Package Stolen From Your Porch? Who Pays in Canada

Your tracking page says “Delivered” and there’s nothing on the step. In Quebec and British Columbia, the seller usually bears that loss. A business that left the package at your door without asking you first is still responsible for getting the order to you. Ontario and Alberta give you the same 30-day refund right for late orders, but their written rules don’t say who pays when a delivered package is stolen. In every province, your first call is to the seller, not the courier.

It happens to a lot of people. In FedEx Express Canada’s October 2024 survey (opens in a new tab), 10% of the 1,517 online Canadians it surveyed said a package had been stolen in the past year, down from 16% the year before, and 29% of those victims said it happened while someone was home.

Who pays when a package is stolen from your porch in Canada?

The seller does in Quebec and British Columbia, unless you agreed to a doorstep drop. Quebec’s consumer protection office says a merchant that leaves parcels at the door must take responsibility if one disappears. BC’s regulator says the business has to deliver the way you agreed, and handing you the package is the default. Ontario’s and Alberta’s rules don’t say who bears a doorstep theft.

In all four provinces, you can cancel a late order once it’s 30 days late, and the seller then has 15 days to refund you. In Ontario and Alberta, that covers only orders over $50. The 30 days run from the delivery date in your order, or from the day you ordered if it gave none. You can ask a seller for a refund the same day your tracking says “Delivered”. The 30 days are when the law lets you insist on one.

Quebec

Éducaloi (opens in a new tab), a non-profit legal information group, says a merchant that leaves a package at your door without asking for a signature is “responsible for any theft, even if they send you a picture to prove the drop-off.” That holds when the merchant hires a delivery company too. The consumer protection office (opens in a new tab) (the OPC) adds that if you think a parcel was stolen, lost or is missing, you have the same options as when delivery is late.

British Columbia

Consumer Protection BC (opens in a new tab) says the business has to deliver “using a method you agreed to”, and that the default is handing the package to you directly. If it plans to drop the package at your door, it has to tell you before you buy. If it didn’t, the regulator says it failed to deliver properly. After 30 days with no package, you can cancel in writing, and the seller has 15 days to refund you.

Ontario, Alberta and the rest of Canada

Ontario’s government (opens in a new tab) says a company has 30 days from the delivery date in your contract to deliver, after which you can cancel, and it has 15 days to return your money. Alberta’s Internet Sales Contract Regulation (opens in a new tab) sets the same 30 days and 15 days, and it requires the seller to state its delivery arrangements, including the place of delivery, before you buy. Neither says who bears the loss when a courier drops a package and someone takes it.

In those provinces, ask the seller to treat the package as undelivered, and go to your card issuer if it won’t. The provincial chargeback right there depends on cancelling before delivery, so a package marked as delivered may fall outside it, though your card’s own dispute rules may still let you contest the charge. Every other province and territory has a consumer office that takes these complaints, so check yours.

What if you asked for the package to be left at the door?

Then the loss can be yours. In Quebec, the OPC says a merchant may not be held responsible if you gave clear instructions, for example by agreeing that your order be left in your mailbox or on your front step. In BC, what counts is whether the business told you about the doorstep drop before you bought. A delivery photo doesn’t change who pays in Quebec. It only shows where the package ended up.

To see what you agreed to, check two places:

• The order confirmation and the checkout page, where the seller should say how it will deliver.
• Any delivery instructions you typed, to the seller or to the courier.

If you can’t remember what you agreed to, Consumer Protection BC suggests going through a mock purchase on the site to see what it says about delivery.

What should you do first when tracking says “Delivered”?

Look before you report it. Canada Post’s checklist (opens in a new tab) starts with the address, then the delivery spot: around the property, where the driver may have left the package or a notice card, and with everyone in your household. In an apartment building, it lists your mailbox, the parcel locker (the key is left in your mailbox), the security desk and the building superintendent. Amazon.ca’s help page (opens in a new tab) adds a wait: in rare cases, a package shows as delivered up to 48 hours before it arrives.

How do you get your money back from the seller?

Work through these in order.

1. Ask the seller for a refund or a replacement, in writing. Say your tracking shows delivery, the package isn’t there, and what delivery method you agreed to. You don’t have to wait for the 30 days to ask.
2. Report the theft to the police. Montreal police (opens in a new tab) say residents can file a theft complaint at their local station, and the Insurance Bureau of Canada says to attach any police report (opens in a new tab) to a home insurance claim.
3. Give the seller your tracking number and ask it to start a courier claim. Only the sender can be paid for one.
4. If the seller still says no, cancel the order in writing once 30 days have passed since the delivery date. In Quebec and BC, it then has 15 days to refund you. Consumer Protection BC has cancellation forms on its site.
5. Ask your card issuer for a chargeback. In Quebec, the request has to go in within 60 days after the seller’s 15-day refund deadline passes, and only credit cards carry that legal right. Elsewhere, you’re relying on the card network’s own dispute rules. The seller can answer a chargeback with its delivery photo, so keep the order confirmation that shows the delivery method. Our chargeback guide covers the deadlines, and what debit cards can’t do.
6. Complain if you’re still stuck. In Quebec, that’s the OPC. In BC, it’s Consumer Protection BC, which also asks to hear from you if your card issuer refuses. Small claims court is the last step.

For step 1, a message like this is enough:

My order [number] shows as delivered on [date], but I didn’t receive it. The package was left at my door and stolen, and I never asked for a doorstep drop. Please refund me or send a replacement. I’m also reporting the theft to the police.

Does Canada Post, or the courier, pay you?

Not you. Canada Post (opens in a new tab) says both senders and receivers can start an inquiry into a missing package, but only the sender can request and receive a claim payment, for the insured value plus postage. It also says a claim on a domestic parcel must start within 90 days of the shipping date, and that the package must not have been delivered, so a parcel its driver marked as delivered may not qualify. As the buyer, your claim runs through the seller.

Will home or tenant insurance cover a stolen package?

Maybe. Coverage varies by policy, so read yours or ask your insurer. The Personal (opens in a new tab), an insurer, says you may have to pay your deductible first, so weigh the package’s value against it.

How do you protect your deliveries before the holiday rush?

A few habits make a theft less likely. The first three come from Montreal police and The Personal:

• Ask for a signature on anything you’d miss.
• Send it where someone will be: your workplace, a neighbour, or a pickup point such as the post office or a smart locker.
• Ask the driver to leave it out of sight if you do take a doorstep drop.
• Choose “leave at the door” only for things you could afford to lose. In Quebec and BC, that choice can be what moves the loss to you.

A small cushion for the weeks a refund takes

A seller has 30 days before you can insist on a refund, and 15 more to pay it. A $200 order can be out of your account for more than six weeks. A small cushion in savings makes that wait easier, and our guide to what Canadians spend on Christmas puts numbers on how much goes out in December.

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This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so quote the government page linked beside your province if a seller disputes it.

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