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What Is the Address Format of Canada?

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There are two main types of Canadian addresses: one with unit numbers and one without.

What Is the Address Format of Canada?
Illustration of Canadian Provinces and Territories by Hogweard (Public Domain)

    1. Canadian Addresses Without Unit Numbers

    Let's start off with the easiest one.

    Canadian addresses without unit numbers typically refer to detached homes or buildings with no sub-units (so non-apartments and non-office towers).

    For this type of address, you would write it as follows:

    [Civic No][Street Name]
    [City/Town], [Province/Territory][Postal Code]
    Canada
    Using a dummy address, here's an example:
    101 East 22nd Avenue
    Toronto, ON M1A 2B3
    Canada

    You might have the following questions:

    What does M1A 2B3 refer to?

    In the example above, M1A 2B3 refers to the postal code.

    Canada uses a 6-character alphanumeric postal code format, where one alphabet is followed by one number, followed by another alphabet, and so on.

    Next, what does ON refer to?

    ON in the example above refers to the Province of Ontario. Provinces or territories are usually shortened into two-alphabet characters in Canadian addresses.

    As a country, Canada is split up into 10 provinces and 3 territories.

    Take a look at the list below, and pay attention to each of the two-alphabet abbreviations:

    • The 10 Canadian provinces are Alberta (AB), British Columbia (BC), Manitoba (MB), New Brunswick (NB), Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Nova Scotia (NS), Ontario (ON), Prince Edward Island (PE), Québec (QC), and Saskatchewan (SK).

    • The 3 Canadian territories are Northwest Territories (NT), Nunavut (NU), and Yukon (YT).

    2. Canadian Addresses with Unit Numbers

    Now that you're familiar with the basic format of Canadian addresses, it's time to add unit numbers into the mix.

    There are two ways you can add unit numbers into the existing address format above.

    The first way is by adding the unit number in front of everything else, followed by a hyphen.

    For example:
    303-404 West 55th Avenue
    Vancouver, BC V4C 5D6
    Canada

    The second way is by adding the unit number under the first line of the address.

    For example:
    404 West 55th Avenue
    Unit 303
    Vancouver, BC V4C 5D6
    Canada

    Both of the addresses above locate Unit 303 on 404 West 55th Avenue in Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia (BC).

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