Canada Post delivering 13.5 million blank postcards

Watch your mail over the next couple of days for a postcard. It’s not from someone away on vacation wishing you were there. The card, in fact, is not actually meant for you, but for you to write on and send to someone you miss.

In an effort to keep connections between people, Canada Post is starting to deliver some 13.5 million blank postcards on Monday — one to every residential address in the country. They’re meant for you to “offer a simple message of love, appreciation or thanks,” Canada Post says.

If you’re one of the people whose communication is typically done by social media these days, a friendly reminder that an email address or twitter name written on the card won’t get it to the intended recipient’s physical address. But once you’ve got the address and have written a note or drawn a splendid caricature of yourself, just drop it in a mailbox, no stamp required.

There are six versions of the postcard; each household will receive one randomly selected card with a message such as “Wishing I were there/ Tu me manques” or “Sending smiles/ Je t’embrasse.”

Having seen a boom in card- and letter-writing over Christmas, Canada Post decided to add to its Write Here, Write Now campaign with these postcards.

“Meaningful connection is vital for our emotional health, sense of community and overall well-being,” said Doug Ettinger, president and CEO of Canada Post, in a news release.

Though online shopping has kept mail delivery hopping, Canada Post said the volume hasn’t been high enough to balance the overall drop in letter mail and the extra costs associated with Covid-related safety measures it has had to absorb over the past year.

Spokesperson Sylvie Lapointe told the CBC that she didn’t know the total cost of the postcard campaign, but noted that the infrastructure is already in place to deliver them.