation Area (FSA) and Local Delivery Unit (LDU).
- Forward Sortation Area (FSA): The first three characters denote the territory in Canada. The second character is a numerical digit that denotes whether it’s an urban region or rural. All the numerals represent urban regions except zero which is for rural regions. The first three characters all together help represent a specific geographical location.
- Local Delivery Unit (LDU): The last three characters of the postal code denote a single address or a range of different addresses, which correspond to a small town, a significant portion of a medium-sized town, an entire block in bigger cities, a big building, university, etc., that receive a lot of mail regularly.
It’s important to notice that Canadian postal codes use 20 uppercase letters of the English alphabet except D, F, I, O, Q, or U. Letters like W and Z are also not used.
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How Important are Postal Codes in Canada?
Postal codes also represent the groups of people in specific geographic areas. Numbered postal zones were first brought into use in the Canadian city of Toronto in 1925. Later in 1943, Toronto was divided into 14 zones, numbered from 1 to 15 (excluding 7 and 11).
In the 1950s and 1960s, Canada’s postal system began to expand with an increasing population in the country. A three-digit code system made mail processing more efficient, resulting in faster delivery. A six-digit code was introduced in 1969.
The evolution of the Canadian postal code system converted it into a multi-purpose and highly sophisticated source of information. The Canadian government, companies, banks, and other private or public organizations use postal codes for various reasons like—demographic information, fraud prevention, eCommerce, and much more.
The worldwide shipping and logistics businesses can utilize postal codes to ensure that mails and packages arrive at the destination with minimal delays or damages. In Canada, the postal codes are constantly being used for commercial purposes.
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