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Important definitions
The following definitions will help you better understand the terms used in our delivery standards tables.
Local is where the destination city or town is the same as the originating city or town.
Provincial is where the destination city or town is in the same province as the originating city or town.
Regional
Regional is where the destination city or town is in the same region as the originating city or town. We group Canadian regions according to the following table.
| Region | Geographical area |
|---|---|
| Atlantic | New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island |
| Central |
Québec and Ontario, including Northwestern Ontario (Postal CodesOM P7A to P7L, P8N, P8T, P9A, P9N, P0T to P0Y)
|
| Western |
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwestern Ontario (Postal CodesOM P7A to P7L, P8N, P8T, P9A, P9N, P0T to P0Y)
|
| Nunavut East | X0A |
| Nunavut West | X0B and X0C |
| Northwest Territories |
X0E, X0G, and X1A |
| Yukon | Y0A, Y0B, and Y1A |
National is where the destination city or town is in a different region as the originating city or town.
The Forward Sortation Area (FSA) is the first 3 characters of the postal code. The FSA identifies the major geographic area in an urban or rural location.
The Local Delivery Unit (LDU) is the last 3 characters of the postal code. The LDU identifies the smallest delivery unit in the Forward Sortation Area (FSA).
A processing facility is a facility at which we separate, sort, and transport parcels and mail to destination facilities for further processing or delivery. See our Processing facilities for Direct Marketing and Transaction Mail table and our Parcel Services (Canada) - FSAs and their designated processing facilities table.
A Major Urban Centre is a location with a processing facility for sorting, processing, and distributing parcels and mail. Delivery standards to and from Major Urban Centres are shortest because we don't need to transport parcels and mail to or from a processing facility before we deliver them. See our Processing facilities for Direct Marketing and Transaction Mail table and our Parcel Services (Canada) - FSAs and their designated processing facilities table.
A Non-Major Urban Centre is a location without a processing facility. Delivery standards to or from Non-Major Urban Centres are longer because we need to transport non-local parcels and mail to or from a processing facility before we can deliver them. See our Processing facilities for Direct Marketing and Transaction Mail table and our Parcel Services (Canada) - FSAs and their designated processing facilities table.
A northern region or remote area is a location that’s far removed from Major Urban Centres or that receives infrequent service. We list all remote areas in our Postal codes of remote areas table.