LetterAgent
Mail physical letters by just asking your AI assistant.
Home > Guides > Forever stamp to Canada
No, one Forever stamp will not cover it. A Forever stamp pays the domestic one-ounce letter rate, and international postage to Canada costs more than that. A Global Forever stamp is the clean answer for a one-ounce letter to Canada. Two or more Forever stamps also work, as long as the total covers the international rate.
A Forever stamp is a domestic stamp: it always covers one ounce of First-Class domestic mail, no matter what rates do later. A Global Forever stamp is the international version: it covers one ounce to any country in the world, including Canada. They look similar at a glance, so check the design. If you mail to Canada regularly, keeping a small stock of Global Forever stamps is the simplest move: one stamp, one letter, no math.
| Option | Covers | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| One Forever stamp | Domestic one-ounce letter only | US-to-US mail; never international on its own |
| Global Forever stamp | One-ounce letter to any country | The one-stamp answer for a letter to Canada |
| Multiple Forever stamps | Whatever their combined value buys | Using up stamps you already own; total must meet the international rate |
| Regular denomination stamps | Their face value added together | Mixing older stamps with Forever stamps to reach the rate |
One of three things, and none of them are good. The letter can be returned to you for more postage, which costs you the round trip in time. It can be delivered postage-due, which embarrasses your recipient into paying the shortfall. Or in some cases it is simply not delivered at all. The post office does not top up the difference for you: underpaid international mail is one of the most common reasons cross-border letters go missing.
Yes, and this is where people get tripped up. A Global Forever stamp covers one ounce, which is about four pages of standard paper plus the envelope. A two- or three-page letter plus a return envelope inside can push past it. If your letter is thick or has enclosures, weigh it or have the post office weigh it, and add postage to match. The same applies in reverse: a letter from Canada to the US needs Canadian international postage, and US stamps are worthless on it. Postage is always paid to the sending country's postal service.
No. That is the whole point of the name: a Forever stamp is always good for the domestic one-ounce rate, even decades after you bought it. This makes old Forever stamps excellent building blocks for international mail: stick two or three on an envelope to Canada and you are probably covered, though you should verify the current international rate rather than guessing. Global Forever stamps work the same way on the international side: they never expire either.
The mirror image applies. You need Canadian postage at Canada Post's international (US-bound) rate, not US stamps. Canada Post sells stamps denominated for US-bound letter mail, and like the US system, heavier letters cost more. A letter that crosses the border always wears the sending country's postage: the receiving country's post just delivers it under the international postal union's agreements.
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is printed and mailed.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
Need help? Ask your assistant: it can check a job's status any time. If it ever can't handle something: hello@getletteragent.com