While a full-fledged post office for the hamlet doesn’t seem to be on the near horizon, Langdon residents should soon be able to access community mailboxes to pick up or send their mail and parcels.
According to an emailed statement from Canada Post, the federal agency is still continuing its search for a permanent location to host a post office in the southeast Rocky View County hamlet, which has been without full postal services since January.
“We're continuing our search for a permanent location to host the Langdon Post Office,” stated the email, attributed to Canada Post media relations representative Phil Rogers. “Until the temporary community mailboxes are installed, we ask customers to pick up their mail at the closest post office, located at 106-320 2 Street in Strathmore.
“More information about the community mailboxes and their location will be provided when the boxes are installed in the coming weeks.”
According to Rogers, Langdonites who have questions about their postal services can contact Canada Post's Customer Service team online at canadapost.ca/support or by telephone at 1-866-607-6301 (TTY: 1-800-267-2797).
Langdon’s previous post office was located at 119-355 Centre Street. The facility closed in January after the lease ended between Canada Post and the facility’s landlord.
In addition, the hamlet’s previous postmaster, Tracey Cowan, had departed the position months before that, and no successor was willing to take on the role.
For most of 2023, Langdonites have had to travel to either Chestermere or Strathmore to access a post office, and many residents have expressed frustration about the situation on a community Facebook page.
Hamlet resident Janet Cameron said it is absurd for a community of Langdon’s population – approximately 6,000, and set to increase considerably in the coming years – to not have its own post office.
“It’s ridiculous to expect people to have to travel 25 minutes to Strathmore to mail a parcel, pick up a parcel or return a parcel,” Cameron said. “We’ve got people who are senior citizens having to now go to Strathmore. We’ve got small communities like Beiseker and places that are smaller than Langdon that have full-fledged post offices. Why isn’t Canada Post putting anything in?”
Cameron said she’d heard a new post office was in the works for the Langdon Fieldhouse, but the facility ultimately did not satisfy Rocky View County’s criteria, so had to be kiboshed.
Rather than Rocky View County however, she places the blame for the loss of Langdon’s post office on Canada Post.
“They’re trying to contract it out to save money, and nobody is going to take that contract because it’s a joke,” she said. “You have to pay for renovations to the building, you have to pay if your windows get smashed out. You’re responsible for everything, and your rent included [means] you’re not making enough money to cover that.”
Langdon’s representative on Rocky View County council, Al Schule, echoed some of Cameron’s sentiments when reached for comment last week.
The long-time Langdonite and council representative said he’d heard Sept. 11 was the date the new community mail boxes will be installed off Centre Street.
“It doesn’t look like they’re doing a post office at all,” Schule said. “That’s ridiculous. I drive through all these smaller communities and there are post offices all over. We’re going to a population above 6,000, expanding like crazy, and they’re not even looking at us. It’s unbelievable.”
