Canada Post removes deadline for Santa letter program amid strike

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This article was published 03/12/2024 (313 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canada Post says it has removed the deadline for its Santa Claus letter program amid an ongoing national workers’ strike that has halted mail delivery leading up to the holiday season.

Some 55,000 workers walked off the job more than two weeks ago, suspending mail service — and a program that helps deliver up to 1.5 million letters from Canadian kids to the North Pole each year.

The postal service says in a statement that while the initial deadline to mail a letter to Santa with the iconic H0H 0H0 postal code was Dec. 6, it has now removed the deadline from its website.

It says once operations resume, it will ensure that all letters make it to the North Pole and receive a reply, but it cannot guarantee delivery dates.

Canada Post says since the program began more than 40 years ago, Santa’s North Pole post office has delivered replies to more than 45 million letters.

During the strike, some communities have stepped up to deliver Santa’s mail themselves, offering their own local programming on social media to make sure letter writers receive a reply by Christmas.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024.