Document Record

Title

Post Office Inspector's Office, Canada West
Bureau de l'inspecteur du service postal, Canada-Ouest

Identifier

lac_mikan_133458
RG 3 D 2
Government
Law and justice
oocihm.lac_mikan_133458

Document source

Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada

Language

English

Description

Mail delivery within Canada first started in 1693 when the Portuguese born Pedro da Silva was paid to deliver mail between Quebec City and Montreal. Official postal services began in 1775 and was under the control of the British Government up to 1851. It was not until 1867 when the newly formed Dominion of Canada created the Post Office Department as a federal government department headed by a Cabinet minister, the Postmaster General of Canada. The Act took effect in April 1868, providing uniform postal service throughout the new country. In October 1908, the first free rural mail delivery service was instituted in Canada. The Post Office Department was also an early pioneer of airmail delivery with the first airmail flight taking place in June 1918, carrying mail from Montreal to Toronto. The Post Office Department was rebranded as "Canada Post" in the late 1960s, even though it had not yet been separated from the government. In October 1981, the Canada Post Corporation Act came into force, abolishing the Post Office Department and creating the present day Crown corporation which provides post service, the Canada Post Corporation.
The Post Office Inspector's Office, Canada West, was responsible for the observance of postal laws and regulations, the establishment of new offices and routes, the regulation of existing routes, the investigation of robberies and abstractions, enquiries into complaints and misconduct, making regular personal visits to each post office and generally overseeing the performance of mail service. By 1861, each Divisional Inspector was responsible for the between 200 to 400 post offices within his district. Initially, there were only two divisions, Canada East and Canada West.
This collection consists of registry files.

URL

https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_mikan_133458