The Universal Postal Union has permitted postal authorities to establish restricted Unions and make special agreements among themselves concerning the matters covered by the UPU Convention and Regulations. This provision allowed Canada to set lower letter rates to the United Kingdom and the British Empire/ Commonwealth, the United States, Mexico, France, the North and South American Continents, and Spain.
The chart below lists when reduced letter rates to Mexico, Cuba, West Indies and Central America, South America, France, French Colonies, and Spain were introduced.
The reduced letter rates were the same as the domestic letter rates.
1971 UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL LETTER RATE
The reduced letter rates to Mexico, France, North and South American Continents, and Spain, were abolished on July 1, 1971 and replaced with the 15 cents per ounce "all-up"international letter rate.
Reduced Rate Covers
Shown below are covers showing some of the reduced rates.
Mexico : From January 1, 1905
Toronto to Puerto Mexico, January 16, 1940
3 cents paying the 2 cents letter rate to Mexico + 1 cent War Tax
Toronto to Mexico City, December 24, 1943
4 cents paying the 2 cents letter rate to Mexico + 2 cents War Tax
Cuba : From January 1, 1923
Canada Official Postal Guide, Monthly Supplement, December 1925
[Cover not shown]
West Indies and Central America : From July 1, 1926
Canada Official Postal Guide, Monthly Supplement, July, 1926
London to Petionville, Haiti, August 27, 1951
4 cents letter rate to Haiti (the "Americas")
France : From June 1929
Starting in June, 1929, the letter rate to France was the same as the domestic letter rate.
Canada Official Postal Guide Monthly Supplement June, 1929
Postmasters will please note that, effective immediately, the rate of postage on letters from Canada to France is 2 cents for each ounce or fraction thereof-single postcards two cents each. Other postage rates to France remain unchanged.
Reduced rates to some French colonies were announced in February 1930:
The reduced letter rate to St. Pierre was introduced on July 1, 1926.
To June 30, 1931 : 2 cents each ounce
Winnipeg to Serqueux, France, September 12, 1930
2 cents letter rate to France
July 1, 1931 - March 31, 1943 : 3 cents for the 1st ounce (2 cents letter rate + 1 cent War Tax)
Montreal to Gonesse, November 12, 1932
3 cents paying 2 cents letter rate to France + 1 cent War Tax
Montreal to Rennes,
3 cents paying 2 cents letter rate to France + 1 cent War Tax
Ottawa to Saint-Maur, France, December 15, 1935
3 cents paying 2 cents letter rate to France + 1 cent War Tax
Montreal to Saint Pierre, Saint Pierre et Miquelon, June 30, 1942
3 cents paying 2 cents letter rate to France + 1 cent War Tax
Sherbrooke to Secteur Postal 390 (aux Armées), France, May 9, 1940
3 cents paying 2 cents letter rate to France + 1 cent War Tax
Montreal to Nice (Vichy France), March 20, 1941
3 cents paying 2 cents letter rate to France + 1 cent War Tax
April 1, 1943 - June 30, 1951 : 4 cents for the 1st ounce (2 cents letter rate + 2 cent War Tax)
Montreal to Orleans, February 7, 1945
4 cents paying 2 cents letter rate to France + 2 cents War Tax
Charlottetown to St. Pierre and Miquelon, November 11, 1946
4 cents paying 2 cents letter rate to France + 2 cents War Tax
St. Catharines to Paris, December 2, 1947
4 cents paying 2 cents letter rate to France + 2 cents War Tax
July 1, 1951 - March 31, 1954 : 4 cents for the first ounce (War Tax incorporated into postage rate)
Montreal to Paris, November 30, 1953
4 cents letter rate to France
April 1, 1954 - October 31, 1968 : 5 cents for the first ounce
Ottawa to Houilles, France, December 5, 1966
5 cents letter rate to France
November 1, 1968 - June 30, 1971 : 6 cents for the first ounce
[Not Shown]
South America : From December 25, 1929
The preferred postage rate to South America was introduced on December 25, 1929 and applied to the following countries:
Argentine Republic, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, The Guineas, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
Canada Official Postal Guide, Monthly Supplement, January 1930
Niagara Falls to Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 28, 1939
3 cents paying the 2 cent letter rate to South America + 1 cent War Tax
Montreal to Sao Paulo, Brazil
3 cents paying the 2 cent letter rate to South America + 1 cent War Tax
Montreal to Buenos Aires, Argentina, January 12, 1943
3 cents paying the 2 cent letter rate to South America + 1 cent War Tax
Ottawa to Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 14, 1943
4 cents paying the 2 cent letter rate to South America + 2 cent War Tax
Hamilton to Rio de Janiero, Brazil, January 3, 1947
4 cents paying the 2 cent letter rate to South America + 2 cent War Tax
Brantford to Sao Manuel, Brazil, June 11, 1950
4 cents paying the 2 cent letter rate to South America + 2 cent War Tax
Niagara-on-the-Lake to Guayaquil, Ecuador, February 25, 1954
4 cents letter rate to South America
Ottawa to Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 30, 1954
5 cents letter rate to South America
(Correspondence from Louis St-Laurent, Prime Minister of Canada)
Windsor- Walkerville to Buenos Aires, November 11, 1959
Spain : From March, 1932
Effective March 1, 1932, the letter and postcard rate to Spain and Spanish Colonies was the same as the domestic rates.
Canada Official Postal Guide Monthly Supplement March, 1932
Perth to San Sebastian, Spain, July 15, 1952
4 cents letter rate to Spain
1971 UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL LETTER RATE
The reduced letter rates to Mexico, France, North and South American Continents, and Spain, were abolished on July 1, 1971 and replaced with the 15 cents per ounce "all-up"international letter rate.
