Ontario Construction News staff writer
Canada Post has opened the Albert Jackson Processing Centre in Scarborough, the largest, fastest and greenest parcel sorting facility in the country. The facility will double the company’s processing capacity in the Greater Toronto Area – where most of Canada’s parcels originate.
“The Albert Jackson Processing Centre is much more than a building – it is a generational investment in the future of our country,” said Doug Ettinger, president and CEO of Canada Post. “This facility will drive our network nationwide and help support the Canadian economy for decades to come. It will solidify Canada Post as our country’s ecommerce delivery leader.
The $470-million, zero-carbon structure at 1395 Tapscott Rd. in Scarborough, can process one million packages a day at full capacity, making it Canada’s new ecommerce hub.
“More than ever, Canada needs a strong Canada Post. As Canadians increasingly rely on ecommerce, the ability to effectively deliver goods to every community will be integral to our country’s future,” said Jean-Yves Duclos, minister of public services and procurement, “With the opening of the Albert Jackson Processing Centre, Canada Post will have the capacity it needs to enable future ecommerce growth and the transformation of our retail economy.”
It is named for Albert Jackson, Canada’s first Black letter carrier in Canada.
“This incredible new facility is creating jobs right here in Scarborough and celebrating and honouring the life and legacy of Toronto’s own Albert Jackson,” said Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and MP for Scarborough-Rouge Park. “Albert Jackson’s remarkable story reminds us of the importance of creating workplaces free of systematic racism, harassment and discrimination – and that racism, and anti-Black racism, has no place in our society.”
Project facts:
- The building is 585,000 sq. ft. – roughly the size of six CFL football fields.
- It will be able to sort more than 60,000 packages per hour – 50 per cent more than Canada Post’s Gateway facility in Mississauga, currently the company’s largest parcel plant.
- The facility will be able to process more than one million packages a day at full capacity.
- It will be Canada Post’s first zero-carbon building and the largest industrial project in Canada with the Zero Carbon Building Standard designation.
- The facility is an important part of Canada Post’s plan to increase parcel capacity by more than 50 per cent across its network over the next seven years, to manage demand beyond 2030.