Domestic air mail letter rates were introduced on August 24, 1928.
Semi-Official Rates
From 1924 to 1932 Canada Post Office Department authorized several airline companies to charge a fee in addition to regular postage for service to northern Canadian mining areas. These "semi-official" rates are not included in this post.
"All-Up" Service
Canada Post Office inaugurated "All Up" service on April 1, 1948. Mail franked at the domestic surface letter rate was sent by air mail if the service was available.However, if air mail service was specifically requested (Air Mail etiquette, Air Mail envelope), then payment of the air mail rate was required.
Abolition of air mail rates for letters up to 8 oz.
As of April 1, 1954, the air mail letter rate for letters up to 8 ounces ceased to exist. All letters up to 8 ounces in weight were sent by the most expeditious manner at the surface rate ("All Up"). However, air mail rates for letter weighing more than 8 ounces continued to be in effect after March 31, 1954.
Scope of this Article
Domestic air mail and All-Up letter rates for the first ounce from 1928 to 1954 are shown in this article. Semi-official rates and post-1954 air mail rates for letters weighing over 8 ounces are not considered.
References
The Air Mails of Canada and Newfoundland, Vol. 6, American Air Mail Society, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1997
Smith,R.C. and Wawrukiewicz, A., Canada Domestic and International Postal Rates and Fees 1870-1899, The Press for Philately, Snow Camp, N.C., 2000
Canada Official Postal Guides, 1936 -37, 1944-45, 1947, 1954
The introduction of the 5 cent per ounce domestic air mail rate on August 24, 1928, coincided with special flights conducted by Canadian Transcontinental Airways celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Canadian National Exhibition.
Ottawa to Toronto Special Air Mail Service, August 24, 1928
Victoria to Toronto, December 12, 1929
5 cents domestic air mail letter rate
Calgary to Winnipeg, February 4, 1931
5 cents domestic air mail letter rate
Winnipeg to London, June 29, 1931
5 cents domestic air mail letter rate
Air Mail Service Division
Canada Official Postal Guide, Monthly Supplement, July, 1929
2. July 1, 1931 - March 31, 1943 : War Tax
A War Tax of 1 cent was added to the 1st ounce air mail letter weight on July 1, 1936.
Regina to Toronto, January 11, 1932
6 cents paying 5 cents domestic air mail letter rate + 1 cent War Tax
Calgary to Ottawa, October 7, 1935
6 cents paying 5 cents domestic air mail letter rate + 1 cent War Tax
Vancouver to Montreal, DATE
6 cents paying 5 cents domestic air mail letter rate + 1 cent War Tax
Victoria to Petrolia, February 18, 1938
6 cents paying 5 cents domestic air mail letter rate + 1 cent War Tax
Sault Ste. Marie to Vancouver, February 10, 1939
6 cents paying 5 cents domestic air mail letter rate + 1 cent War Tax
Moncton to Tillsonburg, March 1, 1941
6 cents paying 5 cents domestic air mail letter rate + 1 cent War Tax
Calgary to Temiskaming, January 5, 1943
6 cents paying 5 cents domestic air mail letter rate + 1 cent War Tax
On April 1, 1943, the War Tax on the 1st ounce air mail letter rate was increased from 1 cent to 2 cents. The tax was incorporated into the air mail letter rate on July 1, 1951.
Halifax (Blackout cancel) to Montreal, May 11, 1944
7 cents paying 5 cents domestic air mail letter rate + 2 cents War Tax
7 cents paying 5 cents domestic air mail letter rate + 2 cents War Tax
7 cents paying 5 cents domestic air mail letter rate + 2 cents War Tax
Winnipeg to Toronto, DATE. 1950
7 cents paying 5 cents domestic air mail letter rate + 2 cents War Tax
4. July 1, 1951 - March 30, 1954 : 7 cents rate (War Tax incorporated into rate)
The effective rate was unchanged but the 2 cents War Tax became incorporated into the air mail postage rate.
R.C.A.F. Station Summerside, P.E.I., to Toronto, July 28, 1953
7 cents domestic air mail letter rate
Toronto to Winnipeg, March 23, 19547 cents domestic air mail letter rate
"All-Up" Service
Starting April 1, 1948, Canada Post Office Department sent domestic mail posted at surface letter rates by air mail if the service was available.
First day of "All Up" service souvenir cover
Halifax to West Vancouver, July 1, 1948
If air mail service was specifically requested (Air Mail etiquette, Air Mail envelope), then payment of the air mail rate was required. Insufficiently prepaid letters requesting air mail service was taxed.
The above cover from Saint John, N.B., to Toronto, March 12, 1954, required the prepayment of 7 cents, the air mail letter rate because air mail service was clearly requested. The postage due was 6 cents, double the 3 cents deficiency. It is interesting to note that the same cover posted in a non-air mail envelope at the 4 cents "all-up" rate might well have been conveyed to Toronto by air.
Identifying Surface Letters sent by Air
How can a cover franked at the surface letter rate be shown to have received air mail service during the All Up period? The cover below is a good example of a surface letter receiving air mail transport.
The special delivery letter from Barrie to Halifax, mailed December 9, 1949, was prepaid at the 4 cents surface letter rate. The Montreal A.M.F. (Airport Mail Facility) transit handstamp tells us that air mail service was provided for the Montreal to Halifax leg of the conveyance.
Montreal A.M.F., December 9, 1940
April 1, 1954 : The end of domestic air mail rates for letters up to 8 ounces
On April 1, 1954, the air mail letter rate for letters weighing up to 8 ounces ceased to exist. All domestic letters not exceeding 8 ounces and prepaid at the surface letter rate were carried by the most expeditious manner. Air mail envelopes for domestic letters weighing up to 8 ounces thus became obsolete.
Northern Electric Company, St. John's Nfld. (AIR MAIL cancellation), to Hamilton, July 24, 1954
5 cents domestic forward letter rate
I. Whittman, Montreal to Toronto, August 28, 1954
5 cents domestic forward letter rate
Domestic mail exceeding 8 ounces was sent by surface mail unless air mail service was requested. The rate as of April 1, 1954 was 7 cents for the first ounce and 5 cents for each additional ounce.
