Writing Tips has been archived and won’t be updated before it is permanently deleted.
For the most up-to-date content, please consult Writing Tips Plus, which combines content from Writing Tips and The Canadian Style. And don’t forget to update your bookmarks!
There should be no space before a period. There should be one space after a period.
Before the middle of the 20th century, it was a long-standing tradition for typographers to place a wider space between sentences. The extra space created a visual break that helped readers recognize the start of a new sentence. Those typing text on typewriters maintained this norm by putting two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence.
However, the modern convention is to place only one space after a period, whether the period falls within a sentence (at the end of an abbreviation) or at the end of a sentence.
© Public Services and Procurement Canada, 2025
TERMIUM Plus®, the Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank
Writing tools – Writing Tips
A product of the Translation Bureau