Canada Post is misleading
I got this letter in the mail today and noticed something odd about the label. It says “Celebrating 150 Years Service to BC”. I assume this is a Canada post message and I’m a little curious about it.
It’s an attempt to mark the 150th anniversary of the Crown Colony of British Columbia. But who has been serving British Columbia for 150 years. Canada Post? Mail service in general?
According to the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s website the early postal services in British Columbia were provided by the Hudson’s Bay Company, American firms and private firms. So, a piece of mail destined to Victoria being sent from Ottawa would have gone through the United States to San Francisco and then up to the Island on a steamship.
Canada Post’s predecessor wasn’t created until 1867 when the Dominion of Canada was established.
How is it possible that they have been serving British Columbia for 150 years if they were not around then? Furthermore, if there was mail service in this region over 150 years ago, it wasn’t provided by Canada Post or its predecessors.
They are taking credit for something that they shouldn’t and that’s really lame. It goes to show how little companies and individuals in Ontario or Quebec really know about British Columbia.
Depends how the letter was sent. If the Post Office printed that postage mark, then then they’re behind the message.
However, if that letter was sent by a business, then that ‘150 years service’ phrase comes from them.
From whom did the letter come?
Here in the US (and especially on Pitney Bowes postage meters which this appears to be), all the red/orange would have come from the sender when they ran it through the postage machine. Canada Post cancels the postage (the black overprint) only.
Where I work, we use that space to plug some product or service, spew general marketing messages, et cetera.
Perhaps the sender of your letter has been serving BC for 150 years? *shrug* Just a thought.