Addresses: Translating Canadian addresses

On this page

• Points to consider
• Guidelines for specific elements in an address
  • Courtesy title
  • Job title and administrative unit
  • Organization
  • Building name
  • Street type
  • Compass point
  • Floor or unit number
  • Post office box and station
  • Municipality
  • Province or territory
• Examples of complete addresses
• Additional information

Points to consider

When translating a Canadian address you may need to decide whether to use English or French for the various elements.

Different elements are intended for different readers (the receiver, the mail carrier, the persons sorting the mail, etc.). For that reason, it may be appropriate to put some elements of the address in English and others in French.

Follow the guidelines below to determine which language to use for different elements of the address on a website or in a letter or other document.

Guidelines for specific elements in an address

Different guidelines apply to different elements in an address, some of which may be translated in certain cases. Only those elements are discussed in this article.

For information on drafting all the elements in an address, see the articles Addresses: Addresses in letters or other documents and Addresses: Addresses on envelopes and parcels.

Courtesy title

The courtesy title (Mr., Ms., etc.) can be written in either English or French, depending on the language of the receiver. If you’re unsure of the receiver’s preferences regarding language or courtesy title, you can simply omit the courtesy title, which is an optional element.

Job title and administrative unit

Translate French job titles (gestionnaire, commis) or names of administrative units (direction, division, service) if an official equivalent exists in English.

If there is no official equivalent in English, you can translate the job title or name of the administrative unit as long as the translation:

• is descriptive and easily understandable
• is already commonly used on the Internet or in the media
• is unlikely to cause confusion

Organization

Translate the French name of the organization if an official equivalent exists in English.

If there is no official equivalent in English, the organization name isn’t usually translated. However, there are cases where it can be translated as long as the translation:

• is descriptive and easily understandable
• is already used by the organization, or is commonly used on the Internet or in the media
• is unlikely to cause confusion

The following are examples of organizations for which there is no official equivalent in English. In accordance with the guidelines above, only some of them may be translated.

Names of organizations and their equivalents in English addresses

Organization name in French	Organization name in English
Zoo de Granby	Granby Zoo [unofficial]
Sûreté du Québec	Quebec Provincial Police [unofficial]
Office québécois de la langue française	Office québécois de la langue française [not Quebec French Language Agency]
Boulangerie du coin	Boulangerie du coin [not Corner Bakery]

Building name

The name of a building generally contains two parts: a specific element (which is the official name of the building) and a generic term such as building or centre.

Translate the French building name if an official English equivalent exists.

If there is no official equivalent in English, the building name is usually left in French. In some cases, a translation may be used for generic terms such as tour (Tower), complexe (Complex), centre (Centre), édifice (Building) and immeuble (Building).

Building names and their equivalents in English

French address	English address
Édifice du Sénat du Canada	Senate of Canada Building [official name]
Centre de conférences du gouvernement	Government Conference Centre [official name]
Complexe Desjardins	Complexe Desjardins [unofficial name]
Édifice Marie-Guyart	Marie-Guyart Building [unofficial name]
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière	Les Terrasses de la Chaudière [no official equivalent in English]

Street type

The name of a street or other public thoroughfare also generally contains two parts: a specific element (which is the official name of the thoroughfare) and a generic term indicating the street type (such as street or road).

Canada Post’s recommendation regarding street types in addresses is to translate only the terms rue (Street), avenue (Avenue) and boulevard (Boulevard). But you can also leave the terms for these street types in French if the language in use in the municipality is French or the municipality is officially bilingual.

When translating a street name from French, capitalize it in accordance with English usage, and omit the comma between the building number and the street name:

French street names and their English equivalents

French address	English address
152, rue Champlain	152 Champlain Street
213, boulevard Langelier	213 Langelier Boulevard
1149, avenue Michaud	1149 Michaud Avenue
91, chemin Corbeil	91, chemin Corbeil (not 91 Corbeil Road)

For more information, see the ”Civic address” page in Canada Post’s addressing guidelines (opens in new tab).

Note that the terms rue and avenue aren’t translated when they follow an ordinal number (1^re, 2^e, etc.):

The specific element in a street name is never translated.

More French street names and their English equivalents

French address	English address
rue Principale	Principale Street [not Main Street]
avenue de l’Église	De l’Église Avenue [not Church Avenue]

Compass point

Translate the compass point in a street address only if you have also translated the generic term for the street type.

French street names with compass points and their English equivalents

French address	English address
130, rue Saint-Jude Nord	130 Saint-Jude Street North
245, avenue Laurier Est	245 Laurier Avenue East
89, chemin Côté Ouest	89, chemin Côté Ouest [not 89, chemin Côté West]

Floor or unit number

If you translate the generic term for the street type, then you should also translate the word étage or the term for any unit type mentioned in the address (bureau, appartement, etc.). If you don’t translate the term for the street type, leave the word étage and the term for the unit type in French.

Floor or unit numbers and their English equivalents

French address	English address
350, rue Desmarais, bureau 400	350 Desmarais Street, Suite 400
970, avenue Ducharme, 2e étage	970 Ducharme Avenue, 2nd Floor
25, boulevard Bouchard, appartement 250	25 Bouchard Boulevard, Apt. 250
1220, chemin Lalemant, pièce 100	1220 chemin Lalemant, pièce 100

Post office box and station

The abbreviation C. P. or C.P. (case postale) is translated into English as PO Box.

The word succursale (or its abbreviation succ.) is translated into English as Station (or Stn.).

Post office box and station in French addresses and their English equivalents

French address	English address
C. P. 23000	PO Box 23000
C. P. 1750, succursale C	PO Box 1750, Station C
C. P. 8550, succ. T	PO Box 8550, Stn. T

Note: While case postale (abbreviated as C. P. or C.P.) is the recommended term in Canada, the term boîte postale and its abbreviation B. P. are widely used among Francophones globally and may also be translated as PO Box.

Municipality

Every municipality has an official name, which is translated only if there is an official equivalent in English.

In Canada, only a small number of municipalities have an official name in both English and French: for example, Grand Falls (Grand-Sault) in New Brunswick and Greater Sudbury (Grand Sudbury) in Ontario. You can find the official names for Canadian municipalities in the Canadian Geographical Names Database (opens in new tab) on the Natural Resources Canada website.

Names of French municipalities should retain any accents that are part of the official name in French.

Municipality names and their equivalents in English addresses

French address	English address
Grand-Sault	Grand Falls
Nipissing-Ouest	West Nipissing
Trois-Rivières (in Quebec)	Trois-Rivières [not “Three Rivers,” which isn’t an official name for this Quebec municipality]

For more information, see the article Geographical names: Translation.

Province or territory

All Canadian provinces and territories have an official name in both English and French. On a website or in a letter or other document, the name of the province or territory should therefore always be translated into English.

On an envelope or parcel, however, use the two-letter Canada Post abbreviation, which is the same in both languages.

For detailed information on the official names for provinces and territories, their traditional abbreviations and the two-letter Canada Post abbreviations, see the article Abbreviations: Canadian provinces and territories.

Examples of complete addresses

The format for an address varies depending on whether the address appears on a website, in a letter or other document, or on an envelope or parcel.

The table below gives examples of complete addresses as they would appear on a website or in a letter or other document.

Addresses in a letter or other document, in French and English

Complete address in French	Complete address in English
Marianne Doucet Directrice, Affaires publiques Division des communications Commission des libérations conditionnelles du Canada 410, avenue Laurier Ouest, salle 700B Ottawa (Ontario)  K1A 0R1	Marianne Doucet Director, Public Affairs Communications Division Parole Board of Canada 410 Laurier Avenue West, Room 700B Ottawa, ON  K1A 0R1
Madame Mona Albert Directrice du service à la clientèle Service Nouveau-Brunswick Complexe municipal de Grand-Sault C. P. 5001, succursale Main Grand-Sault (Nouveau-Brunswick)  E3Z 1G1	Ms. Mona Albert Customer Service Director Service New Brunswick Grand Falls Municipal Complex PO Box 5001, Station Main Grand Falls, NB  E3Z 1G1
Monsieur Pedro Lopez Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation 125, rue de l’Hôtel-de-Ville Gatineau (Québec)  J8X 4E9	Mr. Pedro Lopez Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation 125 Hôtel-de-Ville Street Gatineau, QC  J8X 4E9

The table below gives examples of complete addresses as they would appear on an envelope or parcel.

Addresses on envelopes and parcels, in French and English

Complete French address	Complete English address
SACHA GALAND DIRECTEUR RÉGIONAL SERVICES AUX CITOYENS NOUVEAU-BRUNSWICK SERVICE CANADA 633 RUE QUEEN 2E ÉTAGE BUREAU 270 FREDERICTON NB  E3B 1C3	SACHA GALAND AREA DIRECTOR CITIZEN SERVICES NEW BRUNSWICK SERVICE CANADA 633 QUEEN ST 2ND FLOOR SUITE 270 FREDERICTON NB  E3B 1C3
MADAME AMANDA WELLS COMMIS AUX COMPTES CLIENTS ENTREPRISE ABC 1500 RUE BEAUCHEMIN EST ÉTAGE 5 GRANDEVILLE QC  G1Z 2X3	MS AMANDA WELLS ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE CLERK ENTREPRISE ABC 1500 BEAUCHEMIN STREET EAST FLOOR 5 GRANDEVILLE QC  G1Z 2X3
MILA CORTES 1800 3E AVENUE OUEST SAINT-BONIFACE MB  R2H 1Z2	MILA CORTES 1800 3E AVENUE OUEST SAINT-BONIFACE MB  R2H 1Z2

Additional information

• Correspondence and addresses – Guidelines and resources
• Addresses: Addresses in letters or other documents
• Addresses: Addresses on envelopes and parcels
• Geographical names: Translation
• Abbreviations: Canadian provinces and territories

Other resources

• Addressing guidelines (opens in new tab) (Canada Post)
• Canadian Geographical Names Database (opens in new tab) (Natural Resources Canada)