On February 15, 1965, buildings across the country, including post offices, raised the new Canadian Flag for the first time. The design was the result of a nation-wide competition (and much public debate) to replace the Canadian Red Ensign that had flown unofficially for about 80 years. Canadians greeted their new flag with affection, and almost 40 years later it remains a popular choice on Canada's Postage Stamps.
![]() Flag is born | ![]() Expo '67 | ![]() 23rd Parl. Conf. | |
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![]() 25th Anniv. | ![]() 30th Anniv. |
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![]() Vancouver Olympic Bid Wins 2010 Games | ![]() 2008 Olympic Games | ![]() Canadian Diplomacy | |
![]() 80 Years Canada Japan Diplomatic Relations | ![]() The Right Honourable Romeo LeBlanc | ||
![]() Canada-Israel 60 years of friendship | ![]() Coronation of Her Majesty The Queen 60th Anniversary | ||
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In a very short-lived existance, only 4 different values appeared featuring this simple, but highly visual, design of the Canadian flag.
All of the stamps came in booklets of 4, with the booklet selling for 50c from vending machines situated in (or outside) post offices.
Although only 4 values were released, there are 9 different easily identifiable varieties.
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Canada's first self-adhesive stamp, featuring the Canadian Flag, appeared in the middle of 1989.
Four additional values appeared in the ensuing 4 years to reflect the increase in postage rates.
All 5 of the stamps came in booklets of 12, with the booklet selling for more than the actual face value.
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First-class rate coils with a simple, engraved Flag design first appeared in 1990. Six different values have appeared in the years following. All of the stamps came in rolls of 100.
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Produced to celebrate Canada Day, July 1, 1979, this colourful sheet of stamp depicts the flags of the (then) 12 Provinces and Territories. Since then, Newfoundland and Labrador, here represented by the Union Jack (lower left), has its own new flag, and in 1999 the new territory of Nunavut was created.
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A 39c 'Flag over Clouds' first-class rate definitive, issued at the end of 1989, was the start of a new series of definitives that are still being issued.
Some 9 different designs have been used to date. Various backgrounds and flag designs were used on these issues. However, with different printers, papers, perforations, sizes of stamps, booklets, etc., many distinguishable varieties exist.
![]() Clouds | ![]() Mountains | ![]() Hills | ![]() Fields |
![]() Building | ![]() Iceberg | ![]() Inukchuk | ![]() Ottawa PO |
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The five 2005 definitive flag stamps feature a Canadian flag blowing in the breeze: 1. Below Shannon Falls, near Squamish (British Columbia); 2.. Over the town of Durrell, South Twillingate Island (Newfoundland); 3. Broadway Bridge over the South Saskatchewan River, Saskatoon (Saskatchewan); 4. Toronto’s Island Ferry and skyline (Ontario); and 5. Mont-Saint-Hilaire (Quebec).
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The five 2006 definitive stamps feature a Canadian flag flying over: 1. Winter scene New Glasgow, (Prince Edward Island); 2. Bridge at Bouctouche, (New Brunswick); 3. Wind turbines Pincer Creek, (Alberta); 4. Bastion at Fort Garry, (Manitoba); and 5. Dogsled in the St. Elias mountaiin range (Yukon).
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In November 2006 Canada Post introduced new "non-denominated" stamps (no value shown on the stamp) that will retain its domestic value forever.
These PERMANENT stamps will allow customers to purchase stamps in larger quantities or coils, and use them anytime, knowing they are valued at the current basic domestic Lettermail rate.
These flag stamps feature (left to right) - Ice field and fjord (Nunavut) - Coastline view, Chemainus (British Columbia) - Polar bears, Churchill (Manitoba) - Lighthouse, Bras d'Or lake (Nova Scotia)
- Tuktut Nogait National Park (Northwest Territories)
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In December 2007 Canada Post continued the permanent stamps with a series on Lighthouses of Canada.
These flag/lighthouse stamps feature: (top-left-to-right) - Sambro Island (Nova Scotia) - Point Clark, (Ontario) - Pachena Point (British Columbia)
(bottom left-to-right) - Warren Landing (Manitoba) - Cap-des-Roisers (Quebec)
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In January 2010 Canada Post continued the permanent stamps with a series on Historic Mills.
These flag/Mills stamps feature (left-to-right) - Cornell Mill (Standridge East, QC) - Riordon Grist Mill (Caraquet, QC) - Watson's Mill (Manotic, ON)
- Keremeos Grist Mill (Keremeos, BC) - Old Stone Mill National Historic Site (Delta, ON)
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Jan 17th 2011 - The five permanent domestic stamps in this year’s issue demonstrate both personal and official appearances of the Canadian flag: on a traveller's backpack, a hot air balloon, the Canadarm, and both a Canadian soldier's and a Search and Rescue expert's uniforms.
The stylized "O" (for "O Canada") not only acts as a symbol of our national anthem, it also serves as a means of focusing attention on the flag and its surroundings.
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Jan 16th 2012 - The five permanent domestic stamps in this year’s issue show again show some different appearances of the Canadian flag: a Canadian Coast Guard ship, vintage camper van, Nicolas Gill in Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Pierre Lauders on Canada1 bobsled, young Inuit child waving flag.
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Jan 15th 2013 - The five permanent domestic stamps in this year’s issue showcase images from the prairies, inland, and the coast; as well as summer, fall and winter:
Muskoka chairs, prairie hay bales, spinniker, living flag, ice fishing hut
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Isssued March 31, 2014 these stamps feature UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada:
Gros Morne National Park (NL), Joggins Fossil Cliffs (NS), Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (AB & BC), Nathanie National Park (NT), Miguasha National Park (PQ)
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Isssued May 16, 2014 these International stamps feature:
The Rideau Canal (ON), Old Town Lunenburg (NS), SGang Gwaay Totams(BC), Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump(AB), Landscape of Grand Pré region (NS)
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Isssued February 15, 2015 the Permanent value stamp features the Flag against a styalized 50 background.
Canada’s first-ever fabric stamp was also issued on on Feb. 15, 2015 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag,
The $5 stamp is printed on a specialized satin rayon fabric, applied to a paper backer using adhesives and silicones. The backer is similar to, but thicker, than that used on most self-adhesive stamps. The design is simple, a large Canadian flag, with the dates 1965-2015 in the lower left corner. The stamp also includes security features which glow when viewed under an ultra-violet light.
The high-value stamp is being issued on a souvenir sheet, and on an uncut press sheet. The press sheet is signed by Joan O’Malley, the person who sewed the first prototype of the Canadian flag.
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Issued July 3, 2015 as part of a multi-year series showcasing UNESCO World Heritage Sites throughout Canada, these 2 international rate stamps feature Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in Alberta and Montana and the first trans-boundary site to be placed on the World Heritage List--Kluane/Wrangell-St.Elias /Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek Parks in Yukon, British Columbia and Alaska.
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Issued July 3, 2015, these 3 USA rate stamps feature images of the open spaces and vast northern wilderness of Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta and Northwest Territories, Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta and Red Bay Basque Whaling Station in Newfoundland and Labrador.
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These UNESCO World Heritage sites were previously issued as U.S. and International rate commemoratives issued May 2014. The new domestic rate stamps were issued on January 11, 2016.
The Landscape of Grand Pré shows how early European settlers adapted to North America, and is a memorial to the Acadian way of life.
The Rideau Canal, operational for more than 180 years, is well known for the eight locks that descend to the Ottawa River below Parliament Hill.
SGang Gwaay is a coastal village that commemorates the art and customs of the Haida.
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a testament to thousands of years of aboriginal hunting skill and knowledge.
Old Town Lunenburg is considered North America’s best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement.
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The newest series of five UNESCO Heritage Sites stamps were issued January 15, 2017 show:-
Mistaken Point (N.L.), at the southeastern tip of Newfoundland, gives us some sense of what life looked like when organisms began to get larger than microbes and complex. Embedded along this gorgeous coastline are groups of the oldest known fossils of ancient soft-bodied life forms, dating back 560 to 580 million years. These strange multi-celled organisms ranged in size from as small as a fingernail to as long as a metre and had no legs or eyes. They are believed to be the planet's first large life forms.
The Historic District of Old Québec (Que.), founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, is still bustling with activity, yet has maintained the integrity of essential historical buildings and spaces over more than four centuries. Fortified with walls, gates and bastions, this is the only colonial city north of Mexico to have preserved its ramparts.
L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site (N.L.), at the tip of Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula, contains timber-framed turf dwellings built by a Norse expedition more than 1,000 years ago. The settlement is the earliest known European presence in North America.
The remaining two stamps bear images of locations that appeared on U.S.-rate stamps issued in 2015:
Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alta.), was declared a World Heritage site for its exceptional fossil specimens of Cretaceous dinosaurs, as well as undisturbed badlands and riverside habitat.
Red Bay Basque Whaling Station (N.L.), on the south coast of Labrador, is the most complete and extensive example of a 16th-century Basque whaling station in North America.
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