Here are your Christmas shipping deadlines
With less than two weeks before Christmas, time is running out to ship packages and greetings cards to make sure they're under the tree on Christmas morning.
It's a busy time for Canada Post and couriers. At the Ottawa Purolator sorting facility on Hawthorne Road, an average of 30,000 packages are expected to go through each day throughout the holiday season.
"All the sorting takes place here and gets shuttled out to other locations within the city," says Jason Belgrave, Purolator Director of Operations for Northeast Ontario.
Packages, ranging from things you buy online to those special gifts all come through the facility.
"Christmas packages, food, cakes made by grandma and grandpa, they come through all the time," he says.
Santa might be able to deliver all of his presents on Christmas Eve, but for anything you're sending, couriers need a head start. If you want that gift to be under the tree on time, Belgrave says to ship your package earlier than later. "
The key date for people to keep in mind, if you're shipping Purolator Express, is December 21st," he says.
Dec. 21 is Purolator's deadline for next-day deliver to destinations in Canada or United States. If shipping by Purolator Ground to the U.S., the deadline is Dec. 13.
Other international deadlines for Purolator:
- East Asia (including China, Japan and Thailand): Dec. 15
- Australia, Caribbean, Mexico, South and Central America: Dec. 18
- Western Europe (including the United Kingdom, France and Germany): Dec. 18
Canada Post
Here are the deadlines to send cards and packages within Canada to arrive in time for Christmas.
Packages:
Priority and Xpresspost:
- Local Zone: Dec. 21
- Regional Zone: Dec. 21
- National Zone: Dec. 20
Regular Parcel:
- Local Zone: Dec. 19
- Regional Zone: Dec. 14-19
- National Zone: Dec. 8-18
Sending Cards:
- Local: Dec. 19
- Regional: Dec. 18
- National: Dec. 15
Shipping deadlines for sending cards internationally have passed.
When to send international packages to popular destinations via Xpresspost
- USA: Dec. 15 (Expedited Parcel deadline is Dec. 13)
- UK: Dec. 14
- Netherlands: Dec. 14
- Switzerland: Dec. 14
- France: Dec. 14
- Germany: Dec. 14
- Japan: Dec. 14
FedEx
Within Canada to most metropolitan areas:
- FedEx First Overnight / FedEx Priority Overnight: Dec. 21
- FedEx Standard Overnight: Dec. 21
- FedEx 2Day: Dec. 20
- FedEx Economy: Dec. 19
- FexEx Freight Priority: Dec 13
Canada to U.S.
- FedEx First Overnight / FedEx Priority Overnight: Dec. 21
- FedEx International Economy: Dec. 19
- FedEx Freight Priority: Dec. 13
UPS
Canada Domestic:
- UPS Expedited: Dec. 20
- UPS Express: Dec.21, (Dec. 22 with Saturday Delivery option)
Shipments to certain destinations may require an earlier ship date
Canada to the U.S.
- UPS 3 Day Select: Dec. 19
- UPS Expedited: Dec. 20
- UPS Express: Dec. 21
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.