PoliPost helps organizations run letter-writing campaigns so people can contact elected representatives about issues they care about. Here is how to understand a letter, check its verification details and reply to the sender.
From campaign to your office
A person takes part in a campaign
An organization sets up a campaign about an issue. A participant provides their contact information and address, which are used to help identify the relevant representative and riding (electoral district).
They prepare and approve a letter
Depending on the campaign, the letter may start from a template or an AI-assisted draft based on campaign talking points. The sender can review and edit the text before approving it. Their consent is recorded with a timestamp.
The approved text is protected
PoliPost records a digital fingerprint of the approved content and checks it before dispatch. The organization can review a letter when moderation is enabled, but cannot rewrite the approved text for sending.
The letter reaches your office
Delivery options depend on the campaign and can include email, printed mail, pen-written mail or a PDF for the sender to print and mail. Use the sender’s contact details in the letter when responding.
What has actually been verified?
Verification varies by letter. Use the note on the letter and its verification link, when present, to see which checks were recorded. A verification result does not confirm the accuracy of the letter’s arguments or claims.
To check a letter
Open “How this letter was verified” in the letter you received. The result appears at the top of this page, with the recipient, recorded verification level and available date. You do not need to sign in, and the lookup does not display the sender’s personal information or letter text.
- Identity and residential address
- The sender’s identity and residential address were confirmed through a government photo-ID check.
- Identity and mailing address checked separately
- A government photo-ID check confirmed the sender’s identity. A separate address check confirmed a real, deliverable mailing address; it does not establish that the person lives there.
- Mailing address checked by PostGrid
- The mailing address was checked as a real, deliverable Canadian address. This check does not verify the sender’s identity or prove residency.
- Mailing address checked by Canada Post
- The mailing address was checked as a real Canadian address through Canada Post. This check does not verify the sender’s identity or prove residency.
- Sender-provided address
- The sender supplied the address. No independent address or identity verification is recorded for this letter.
Photo-ID verification is an additional check used by some campaigns and is provided by Didit. Do not assume it was performed unless it is recorded for the letter.
Questions from office staff
Did AI write this letter?
AI can help prepare a draft using the campaign’s talking points. The sender is asked to review and approve the final text; they do not have to change every word. Some campaigns use a shared letter template. Approval records consent to the text, not that every sentence was written from scratch.
Does an address check prove someone lives in our riding?
An address check can confirm that an address exists, and riding matching helps identify a representative. Neither alone proves who supplied the address or who lives there. Check the verification level for the individual letter and apply your office’s usual process when confirming residency.
Why have we received several similar letters?
People taking part in the same campaign may use shared talking points or the same template. Similar wording can reflect a shared concern. It does not, by itself, establish that letters are duplicates or that their senders have been independently verified.
How should our office reply?
Use the sender’s email or postal address shown in the letter. Before using Reply in your email app, check the recipient: the reply address can be configured to point to the sender or the campaign organization. No PoliPost account is needed to respond directly.
What if there is no verification link?
The verification note is not included with every delivery. Its absence does not, by itself, determine whether a letter is authentic. Review the sender’s details as you normally would, or contact us if you have a question about a letter sent through PoliPost.
A question or concern about a letter?
Contact us about a broken verification link, a delivery problem, suspected misuse or a question about how PoliPost works. Include the date received, your office’s name and the verification reference, if available, so we can locate the relevant record.
Please avoid sending identity documents or unrelated constituent information. For a response to the issue raised in the letter, contact the sender directly.