Abbreviations: Canadian provinces and territories

On this page

• Official abbreviations for names of provinces and territories
  • When to use postal abbreviations
  • When to use traditional abbreviations
  • When to write out the name in full
• Additional information

Official abbreviations for names of provinces and territories

The names of most provinces and territories in Canada have two official abbreviations. One is the two-letter symbol recommended by Canada Post for use in mailing addresses; the other is the traditional abbreviation.

In the table below, the names of Canada’s ten provinces and three territories are listed in alphabetical order, along with their official postal and traditional abbreviations.

Names of Canadian provinces and territories, with their abbreviations

Province or territory	Canada Post symbol	Traditional abbreviation
Alberta	AB	Alta.
British Columbia	BC	B.C.
Manitoba	MB	Man.
New Brunswick	NB	N.B.
Newfoundland and Labrador	NL	N.L.
Northwest Territories	NT	N.W.T.
Nova Scotia	NS	N.S.
Nunavut	NU	---
Ontario	ON	Ont.
Prince Edward Island	PE	P.E.I.
Quebec	QC	Que.
Saskatchewan	SK	Sask.
Yukon	YT	Yk.

Note: No traditional abbreviation for the name Nunavut has been officially established as yet. Until the territory’s toponomy authority has reached a decision, write out the name of the territory in contexts other than addresses.

When to use postal abbreviations

In addresses in letters or other documents or on envelopes and parcels, use the two-letter symbol recommended by Canada Post for the name of the province or territory. These symbols, which are the same in both English and French, allow mail to be sorted more efficiently.

When to use traditional abbreviations

Traditional abbreviations for the names of provinces and territories may be used in forms and tables; on maps, posters or signage; or anywhere where space is restricted.

In text (outside of an address), the traditional abbreviation may be used when the name of a province or territory comes immediately after the name of a city, town, village or geographical feature:

• The movie Snow Cake was partially filmed in Wawa, Ont.
• Mount Robson, B.C., is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.
• Freshwater salmon are native to Kathleen Lake in Kluane National Park, Yk.

Note: It’s not necessary to use the provincial abbreviation after the names of well-known cities such as Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Fredericton. However, since the same name is often shared by several places in Canada and other parts of the English-speaking world (for example: Perth, Windsor, Hamilton), add the appropriate abbreviation after the names of lesser-known cities in cases where doubt could arise.

When to write out the name in full

If the name of the province or territory doesn’t immediately follow the name of a community or geographical feature, it must be written out in full:

• An angler’s paradise, Ontario has more than 250,000 lakes.
• Almost a quarter of the world’s temperate rainforest is found in British Columbia.
• Kluane National Park is located in southwest Yukon.

Additional information

• Addresses: Addresses on envelopes and parcels
• Addresses: Addresses in letters or other documents

Terminological records

• TERMIUM Plus^® record “Nunavut”
• TERMIUM Plus^® record “Newfoundland and Labrador”
• TERMIUM Plus^® record “Yukon”

Other resources

• Geographical names of pan-Canadian significance (opens in new tab)