Letters to Santa stranded by the Canada Post strike? Here’s how to get your kids a reply before the holidays | Canada Voices

With less than a month to go before Christmas, it’s unclear whether the more than one million Canadian children who mail letters to Santa Claus every year through Canada Post will receive a response in time for the holidays because of the postal workers’ strike.

But deck the halls, we’ve got some news.

The Globe and Mail’s North Pole Bureau has partnered with the post office in Santa’s Village to develop a workaround for parents.

Families can visit the Globe’s website and download a response letter from Mr. Claus. For the full experience, parents can print out the letter and put it in an envelope addressed to their child. The letter comes in both PDF and a customizable Word format, so parents can add a name and any other personal touches. (The Word document’s text may appear grey when downloaded, but rest assured it is editable.)

Canada Post has been ferrying letters between children and Kris Kringle for more than 40 years through its beloved Santa letter program. In a typical year, children who mail their Christmas wish list to “Santa Claus, North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada” have received a response from the big man himself, thanks to the work of the national postal service.

But this tradition has been paused because of the strike, which is entering its third week.

Canada Post mediation temporarily suspended as union, employer remain ‘too far apart’ on issues

“We are unable to get mail to and from Santa in the North Pole,” Canada Post spokesperson Phil Legault said in an e-mail. “It is our hope that postal operations can resume as quickly as possible at this critical time for customers. When operations do resume, we will help Santa by delivering a response to every letter sent to him this year.”

However, Mr. Legault would not say how much time workers would need to ensure children receive a response by Christmas.

Usually, Canada Post begins processing letters to Santa as early as mid-November. Prior to the strike, the service noted on its website that letters must be received by Dec. 6 in order to give Mr. Claus time to reply. But even if the strike ends soon, the service will be under stress after weeks of undelivered mail during the busy holiday shopping season.

If your child would like to physically put their letter in the mailbox (and you don’t want to risk getting a second reply from Canada Post if you mail it to Santa’s HOH OHO address), you can send their wish lists to:

The Globe and Mail

North Pole Bureau

351 King St. E., Suite 1600

Toronto, ON

M5A 0N1

We will work with courier elves to ensure it gets to the North Pole.

If the strike ends before Christmas, we would love to publish some of these letters. If you’re open to this, please include a parent’s e-mail address. You can also send a photo of the letter to northpolebureau@globeandmail.com