Is faxing faster than mailing?

Fax vs mail: the actual timelines

A fax is a live telephone call between two endpoints. The machines negotiate using the T.30 protocol, transmit at a typical 14.4 kbps, and the receiving side has the pages the moment the call ends. Start to finish, most documents arrive inside five minutes.

Canada Post quotes two business days for local letters, three within a province and four between provinces, before any weather or volume delays. Even Xpresspost, the faster parcel option, is a next-day or two-day service. Whatever you mail today, nobody reads it today.

When mail or courier is still the right call

Fax wins on speed, but a few situations still demand an envelope.

• Original documents, such as birth certificates, notarised papers or anything with a raised seal, must physically travel.
• Some contracts and court processes require wet ink signatures or original filings rather than transmitted copies.
• Physical items like cheques for institutions that will not accept images, cards or returned documents can only be mailed or couriered.
• A courier such as Purolator or FedEx delivers originals overnight for roughly 15 to 40 dollars, which beats mail when the original must arrive fast.

Sending a fax in minutes, without a machine

You no longer need hardware to get fax speed. On faxtofax.ca's recommended service, FaxToFax.com, you sign up with your email and a one-time code, choose a local or toll-free Canadian number, attach a PDF, JPG or PNG in any browser and send to over 220 countries. CRA forms, insurance claims and medical records that would spend days in the post arrive before your coffee cools, and you can schedule a fax up to 90 days ahead when timing matters.