'Langford' to become official mailing address for residents instead of 'Victoria'

(CTV News)

People who live in the City of Langford will have their mailing addresses changed to "Langford" instead of "Victoria" starting this summer.

The change will come into effect on June 19, and will impact organizations like Canada Post and ICBC.

Currently, anyone who has a mailing address in Langford has "Victoria" listed as their primary city in the Canada Post database, according to the municipality.

"This standard is the same for most Greater Victoria municipalities," reads the staff report that will be discussed at a special council meeting Monday.

"The municipality provides civic addresses, and Canada Post assigns the municipality and postal code based on their geographic mapping."

Langford says Canada Post will only change this mailing address policy if it is requested by a municipality.

In early 2022, the city requested that Canada Post change its database so that all mail sent to Langford shows the West Shore community as the primary city.

Since then, Canada Post has been working with Langford to make the change happen seamlessly.

"Residents and businesses will receive a letter from Canada Post in the coming days advising them to update their address with utilities, billers, and banking institutions etc.," reads the staff report.

"Residents will also be able to update their address with ICBC when they renew their driver's license."

The municipality says that Victoria will still be considered the secondary city in Canada Post's database for Langford residents, meaning anyone who has "Victoria" listed as their mailing address will still receive their deliveries.

Businesses do not have to make any updates to their legal or corporate documents, but can if they wish to, according to the city.

However, businesses are encouraged to update their websites and Google business listings to say they are located in Langford.

"No mail will be disrupted or lost due to this transition."