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Mail your letter to your member of parliament free of postage inside Canada, addressed to the MP by name at the House of Commons in Ottawa or at the constituency office. Include your full name and home address so staff can confirm you are a constituent and route your request to the right office.
Yes, inside Canada. Members of parliament hold a franking privilege: mail addressed to an MP at the House of Commons in Ottawa travels free of postage, with no stamp needed. The privilege covers letters from anywhere in Canada to any MP, not just your own, and it covers mail MPs send back to you as well. It does not cover parcels, and it does not apply to mail sent from outside Canada. Write "House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6" as the address, and leave the stamp off: adding one does no harm, but it is not needed.
| Address choice | When to use it | Address form |
|---|---|---|
| Parliament Hill office | Policy, legislation, federal issues | Name, MP, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 |
| Constituency office | Local casework, help with a federal service | Name, MP, constituency office address in your riding |
The Parliament of Canada website has a "Find your MP" tool: enter your postal code and it returns your MP, their party, and both office addresses. Use that tool rather than guessing from a party list, since riding boundaries change and a neighbouring MP cannot take up your case in the same way. The constituency office address is the better choice for personal casework, like a passport delay, an immigration file, or a benefits problem, because constituency staff handle those files daily. The Ottawa office is the better choice for views on a bill or a policy, since that mail feeds into the MP's parliamentary work.
On the envelope, write the MP's full name followed by "M.P." and the office address. In the salutation, "Dear Mr. Smith:" or "Dear Ms. Smith:" is standard; "Dear Member of Parliament" reads as if you do not know who holds the seat, and staff notice. If the MP is a cabinet minister, the envelope can carry "The Honourable" before the name, but the salutation stays "Dear Minister Smith:" or "Dear Mr. Smith:" either way. Sign with your full name and home address, and add a phone number or email: staff need your address to confirm you live in the riding, and they need a contact to reply.
Keep it to one page. State the issue in the first sentence, give the facts in a short paragraph, and say plainly what you want: support for a bill, help with a federal file, or a meeting. For casework, include file numbers, dates, and copies of relevant letters, never originals. For policy mail, a personal reason beats a copied script: staff can spot form letters at once, and while they count them, a personal letter gets read in full and can shape how the MP talks about the issue. Be civil throughout: abusive mail gets set aside, and the MP never sees it.
Staff log incoming mail by topic and by whether the writer is a constituent. Constituent mail gets priority, and casework letters get assigned to a staff member who contacts the relevant department on your behalf. That is the real power of writing to an MP: their office can ask a department for a status update or a review in a way a private citizen cannot. Expect an acknowledgement within a few weeks, and a fuller reply once the department responds. If the matter is urgent, like a travel document needed within days, call the constituency office as well and say the letter is on its way.
MPs handle federal matters: passports, immigration, federal taxes, Employment Insurance, Old Age Security, and federal law. A provincial matter, like health care delivery or a driver's licence, belongs to your member of the provincial parliament or legislative assembly, and a city matter belongs to your councillor. Writing to the wrong level still gets you a polite redirect, but it costs weeks. Check which level runs the service before you mail, and if you are unsure, the constituency office will tell you honestly and point you to the right office.
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