Canada Post has rolled out a full schedule of when Greater Toronto Area neighbourhoods will stop getting home mail delivery and convert to community mailboxes, amid ongoing controversy over accommodation for those who need it.
According to the schedule, the most densely-populated areas of downtown Toronto and North York will be the last to convert.
The earliest conversions, which take effect later this month, are in northwestern Etobicoke. The 18,000 Etobicoke addresses being converted from home delivery to community mailboxes were announced in March, but the remaining conversion schedule for the rest of the Greater Toronto Area hadn’t previously been publicly released.
In 2027, several parts of Durham and Peel regions are scheduled to be converted, including parts of Pickering, Ajax, Mississauga and Brampton.
The last areas to convert, scheduled to take effect in 2031, include downtown areas like Chinatown, Kensington Market and Harbourfront, as well as older parts of east end Toronto including Leslieville, Cabbagetown, Corktown and the Gerrard India Bazaar. Parts of North York, including Wilson Heights, Downsview and Willowdale, are also scheduled for 2031 conversion.
While less urban areas seem to be getting converted earlier, Canada Post said the schedule isn’t simply a matter of geography.
“While there may appear to be geographic patterns in some locations, the overall schedule reflects a combination of national planning, operational requirements, and logistical considerations rather than any single geographic criterion,” the Crown corporation said in an emailed statement.
The schedule was provided to the Star after the Crown corporation released a postal code lookup tool during its annual general meeting recently. Canada Post also said it will begin weekend parcel delivery to community mailboxes and post offices in the GTA this weekend.
Asked for comment on the schedule, the office of Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said it was still analyzing the new list, but the mayor said in April that she was opposed to community mailbox conversion.
“Toronto has an aging population, and for many, transitioning to community mailboxes is difficult,” Chow’s office said in April. “She is opposed to this change. When she was a member of Parliament, she made it clear that door-to-door mail delivery should be protected.”
While Canada Post stresses it has a delivery accommodation program for people who still need home delivery, the program falls short, said Jeffrey Willbond, chief accessibility officer at March of Dimes.
For one thing, Willbond said, requiring people with disabilities or seniors to prove they need the accommodation is an affront to dignity.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to justify … the disability in one way or another. It’s not inclusive,” said Willbond, dismissing the idea that the program would be abused if documentation weren’t required.
“People aren’t telling stories about mobility issues, or being blind, or being a senior,” Willbond said.
The head of a seniors advocacy group also said the accommodation program is far from ideal.
“Seniors should not have to get through piles of forms, doctors’ notes and repeated paperwork to keep receiving the mail they depend on,” said Anthony Quinn, president of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons. “Pensions, government cheques and medications still arrive by mail for many Canadians.”
Quinn also said the program isn’t nearly as well-publicized as it should be.
“The accommodation program is poorly known and understood,” Quinn added. “Canada Post needs to be fully proactive in sharing details as they are wrapping up home delivery and moving more communities to the ‘super mail boxes.’”
The accommodation program has been running for a decade, and currently includes 17,000 households. For households requesting weekly home delivery through the accommodation program, documentation is required. For households requesting other accommodations — such as height adjustments to a community mailbox compartment, sliding mail trays, or the use of braille on the mailbox, no documentation is required.
In September, 2025, the federal government gave Canada Post the go-ahead for a broad restructuring, including elimination of home delivery for the four million homes which still receive it, increased use of community mailboxes and shuttering of some rural post offices.
Joël Lightbound, then federal minister of Government Transformation, Public Services and Procurement, said the restructuring was necessary to fight an “existential crisis” faced by the financially struggling Crown corporation.
