MONTREAL -- So many Canadians are sending greeting cards to the loved ones they won't see in person over the holidays this year that buying stamps has become saga for some.
"We no longer have booklets, but we did what it takes," said an employee of a Pharmaprix located on Saint-Denis Street in Montreal's Villeray area.
Rolls of permanent stamps were cut instead.
A nearby Jean Coutu pharmacy by the Fabre metro station has also found a creative solution to meet the demand.
"I was asked, 'Do you mind if I give you Hanukkah stamps?'" said Laura Pelletier, a customer who has been sending her Christmas cards at that location for the past few days.
"One stamp or another is the same thing," said Pelletier, who quickly suspected the beginning of a shortage.
Reached by phone, a clerk from a Plateau-Mont-Royal pharmacy suggested for customers to go to the pharmacy cashier for stamps since there is "a long line" at the postal counter.
The scenario appears to be happening elsewhere across the country as well. Postal outlets are seeing "an unprecedented increase in sales of stamps and shipping supplies and services," according to Canada Post.
"Orders have been placed and shipped for restocking and will arrive as soon as possible at postal outlets across the country," said spokesperson Valérie Chartrand.
The Canadian Press asked Canada Post for the number of stamps sold in recent weeks compared to the same period last year, but the company didn't respond to the request in time for publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2020.
