Clothes for the children, medicine, a Christmas box: this guide is for anyone in Canada sending a parcel to family or friends in Ukraine. In 2026 there are two common ways to do it. Canada Post still accepts letters and parcels for Ukraine and warns that they are delayed. Meest Canada, a Toronto company founded in 1989 to carry parcels between the diaspora and Ukraine, ships by air and by sea to the recipient's door or to a Meest branch. This guide sets out what each carrier says on its own pages, as read on 9 November 2026, so you can choose and plan the timing.
Canada Post: service continues, with delays
Canada Post lists Ukraine under a yellow alert, which it defines as "we will attempt delivery to these communities and regions". The notice for Ukraine, posted on 2 April 2024 and still on the service alerts page in November 2026, says that increased safety protocols and flight restrictions into Ukraine are creating delays, that some items may be delivered well beyond published delivery standards, and that senders should allow for the extra time when they make promises to recipients.
For humanitarian goods sent to Ukrainian citizens, the same notice passes on a recommendation from Ukraine Post: write HUMANITARIAN AID, or ГУМАНІТАРНА ДОПОМОГА, on the package in capital letters.
Meest Canada: by air or by sea
Meest quotes 5 to 10 business days by air and 6 to 8 weeks by sea, counted from the moment a parcel leaves its main facility in Toronto. Parcels sent from Alberta or British Columbia take 5 to 7 business days longer. Delivery goes to the recipient's own address or to a Meest branch in Ukraine, and the company says it is still delivering to residential addresses during the war, with some limits where there is active fighting.
The rates per kilogram, the local delivery fee in Ukraine and any fuel surcharge are on Meest's page and in the calculator on its portal. Prices change, so this guide does not repeat them.
- Weight — a parcel may weigh up to 30 kg by air or by sea. A lighter parcel is accepted, but it is charged as 5 kg.
- Size — no side may be longer than 1.05 m (41 inches), and the price is based on whichever is greater, the actual weight or the dimensional weight (length × width × height in cm, divided by 5,000).
- Food — no more than 10 kg of food in one package.
- Electronics by air — packed and sent as a separate parcel from the rest of the contents.
- Labels — the names and addresses of the sender and the recipient go on two sides of the box.
Insurance and customs
Every Meest parcel is insured for CAD 60 automatically, and up to CAD 800 of extra cover can be added. Meest notes that parcels insured for more than CAD 500 may be opened by its staff or agents in front of the sender, to check the contents against the declared value, and that it does not cover damage to the contents, so fragile items should be shown to the agent for packing.
On customs, Meest's page states that one shipper can send one recipient goods worth up to 150 euros in one dispatch without import duty, and that a parcel above that value is assessed for duty in Ukraine. Customs rules are set by Ukraine and can change; for a valuable parcel, check the State Customs Service of Ukraine before you send it.
Humanitarian aid
Meest keeps a separate page for humanitarian aid, with its own per-kilogram rates for aid packages and a request form for large shipments. Canadian and American charities that send big volumes get special rates by arrangement. An aid package, like an ordinary one, may weigh up to 30 kg.
Since 2022 Meest has carried large aid consignments: CBC reported in March 2022 that the company had switched to moving humanitarian aid at cost, and Meest says that with the BCU Foundation it has sent more than 500,000 kg of aid to Ukraine.
Dropping off a parcel near Ottawa and Carleton Place
Meest works through agents. Its locations page lists them by city, and the entries for eastern Ontario and the Outaouais are Ottawa, Nepean (Ottawa), Gatineau and Kingston. Where there is no agent nearby, you register the parcel on the Meest portal, pay online, print the barcode and either hand the box in at any Canada Post counter or book a home pick-up by Meest's partner Canpar. Meest's own free home pick-up runs only in the Greater Toronto Area and Calgary.
Timing a Christmas parcel
Ukrainian families now celebrate Christmas on 25 December, and some still keep 7 January. Counting back from the carrier's own figures, a sea parcel quoted at 6 to 8 weeks needs to leave Toronto by late October to be sure of a December arrival, while air leaves more room. With Canada Post's warning about delays, the safest plan is to send early and tell the family what to expect.
Meest Canada has supported the festival as a sponsor in 2023, 2024 and 2025 and covered half of the shipping for the children's gifts the community sent to Ukraine in 2023. Its history, services and locations are on its profile in the UAFest Family: Meest Canada. If you arrived from Ukraine after 2022, our guide to help for Ukrainians in Canada covers permits, settlement services and community support near Ottawa.
Sources, read on 9 November 2026: Canada Post, service alerts; Meest Canada, shipping to Ukraine from Canada; State Customs Service of Ukraine.
