This is a list of Canadian provincial and territorial postal abbreviations. Canada Post currently uses a code system of two capital letters to represent the 13 provinces and territories on addressed mail. These abbreviations allow automated sorting. These codes replaced the inconsistent designation system used by Canadians in the 1990s. Canada Post logo Canada Post (French: Postes Canada) is a Canadian postal service operated as an independent crown corporation. ... Capital letters or majuscules (in the Roman alphabet: A, B, C, ...) are one type of case in a writing system. ... Regions Political culture Foreign relations Other countriesAtlas  Politics Portal      Canada is a federation which consists of ten provinces that, with three territories, make up the worlds second largest country in total area. ... For other uses, see Mail (disambiguation). ... Sorting refers to a process of arranging items in some sequence and/or in different sets, and accordingly, it has two common, yet distinct meanings: ordering: aranging items of the same kind, class, nature, etc. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ...

Current abbreviations

The sources of the current abbrevations vary. Some are from the initials of two of the words in the name of a province or territory, while others are from the first and final letter or from the first and some other letter in the name. All of these names are based on the English form of the name, though they also correspond to their French equivalents in various ways (for example, NT could be read for the first and last letters of Nord-Ouest, instead of Northwest Territories). For Quebec and New Brunswick, the two provinces with large numbers of French-speakers, the initials in both languages are identical. The lack of large numbers of Francophones in British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, and Prince Edward Island would make an abbreviation based on the French name of the province impractical. Yet they once existed (see Former abbreviations). Manitoba's abbreviation is due to U.S. states already having abbreviations in all of the letters of the province's name besides "B". Canadian English (CaE) is a variety of English used in Canada. ...

These abbreviations are fully compatible with the equivalent two-letter codes used for states and territorial areas of the United States, because no abbreviations overlap. The following is a list of abbreviations used by the United States Postal Service. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      The political units and divisions of the United States include: The 50 states, which are...

(Note: The Canadian policy of adopting non-overlapping abbreviations was opposite to the policy adopted by Mexico, where the most convenient two-letter combinations were chosen, regardless of whether that combination was already in use in the United States or Canada, e.g., CO Coahuila, MI Michoacán, MO Morelos, NL Nuevo León.) Motto: Fortis et liber(Latin) Strong and free Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Official languages English (see below) Government - Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong - Premier Ed Stelmach (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 28 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (split from Northwest Territories) (8th [Province]) Area Ranked... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo - Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 36 - Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 4th - Total 944,735 km... Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Latin: Glorious and free) BC AB SK MB ON QC NB PE NS NL YT NT NU Capital Winnipeg Largest city Winnipeg Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard - Premier Gary Doer (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 14 - Senate seats 6 Confederation... Motto: Spem reduxit (Hope restored) Capital Fredericton Largest city Saint John Official languages English, French (the only constitutionally bilingual province in the country) Government - Lieutenant-Governor Herménégilde Chiasson - Premier Shawn Graham (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 10 - Senate seats 10 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st... Motto: Quaerite Prime Regnum Dei (Latin: Seek ye first the kingdom of God) Capital St. ... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit(Latin) One defends and the other conquers Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Regional Municipality Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Mayann E. Francis - Premier Rodney MacDonald (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 11 - Senate seats 10 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area... For other geographical names that include Northwest, see Northwest. ... Motto: Nunavut Sannginivut (Inuktitut: Nunavut our strength or Our land our strength) Capital Iqaluit Largest city Iqaluit Official languages Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English, French Government - Commissioner Ann Meekitjuk Hanson - Premier Paul Okalik (Consensus government) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 1 (Nancy Karetak-Lindell) - Senate seats 1 (Willie Adams) Confederation... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman - Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 106 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area [1] Ranked... This article is about the Canadian province. ... , Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Official languages French Government - Lieutenant-Governor Pierre Duchesne - Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 75 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area  Ranked 2nd - Total 1,542,056 km² (595... Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires (Latin: The Strength of Many Peoples) Capital Regina Largest city Saskatoon Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Gordon Barnhart - Premier Lorne Calvert (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 14 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (Split from NWT) (9th (province)) Area  Ranked... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Newfoundland and Labrador's abbreviation became effective 21 October 2002 to reflect the provincial name change from "Newfoundland" to "Newfoundland and Labrador" on 6 December 2001. is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

Nunavut's code became effective 13 December 2000; before this date and after Nunavut's creation on 1 April 1999, the abbreviation "NT" was used for Nunavut as well as the Northwest Territories. The postal abbreviation could have been said to stand for "Nunavut Territory" (although "Territory" is not part of its official name), reflecting its creation out of Northwest Territories. Using NT for two sparsely populated territories might have been practical, precluding those in Nunavut from additional expenses of replacing signage, letterhead, business cards, and the like. The postal codes for the two territories also begin with 'X', the only two territorial or provincial jurisdictions to share the same initial postal code letter. However, the new code NU was chosen to stem possible confusion and to reflect the new territory's creation. is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

These abbreviations have no relationship to letters in postal codes, which are assigned by Canada Post on a different basis than these abbreviations. While postal codes are also used for sorting, they allow extensive regional sorting. In addition, several provinces have postal codes that begin with different letters. A Canadian postal code is a string of six characters that forms part of a postal address in Canada. ...

A sample of a proper address^[1]:

PAT ANYONE
1643 DUNDAS ST W APT 27
TORONTO ON  M6K 1V2

Note that the street type, unit type, and city quadrant, if applicable, are abbreviated, without periods (though using periods, or even spelling out every word in its entirety, is unlikely to affect delivery in any way). Note also the lack of a comma between municipality and province/territory, the double space between the latter and the postal code, and the single space between segments of postal code, all on one line. Addresses should be done in all-upper-case without punctuation, and the unit number may precede street number, with a hyphen, e.g., "27-1643 DUNDAS ST W" using the above example.^{[1] [2]}

Former abbreviations

These are all deprecated as postal abbreviations (but not as abbreviations in any other context). It is noteworthy that some of the abandoned French versions included a hyphen. The eventual goal became to standardize all abbreviations into two-character units. In French, with the hyphen, it became a three-character abbreviation, yet, without it, conflict arose with US state abbreviations, e.g., a hyphenless T-N became TN (a duplicate of Tennessee); N-E became NE (a duplicate of Nebraska). Over time, the English forms became standard. Nunavut does not have a former abbreviation because it did not exist when these codes were phased out. In computer software standards and documentation, deprecation is the gradual phasing-out of a software or programming language feature. ...

• Alberta - Alta. ^[C]
• British Columbia - B.C. and C.-B. (the latter is the French version, for Colombie-Britannique)
• Labrador - LB This appeared in Canada Post publications (e.g., The Canadian Postal Code Directory) for the mainland section of the province of Newfoundland.
• Manitoba - Man.
• New Brunswick - N.B.
• Newfoundland - Nfld. and later NF (the two-letter abbreviation used before the province's name changed to Newfoundland and Labrador) and T.-N. (French version, for Terre-Neuve) ^[D]
• Northwest Territories - N.W.T. and T.N.O. (French version, for Territoires du Nord-Ouest)
• Nova Scotia - N.S. and N.-É. (French version, for Nouvelle-Écosse)
• Ontario - Ont.
• Prince Edward Island - P.E.I.
• Quebec - Que. and P.Q. (French version, for Province du Québec); later, PQ evolved from P.Q. as the first two-letter non-punctuated abbreviation. Later still, QU evolved as the second two-letter non-punctuated abbreviation, making Quebec's abbreviation consistent with other provinces insofar as using letters solely from the name of the province, but not the word "province", as PQ did. There may also have been political considerations, as "PQ" was and is common shorthand for the Parti Québécois.
• Saskatchewan - Sask.
• Yukon - Yuk.

Motto: Fortis et liber(Latin) Strong and free Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Official languages English (see below) Government - Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong - Premier Ed Stelmach (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 28 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (split from Northwest Territories) (8th [Province]) Area Ranked... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo - Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 36 - Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 4th - Total 944,735 km... Labrador (also Coast of Labrador) is a region of Atlantic Canada. ... Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Latin: Glorious and free) BC AB SK MB ON QC NB PE NS NL YT NT NU Capital Winnipeg Largest city Winnipeg Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard - Premier Gary Doer (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 14 - Senate seats 6 Confederation... Motto: Spem reduxit (Hope restored) Capital Fredericton Largest city Saint John Official languages English, French (the only constitutionally bilingual province in the country) Government - Lieutenant-Governor Herménégilde Chiasson - Premier Shawn Graham (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 10 - Senate seats 10 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st... For other uses, see Newfoundland (disambiguation). ... For other geographical names that include Northwest, see Northwest. ... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit(Latin) One defends and the other conquers Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Regional Municipality Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Mayann E. Francis - Premier Rodney MacDonald (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 11 - Senate seats 10 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman - Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 106 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area [1] Ranked... This article is about the Canadian province. ... , Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Official languages French Government - Lieutenant-Governor Pierre Duchesne - Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 75 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area  Ranked 2nd - Total 1,542,056 km² (595... The Parti Québécois (PQ) is a political party that advocates national sovereignty for the Canadian province of Quebec and secession from Canada, as well as social democratic policies and has traditionally had support from the labour movement. ... Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires (Latin: The Strength of Many Peoples) Capital Regina Largest city Saskatoon Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Gordon Barnhart - Premier Lorne Calvert (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 14 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (Split from NWT) (9th (province)) Area  Ranked... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

See also

• Canada Post
• Canadian postal code
• U.S. postal abbreviations
• ISO 3166-2:CA

Canada Post logo Canada Post (French: Postes Canada) is a Canadian postal service operated as an independent crown corporation. ... A Canadian postal code is a string of six characters that forms part of a postal address in Canada. ... The following is a list of abbreviations used by the United States Postal Service. ... ISO 3166-2 codes for Canada describe 10 Provinces and 3 Territories. ...

Notes

A. ^ Commonly though unofficially YK (also used in the second-level country code domain name space yk.ca).

C. ^ Also commonly, but unofficially Alb. in French.

D. ^ LB was commonly but unofficially used for Labrador.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Canadian Addressing Guide", Canada Postal Guide, Canada Post, 2006; accessed July 19, 2006
2. ^ "Addressing", Postal Standards, Canada Post, 2006; accessed July 19, 2006)