Keep your writing clear and Canadian. Use these patterns and copy the samples.
1) Canadian spelling — quick rules and pairs
General pattern
- Keep -our: colour, behaviour, neighbour
- Keep -re: centre, theatre
- Use -ize / -ization: organize, recognize, specialize, organization
- Double l when adding endings: travelling, cancelled, modelling
- Licence (noun) vs. license (verb): driver’s licence; to license a business
- Practice (noun) vs. practise (verb): medical practice; to practise law
- Canadian choices: cheque, tire (car), aluminum, program
Copy-ready pairs
- colour / flavour / neighbour / humour
- centre / theatre / metre / litre
- organize / recognize / specialize / realize
- travelling / cancelling / modelling / labelled
- licence (n.) / license (v.)
- practice (n.) / practise (v.)
- cheque (bank) / check (verify)
- tire (car) / tired (adjective)
- aluminum (metal) / aluminium (outside North America)
- program (software or government program) / programme (rare, mainly non-Canadian contexts)
Consistency rule: Pick the Canadian forms and keep them the same across your document.
2) Dates — clear and unambiguous
Plain-English dates (best for letters and emails)
- September 2, 2025
- January 15, 2026
- Write the month in full. Add a comma before the year.
Numeric dates (only when space is tight)
- 2025-09-02 (YYYY-MM-DD)
- Use this ISO-style format if you must use numbers.
Avoid
- 02/09/25 or 09/02/25 (ambiguous in Canada)
Date ranges
- September 2–5, 2025
- September 2 to 5, 2025 (if you prefer words)
3) Times and time zones
12-hour clock (common in everyday writing)
- 9:00 a.m.
- 4:30 p.m.
- 9:00–11:30 a.m.
- Use lower-case a.m./p.m. with periods. Use a colon for minutes.
24-hour clock (very clear in schedules)
- 09:00
- 16:30
- 09:00–11:30
Time zones
- With a time: 4:30 p.m. PT / 7:30 p.m. ET
- Spelled out when no exact time: Pacific Time, Eastern Time
Noon & midnight
- Use noon and midnight (avoid 12:00 a.m./p.m.)
4) Canadian mailing addresses (domestic)
How to line it up
- Name
- Unit-number-hyphen-street-number + street name + street type
- Municipality + space + Province code + two spaces + POSTAL CODE
- (Canada — only for international mail coming to Canada)
Street and postal code
- Use UPPERCASE for the street line (Canada Post prefers uppercase).
- Postal code format: A1A 1A1 (letter-digit-letter space digit-letter-digit).
- Use one space inside the postal code.
- Put two spaces between the province code and the postal code.
Province / territory codes (2 letters) BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PE, NL, NT, NU, YT
Copy-ready examples
Apartment
Alex Chen 10-1234 MAIN ST VANCOUVER BC V6Z 2K1
House
Priya Singh 789 OAK AVE WINNIPEG MB R3C 1A5
PO Box
Jordan Lee PO BOX 456 STN A OTTAWA ON K1A 0B1
International (to Canada)
Maya López 55 KING ST W TORONTO ON M5H 2N2 CANADA
Tips
- Don’t use hyphens in the postal code.
- Put the unit number before the street number with a hyphen (10-1234 MAIN ST).
- Keep municipality, province code, and postal code on one line.
5) Job titles and capitalization
Capitalize when the title comes before the name
- Minister Renée Martin
- Dr. Omar Khan
- Professor Lily Tang
Lowercase when the title comes after the name or stands alone
- Renée Martin, minister of finance
- Omar Khan, family physician
- The deputy minister will attend.
- the Canadian prime minister (generic reference)
Honorifics (formal)
- the Right Honourable [name]
- the Honourable [name]
6) Phone numbers (Canadian format)
Use hyphens; no parentheses around the area code
- 604-555-0134
- 1-800-622-6232
- Add extensions like this: 613-555-0100 ext. 203
7) Email signatures (professional)
What to include (keep it short)
- Name
- Job title, team or program
- Organization
- Phone (with hyphens) | Email
- Street address (use Canadian address rules)
- Optional: website, pronouns
Copy-ready signature (English)
Ava Patel Program Coordinator, Community Services City of Calgary
403-555-0199 | [email protected] 800 MACLEOD TR SE CALGARY AB T2G 2M3
Copy-ready signature (bilingual cue for public sector contexts)
Liam O’Neill | Senior Policy Analyst Analyste principal des politiques | Liam O’Neill Department / Ministère
613-555-0100 | [email protected] 200 KENT ST OTTAWA ON K1A 0A6 Canada / Canada
8) Small style choices that feel Canadian
Numbers
- Use a 0 before a decimal: 0.8 L
- Write thousands with a thin space or comma (follow your house style): 12 500 or 12,500
Abbreviations in text
- Use plain words in sentences: September (not Sep.), approximately (not approx.)
- Use common abbreviations in tables or tight space.
Headings
- Use Title Case in centred headings:
Canadian Winter Parking Rules
Quick checklists
Spelling
- -our, -re, -ize/-ization, double l endings
- licence (n.) / license (v.); practice (n.) / practise (v.)
Dates & times
- Month day, year (September 2, 2025)
- If numeric, use 2025-09-02
- 9:00 a.m. / 16:30; PT/ET with caps
Addresses
- UNIT-STREET (10-1234 MAIN ST)
- CITY PROV␣␣A1A 1A1
- Province code is 2 letters (BC, ON, QC…)
Titles
- Capitalize before names; lowercase after names
Signature
- Name, title, org, phone with hyphens, email, address