Canadian stamp stories

The sight of our nation's flag fluttering on the breeze never fails to fill our hearts with pride. The Canadian flag once again holds sway on these new definitives as Canada Post's popular Flag series continues its virtual tour of our country. On this set of stamps, the flag is shown flying high over scenic locations in: Churchill, Manitoba; Chemainus, British Columbia; Sirmilik National Park, Nunavut; Tuktut Nogait National Park, Northwest Territories; and Bras d'Or Lake, Nova Scotia.

"We're trying to depict as many different parts of the country as possible in this stamp series," explains Liz Wong, Manager of Stamp Design and Production at Canada Post. "The regions featured in this year's stamps represent five very different parts of our country, and demonstrate the wonderful diversity that is found across Canada."

Canada's great diversity is well reflected in these stamps. Churchill's location close to the Arctic Circle draws tourists who come for an opportunity to see polar bears up close, Chemainus is well known for its coastline and old-growth trees, and the lighthouse at Bras d'Or Lake is in an area of cultural significance to the Mi'kmaq people. Sirmilik National Park boasts mountains, ice fields and a fjord, while Tuktut Nogait National Park's tundra, rivers and canyons are home to caribou, wolves and raptors.

Designed by Doreen Colonello of Toronto's Gottschalk+Ash International, each of the new stamps depicts the regions' unique characteristics. Whether it's a glacier in Sirmilik National Park with its white patch of snow set between rugged mountains and cool blue water, or the almost postcard-like image of the lighthouse at Bras d'Or Lake, the stamps depict Canadian nature at its best.

"It's always a challenge to bring out the personality and uniqueness of each location," says Colonello, "and this has to be achieved within a small format because of the size of postage stamps. What's especially fascinating this year is that most of the stamps depict nature in its rawest, most untouched form."

This year, the domestic rate Flag definitives are non-denominated and bear a new icon, the letter "P" within a maple leaf. This icon indicates that the stamp is permanent™ and valid indefinitely for use within Canada. These self-adhesive stamps can also be combined with other stamps to make up the correct postage for oversized letters, parcels or mail destined for anywhere in the world, and are available in booklets of 10 and 30.