Delayed in Dieppe: why your Newfoundland-bound mail appears stuck in New Brunswick

Q: Has your mail ever appeared delayed in Dieppe? “It’s been stuck in Dieppe for upwards of three or four days for sure. It’s happened when I ordered from Gym Shark. When they still had dispatchers from the United Kingdom instead of Canada, but now they have a thing in Canada. So, it doesn’t happen anymore, but before it used to happen all the time.” Tiffany Small, St. John’s resident - Juanita Mercer

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Parcel purgatory.

The Bermuda Triangle of Canada Post shipping.

Q: What goes through your mind when tracking says your package is in Dieppe? “That it’s probably going to take another week or so to get to my house. I’ve just accepted the fact that it’ll be stuck for a few days.” Kelsie Dillon, St. John’s resident

A black hole.

Dieppe, N.B., has been called all of these things and more by people in Newfoundland and Labrador.

That’s because the city of roughly 25,000 is home to a processing facility that is the entry point for all Canada Post parcels destined for this province. People tracking their mail might notice their packages appear to spend more time in Dieppe than anywhere else.

Social media posts complaining about mail seemingly stuck in Dieppe date back at least a decade and continue today.

A search for the word "Dieppe" on Twitter brings up a post as recent as last month, with a Twitter user tweeting “Nooooooooo!” with a screenshot of the parcel tracking indicating mail is in Dieppe.

One Twitter user took a more positive spin.

“Dieppe NB must be a happening place, judging by the time most of my Canada Post packages end up hanging out there!” reads a tweet from 2012.

People who do a lot of online shopping seem to notice the issue most.

When The Telegram spoke with people around St. John’s, roughly half said they’ve never encountered the problem, but those people said they didn’t do much online shopping.

Others laughed and nodded knowingly when asked if they’ve ever felt their deals are doomed in Dieppe.

Q: Has your mail ever appeared delayed in Dieppe? “It’s happened to me multiple times with video games, hockey sticks, anything. Three months, I think, was my longest time. It just got lost in Dieppe. Once you see it go in Dieppe, it’s like, you’re not getting this for a while.” Kyle Nolan, St. John’s resident

Blame the weather

The reason for the sometimes lengthy stopover actually has nothing to do with Canada Post, according to the Crown corporation.

“The parcels are processed and scanned in Dieppe prior to being shipped to their final destination. Delays for parcels that are to be shipped to Newfoundland may occur when ferries out of

Cape Breton are cancelled or delayed due to poor weather,” Canada Post explained in an emailed statement answering The Telegram’s questions.

“When our customers use our online tracking tool to track a parcel destined for Newfoundland, they see the last scan made in Dieppe/Moncton.

“Once the parcel arrives in Newfoundland and Labrador it is scanned again. This would explain why customers may think that parcels are delayed in Dieppe even though they are on their way to their destination.”

Twitter: @juanitamercer_