MEEST Canada

About the business

Meest Canada is the Canadian arm of the Meest postal and logistics group.

The company was established in Toronto in 1989, and its founder, Rostyslav Kisil, set out to unite the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada with their homeland by giving people a way to send parcels to support loved ones. Its name comes from the Ukrainian word for bridge.

Today it ships parcels and commercial cargo from Canada to Ukraine, Europe, Asia and Israel. On its own About page the company counts more than 35 years of work, over 500 locations in North America and 250 in Europe, and service to 75 countries in Europe and Asia. The Canadian head office is at 97 Six Point Rd in Toronto, with a second counter in Mississauga.

Parcels to Ukraine travel by air, from $8.45 per kilogram with 5 to 10 business days quoted, or by sea, from $4.45 per kilogram over 6 to 8 weeks. The minimum weight is 5 kg and the maximum is 30 kg. Every parcel carries CAD 60 of insurance, with up to CAD 800 more available. Delivery goes to the recipient's own address or to a Meest branch in Ukraine. Alongside parcels the company sends money transfers to Ukraine, ships cars and commercial cargo, and handles e-commerce fulfilment.

In March 2022 CBC reported that Meest had switched, in the first days of the war, from moving international packages for profit to carrying humanitarian aid at cost, flying 50,000 kg of clothing, food, medical supplies and military gear out of Canada and 280,000 kg out of the United States. The company itself says that together with the BCU Foundation it has sent more than 500,000 kg of aid to Ukraine, and that its Ukrainian office received over 3,500 tons from the USA, Europe and Canada for distribution through charities including Caritas Ukraine and Come Back Alive.

Meest Canada appears on the festival's family list as a sponsor for 2023, 2024 and 2025, credited there with 50% of the shipping for the children's-gifts project. On its own About page Meest writes that it is "one of the main supporters of Ukrainian community events, festivals and concerts".