Canadian zip codes may seem like random numbers and letters, but these actually serve as a means to help identify your location and make mail and deliveries much faster and more efficient. These are arranged in an alphanumerical format and have a total of six characters in them.
If you are interested in learning more about the zip codes in Canada, their relevance, and how to find your own, you have come to the right place. Read on to know more.
What is the Postal Code in Canada?
As I have mentioned earlier, the postal code of Canada comes in the alphanumeric form and this consists of six characters in total and these can read A1A 1A1, where ‘A’ is a designated letter and ‘1’ is a number. There should be a space between the third and fourth characters.
Taken together, these make up the postal code, the former being considered a Forward Sortation Area (FSA) and the latter being a Local Delivery Unit (LDU), but more of these aspects later on.
As of October 2019, there are 876,445 postal codes in the whole of Canada from A0A in Newfoundland to Y1A in Yukon.
You can check out the different zip codes in Canada or your own zip code via the postal code lookup tool provided by The Canada Post at www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/info/mc/personal/postalcode/fpc.jsf. You can likewise call 1-900-565-2633 and 1-900-565-2634 for help in English and French respectively.
What are Canada Zip Codes Used For?
Canada zip codes are primarily used for determining particular geographical areas in the region, including their identifying features. These include buildings, apartment complexes, post office boxes, neighborhoods, counties, and even communities.
Having a postal system in place allows the mail service and other similar delivery-related services to sort and deliver mail and packages more efficiently.
Apart from being used for mail-related needs under the Postal Service of Canada, these postal codes can likewise be used to correlate data that pertains to a geographic location’s population in terms of census or health concerns, or studies.
These zip codes can also be used for voters like you and me to identify our local representatives and the area they provide service to.
Guide Using City Postal Zones
Simply put, postal zones are simply the factors that the postal service uses to determine the distance between the origin and intended destination of mail or package. By identifying the distance between its origin and destination, carriers or postal services can provide accurate prices for each mail or package based on these zones.
To start using these postal zones, remember that Canadian zip codes follow the A1A 1A1 format, where the letter ‘A’ corresponds to a letter of the alphabet and ‘1’ is a number.
To get the first letter, you should refer to the letter which corresponds to your province or territory. A is for Newfoundland and Labrador, B is for Nova Scotia, and so on, with Y being the letter representative of the Yukon Territory.
The second character in the Forward Sortation Area corresponds to the district within the province or territory. The third character, meanwhile, represents the postal zone for the province or region
The last three characters, on the other hand, are simply used to indicate the area of delivery concentration. These are used to find addresses, sort mail, and the like.
List of Postal Codes
Lower Postal Code | Upper Postal Code | Area of Local Multiplier |
A0A 0A0 | A0C 9Z9 | Newfoundland Average |
A0E 0A0 | A0E 9Z9 | Newfoundland Average |
A0G 0A0 | A0H 9Z9 | Newfoundland Average |
A0J 0A0 | A0N 9Z9 | Newfoundland Average |
A0P 0A0 | A0P 9Z9 | Newfoundland Average |
A0R 0A0 | A0R 9Z9 | Newfoundland Average |
A1A 0A0 | A1G 9Z9 | St. Johns, NF |
A1V 0A0 | A1V 9Z9 | Gander, NF |
A2H 0A0 | A2H 9Z9 | Corner Brook, NF |
B0A 0A0 | B0A 9Z9 | Cape Breton, NS |
B0B 0A0 | B0W 9Z9 | New Brunswick Average |
B1N 0A0 | B2A 9Z9 | Sydney, NS |
B2H 0A0 | B2H 9Z9 | New Glasgow, NS |
B2N 0A0 | B2N 9Z9 | Truro, NS |
B2V 0A0 | B3B 9Z9 | Dartmouth, NS |
B3H 0A0 | B3S 9Z9 | Halifax, NS |
C0A 0A0 | C0B 9Z9 | Charlottetown, PE |
C1A 0A0 | C1E 9Z9 | Charlottetown, PE |
E1A 0A0 | E1G 9Z9 | Moncton, NB |
E1N 0A0 | E1N 9Z9 | North Shore Area, NB |
E2H 0A0 | E2P 9Z9 | St. John, NB |
E2Y 0A0 | E2Y 9Z9 | Fredericton, NB |
E3A 0A0 | E3C 9Z9 | Fredericton, NB |
E3V 0A0 | E3V 9Z9 | Edmundston, NB |
G0A 0A0 | G0C 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
G0E 0C0 | G0E 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
G0G 0A0 | G0H 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
G0J 0A0 | G0N 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
G0P 0A0 | G0P 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
G0R 0A0 | G0T 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
G0W 0B0 | G0Z 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
G1A 0A0 | G2Z 9Z9 | Quebec City |
G4R 0A0 | G4S 9Z9 | Sept Iles |
G5L 0A0 | G5N 9Z9 | Rimouski |
G7G 0A0 | G7K 9Z9 | Chicoutimi |
G7S 0A0 | G8A 9Z9 | Jonquiere |
G8Y 0A0 | G9C 9Z9 | Trois-Rivieres |
H1A 0A0 | H4Z 9Z9 | Montreal |
H7A 0A0 | H7Z 9Z9 | Laval |
H9P 0A0 | H9S 9Z9 | Montreal |
J0A 0A0 | J0C 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
J0E 0A0 | J0E 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
J0G 0A0 | J0H 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
J0J 0A0 | J0N 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
J0P 0B0 | J0P 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
J0R 0A0 | J0T 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
J0V 0A0 | J0Z 9Z9 | Quebec Average |
J1E 0A0 | J1M 9Z9 | Sherbrooke |
J2A 0A0 | J2E 9Z9 | Drummondville |
J8X 0A0 | J9A 9Z9 | Hull |
J9P 0A0 | J9P 9Z9 | Val d’Or |
J9X 0A0 | J9X 9Z9 | Rouyn |
K0A 0A0 | K0C 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
K0E 0A0 | K0E 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
K0G 0A0 | K0H 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
K0J 0B0 | K0M 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
K1A 0A0 | K4A 9Z9 | Ottawa |
K6V 0A0 | K6V 9Z9 | Brockville |
K7K 0A0 | K7P 9Z9 | Kingston |
K8N 0A0 | K8R 9Z9 | Belleville |
K8V 0A0 | K8V 9Z9 | Trenton |
K9H 0A0 | K9L 9Z9 | Peterborough |
K9V 0A0 | K9V 9Z9 | Lindsay |
L0A 0A0 | L0C 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
L0E 0A0 | L0E 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
L0G 0A0 | L0H 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
L0J 0A0 | L0N 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
L0P 0B0 | L0S 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
L1G 0A0 | L1R 9Z9 | Oshawa |
L2E 0A0 | L2J 9Z9 | Niagara Falls |
L2M 0A0 | L2W 9Z9 | St. Catharines |
L3V 0A0 | L3V 9Z9 | Orillia |
L4M 0A0 | L4N 9Z9 | Barrie |
L6S 0A0 | L7A 9Z9 | Brampton |
L8A 0A0 | L9K 9Z9 | Hamilton |
M1A 0A0 | M9Z 9Z9 | Toronto |
N0A 0C0 | N0C 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
N0E 0A0 | N0E 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
N0G 0A0 | N0H 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
N0J 0A0 | N0M 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
N0P 0A0 | N0P 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
N0R 0A0 | N0R 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
N1C 0A0 | N1L 9Z9 | Guelph |
N1P 0A0 | N1T 9Z9 | Cambridge |
N2A 0A0 | N2H 9Z9 | Kitchener |
N2J 0A0 | N2L 9Z9 | Waterloo |
N2M 0A0 | N2R 9Z9 | Kitchener |
N2T 0A0 | N2V 9Z9 | Waterloo |
N3C 0A0 | N3H 9Z9 | Cambridge |
N3P 0A0 | N3V 9Z9 | Brantford |
N4K 0A0 | N4K 9Z9 | Owen Sound |
N5V 0A0 | N6Z 9Z9 | London |
N7S 0A0 | N7X 9Z9 | Sarnia |
N8N 0A0 | N9J 9Z9 | Windsor |
P0A 0A0 | P0C 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
P0E 0E0 | P0E 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
P0G 0A0 | P0H 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
P0J 0A0 | P0M 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
P0P 0A0 | P0P 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
P0R 0A0 | P0T 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
P0V 0B0 | P0Y 9Z9 | Ontario Average |
P1A 0A0 | P1C 9Z9 | North Bay |
P3A 0A0 | P3G 9Z9 | Sudbury |
P4N 0A0 | P4R 9Z9 | Timmins |
P6A 0A0 | P6C 9Z9 | Sault Ste. Marie |
P7A 0A0 | P7G 9Z9 | Thunder Bay |
R0A 0B0 | R0C 9Z9 | Manitoba Average |
R0E 0A0 | R0E 9Z9 | Manitoba Average |
R0G 0A0 | R0H 9Z9 | Manitoba Average |
R0J 0A0 | R0M 9Z9 | Manitoba Average |
R2A 0A0 | R3Z 9Z9 | Winnipeg |
R7A 0A0 | R7B 9Z9 | Brandon |
R8N 0A0 | R8N 9Z9 | Thompson |
S0A 0A0 | S0C 9Z9 | Saskatchewan Average |
S0E 0A0 | S0E 9Z9 | Saskatchewan Average |
S0G 0A0 | S0H 9Z9 | Saskatchewan Average |
S0J 0A0 | S0N 9Z9 | Saskatchewan Average |
S0P 0A0 | S0P 9Z9 | Saskatchewan Average |
S4N 0A0 | S4Z 9Z9 | Regina |
S6H 0A0 | S6K 9Z9 | Moose Jaw |
S6V 0A0 | S6V 9Z9 | Prince Albert |
S7H 0A0 | S7Z 9Z9 | Saskatoon |
S9A 0A0 | S9A 9Z9 | North Battleford |
T0A 0A0 | T0C 9Z9 | Alberta Average |
T0E 0A0 | T0E 9Z9 | Alberta Average |
T0G 0A0 | T0H 9Z9 | Alberta Average |
T0J 0A0 | T0M 9Z9 | Alberta Average |
T0P 0B0 | T0P 9Z9 | Alberta Average |
T1A 0A0 | T1C 9Z9 | Medicine Hat |
T1H 0A0 | T1K 9Z9 | Lethbridge |
T1Y 0A0 | T3Z 9Z9 | Calgary |
T4N 0A0 | T4R 9Z9 | Red Deer |
T5A 0A0 | T6Z 9Z9 | Edmonton |
T8V 0A0 | T8X 9Z9 | Grande Prairie |
V0A 0A0 | V0B 9Z9 | Cranbrook |
V0C 0A0 | V0C 9Z9 | Prince George |
V0E 0A0 | V0G 9Z9 | Kamloops |
V0H 0A0 | V0H 9Z9 | Penticton |
V0K 0A0 | V0K 9Z9 | Kamloops |
V0L 0A0 | V0L 9Z9 | Prince George |
V0N 0A0 | V0N 9Z9 | Vancouver |
V0P 0A0 | V0P 9Z9 | Port Alberni |
V0R 0A0 | V0R 9Z9 | Prince George |
V1C 0A0 | V1C 9Z9 | Cranbrook |
V1L 0A0 | V1L 9Z9 | Nelson |
V1R 0A0 | V1R 9Z9 | Trail |
V1S 0A0 | V1S 9Z9 | Kamloops |
V1V 0A0 | V1Z 9Z9 | Kelowna |
V2A 0A0 | V2A 9Z9 | Penticton |
V2B 0A0 | V2E 9Z9 | Kamloops |
V2H 0A0 | V2H 9Z9 | Kamloops |
V2K 0A0 | V2N 9Z9 | Prince George |
V5A 0A0 | V7Z 9Z9 | Vancouver |
V8J 0A0 | V8J 9Z9 | Prince Rupert |
V8N 0A0 | V9E 9Z9 | Victoria |
V9R 0A0 | V9V 9Z9 | Nanaimo |
V9Y 0A0 | V9Y 9Z9 | Port Alberni |
X0A 0A0 | X0C 9Z9 | Nunavut Average |
X0D 0A0 | X0G 9Z9 | Northwest Territories Average |
X1A 0A0 | X1A 9Z9 | Yellowknife |
Y0A 0A0 | Y0B 9Z9 | Whitehorse |
Y1A 0A0 | Y1A 9Z9 | Whitehorse |
List of Random Postal Codes
- L1P 1M1
- J6J 3S9
- S7V 0B5
- K1P 5J9
- N8Y 2L8
Components of a Canadian Postal Code
The Forward Sortation Area is a combination of three characters and this designates the geographic area it identifies. On the other hand, the Local Delivery Unit, the last three characters, determines the Forward Sortation Area’s smallest delivery unit in the area.
The first character in the FSA is used to determine any one of the 18 major areas in the country of Canada. A is used for Newfoundland and Labrador and Y is for Yukon.
Meanwhile, the second character of the FSA either refers to an urban postal code or a rural postal code. Urban numbers refer to 1 to 9, while 0 refers to urban postal codes.
Lastly, the third character of the FSA pinpoints to the exact area of the address, such as the city or town it pertains to.
The second segment of the zip code, the Local Delivery Unit, works to further strengthen the final sort in the Forward Sortation Area. The last three digits, then, may either be used to determine the particular building, a city block, or a mail receiver in urban locations. Rural areas, on the other hand, are used to identify the community.
FAQ’s
Does Canada Have 5 Digit Zip Codes?
No, Canada does not have 5-digit zip codes. However, if this is still requested, you can simply key in the three digits of your postal code and add two zeros at the end. For example, if your postal code is A1A 1A1, your five-digit code will be 11100.
Are All Canadian Zip Codes 6 Digits?
Yes, all Canadian zip codes have six digits. These are comprised of two sections, with each section having three alphanumeric combinations. The first three characters are considered the Forward Sortation Area, while the last three characters refer to the Local Delivery Unit.
What is Ontario Zip Code?
There are different zip codes in Ontario depending on your location. Lower postal codes include K0A 0A0, K0E 0A0, K0G 0A0, K0J 0A0, L0A 0A0, L0E 0A0, L0G 0A0, L0J 0A0, L0P 0B0, N0A 0C0, N0E 0A0, N0G 0A0, N0J 0A0, N0P 0A0, N0R 0A0, P0A 0A0, P0E 0A0, P0G 0A0, P0J 0A0, P0P 0A0, P0R 0A0, and P0V 0B0.
Upper postal codes for the province, on the other hand, are the following: K0C 9Z9, K0E 9Z9, K0H 9Z9, K0M 9Z9, L0C 9Z9, L0E 9Z9, L0H 9Z9, L0N 9Z9, L0S 9Z9, N0C 9Z9, N0E 9Z9, N0H 9Z9, N0M 9Z9, N0P 9Z9, N0R 9Z9, P0C 9Z9, P0E 9Z9, P0H 9Z9, P0M 9Z9, P0P 9Z9, P0T 9Z9, and P0Y 9Z9.
What is Toronto Zip Code?
The lower postal code is M1A 010, while the upper postal code is M9Z 9Z9. These can differ based on the particular city or area being identified.
Conclusion
Canadian zip codes are undoubtedly important in their daily lives. From handling parcels to finding street addresses, these are systems are in place to facilitate faster and more efficient sorting and deliveries. To know your zip code, make sure to use the postal code lookup tool today.
Reference:
[1] canadapost-postescanada.ca
[2] canadapost-postescanada.ca
[3] columbia.edu
[4] charlottestories.com