Canada Post released the topics for 2021 Canadian stamps, with some exciting 100th anniversary celebrations in the mix. The list is a selection of Canadian achievements and multicultural events.
Commemorative 2021 Canadian stamp issues
Big celebrations are in store for stamp collectors, including a new Bluenose stamp.
- the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin.
- five mammals that turn white in winter.
- two legends of Canadian ballet.
- the 100th anniversary of the launch of the legendary schooner Bluenose.
- the three First World War heroes from Winnipeg’s Valour Road.
Reoccurring themes for 2021 Canadian stamps
As expected, Canada Post will highlight several popular themes used in past years.
- spring flower stamps this year will be crab-apples blossoms.
- the Chinese Lunar New Year will feature a multi-stamp look at past issues in the series.
- Black History Month will honour pioneering settlements in Amber Valley, Alberta, and Willow Grove, New Brunswick.
- a stamp honouring the Canada Post Community Foundation, which supports a number of schools, charities, and children’s organizations.
- Eid, Diwali, and Hanukkah stamps.
- and of course, the yearly Christmas stamps which will have an angel and some as yet unannounced, classic Christmas characters.
Lots to look forward to in the new year. I’m eager to see who the designers are as well. I started a small database tracking modern designer and their stamps. If I ever complete it, I’ll share it, but don’t hold your breath. So many stamps to write about, so little time to spare.
What are your picks?
I’m not sure which of Canada’s ballet legends will be honoured but I’m betting it’ll be Rex Harrington and Evelyn Hart. I’m not a major fan of ballet, so I’m likely off on these, but with Canada’s rich ballet history there are plenty of choices.
The mammals of winter will be fun. My picks are the artic hare, arctic fox, Peary caribou, arctic wolf, and harp seal.
It’s hard to imagine a world without insulin, but the discovery is only 100 years old. Read more on it here 100 Years of Insulin: Accelerating Canadian Discoveries to Defeat Diabetes. Previous stamps highlighting insulin included the 50th anniversary issue 1971, 1990 physician’s series, and 1999 millennium issue.
And the beloved Bluenose!
1929 Bluenose stamp from my collection
The Bluenose has appeared on 4 Canadian stamps, 1929, 1982, 1988 and 1998. The classic 1929 issue appeared on the 82 and 98 stamps. It’s hard to beat the iconic 1929 issue for power and grace. Of all the new releases, this one creates the greatest interest. I’d love to see a photo of the Bluenose incorporated into the design this time around.
The Valour Road stamps will honour 3 WW1 Canadian soldiers who lived on the same street in Winnipeg. Corporal Leo Clarke, Sergeant-Major Frederick William Hall, and Lieutenant Robert Shankland each won the Victoria Cross, prompting Pine Street to be renamed Valour Road in 1925.
Cancels
I’m trying to find good clean cancels for each stamp. Canada Post doesn’t do a good job at promoting them, so it’ll take a while to get them. They should take lessons from other post offices in promoting postmarks.
UPDATED Feb. 15, 2021
Canada Post released the next two issues in the 2021 series. Feb. 15 saw 5 stamps in the Snow Mammals releases. My original guess was artic hare, arctic fox, Peary caribou, arctic wolf, and harp seal. I got three out of the five correct.
The annual spring flower stamps will be released Mar 1, with pre-ordering available now. This year features two crab apple blossoms.
I’ve rearranged this article to align it with the basic design format for other 2021 country releases. When I originally set the page up, I wasn’t planning to chase down so many country issues. The 2021 Countries Stamps project is both fun and challenging and I hope you are enjoying.
January
Lunar New Year Cycle
12 stamps, booklets, uncut press sheets, souvenir sheet, framed pane.
Completion of current Lunar New Year series that started in 2009. Each design is based on a previously released stamp.
Designer: Paprika Design
Previously designed stamps included 2018 QEII, and 2017 Formula 1 Drivers.
Release date: January 15, 2021
Black History Month
Celebrating two communities settled by Black Americans in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Amber Valley, Alberta & Willow Grove, NB. Amber Valley was founded around 1910. Willow Grove was founded in 1817 by a group of Black refugees from the War of 1812 (most formerly enslaved in the United States).
2 stamps in this series, booklets, souvenir sheets, FDC, cancels
The residents of Willow Grove and Amber Valley faced the challenges of poor farming land and harsh weather conditions. They also faced continued prejudice and discrimination, including from local and federal governments. Despite the hostility of their environments, these communities grew, and their descendants have enriched Canadian society and culture. Black History Month | Canada Post
Designer: Lime Design
Previously designed includes 2018 Canadian Illustrators, 2012 Guardian of English Bay Joe Fortes, 2011 Black History Month featuring Fergie Jenkins,
Release date: January 22, 2021
Read more about Amber Valley here:
Canada Post’s 2021 Black History month issues – Amber Valley
Read more about Willow Grove here:
February
Snow Mammals
5 stamps, souvenir sheet, booklets of 10, FDC, cancel
- ermine
- snowshoe hare
- Arctic fox
- Peary caribou
- northern collared lemming.
POSTMARK PLACE: Snow Lake MB
Each stamp has animal tracks printed in florescent ink. You need an ultraviolet light to see them.
Designer: Adrian Horvath
Previous designs by Horvath include 2019 Endangered turtles, co-designing the 2017 Star Trek and Birds of Canada series.
Release date: February 16, 2021
March
Crab apple Blossoms
Part of the Yearly Flowers series
2 stamps, souvenir sheet, coils, strips of 4
Canadian crab apple cultivars – the pink Malus ‘Rosseau’ bred by Isabella Preston in 1928 and the white dwarf Malus ‘Maybride’ bred by Preston’s successors, Daniel Foster Cameron and Dexter Reid Sampson, in 1973.
Canada Post
Designer: Sputnik Design Partners Inc.
Previous designs include 2016 Hydrangeas and 2012 150th Anniversary of the Military in Canada,
Release date: March 1, 2021
Concordia University of Edmonton, 100th Anniversary
Commemorative Cover
1 cover
Release date: March 7, 2021
April
JUNO Awards 50th Anniversary
1 stamp, booklet of 5
Illustrator: Amanda Arlotta|
Designer: Paprika
Release date:April 8, 2021
100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin
1 stamp, booklet of 10
Designer: Subplot Design Inc.
Release date: April 15, 2021
Eid-al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha
1 stamp, booklet of 10
Designer: Lionel Gadoury, Andrew Conlon, Brad Pyne, Context Creative
Release date: April 22, 2021
Legends of Canadian Ballet – Karen Kain & Fernand Nault
2 stamps, 2 mini sheets of 6, 2 booklets of 6, 2 FDCs, cancel
Designer: Stéphane Huot
Photos: Karen Kain – Andrew Oxenham | Fernand Nault – Bibliothèque de la danse Vincent-Warren; courtesy of the Fernand Nault estate
Release date: April 29, 2021
June
Right Honourable John Turner (1929-2020)
1 stamp, booklet of 10,
John Turner was the 17th Prime Minister of Canada.
Designer: Paprika
Release date: June 7, 2021
12e Régiment blindé du Canada
1 pre- stamped commemorative envelope, cancel
POSTMARK PLACE: Trois-Rivières
12e Régiment blindé du Canada – Canada.ca
Release date: June 12, 2021
Bluenose, 100th Anniversary
2 stamps, FDC, cancel, booklet of 5, souvenir sheet, uncut sheet of 12, framed uncut sheet of 12
Designers: Dennis Page and Oliver Hill
Release date: June 29, 2021
July
Stan Rogers (1949 – 1983)
Framed stamp enlargement and Official First Day Cover
1 stamp, booklet of 10, FDC, cancel
Stan Rogers was one of my favourite musicians. Friends and I would sing along to his records when we got together for a pint and a laugh. His songs were memorable and he was one of the greats. He’s still missed by all of us. To this day, I still break out into a smile when I listen to Roger’s sing.
If you get the chance, look up Garnet Rogers, Stan’s equally talented brother. He wrote a book about his life and travels with Stan Night Driver: Travels With my Brother.
“So, here it is folks.
Stories about how Stan and I grew up together, discovered music together, and learned to play in a band and travel together. How the songs got written and recorded. What life was like on the road before there was an independent music scene.
And nearly every stupid, inexplicable and bizarre thing that could happen to a pair of young idiots who were naive enough to think they could play folk music for a living back in the mid- 70’s and early 80’s.
The bar fights and the bike gangs, The police chases and the arrests. And a thousand gigs in every corner of North America. It’s all here. At least most of it…” Press (garnetrogers.com)
LOL, there’s a reason Stan Rogers is a legend in Hamilton. He cast a huge shadow.
You can catch more of Garnet’s music and find links to his book on his website Garnet Rogers — Canadian Singer-Songwriter
Designer: Steven Slipp
The stamp is cancelled in Rogers’ birthplace of Hamilton, Ontario. The cancellation mark is a line drawing of the guitar that was custom built for him in 1977 by renowned luthier and musician William “Grit” Laskin.
Release date: July 21, 2021
September
Community Foundation
1 stamp, booklet of 10, FDC, cancel
Support children and youth in our communities. .10c from every stamp purchase goes to support Canada Post Community Foundation which helps fund local and national non-profits.
Designer: Subplot Design Inc
Artist: Kim Smith
Release date: September 20, 2021
October
Legendary Editorial Cartoonists
5 stamps, 5 cancels, 5 FDCs
- Serge Chapleau – Chapleau created some of the best political cartoons expressing the tensions between Anglo & Quebecois cultures. He drew over 7,000 cartoons, won 8 National Newspaper Awards and is a Member of the Order of Canada (2015).
- Brian Gable – Has won 7 National Newspaper Awards for his editorial cartoons and became a Member of the Order of Canada in 2018. His Canadian flag waving beaver, beer in hand, has become one of the most loved cartoons portraying the average Canadian.
- Terry Mosher – Under the pen name Aislin, Mosher created about 14,000 cartoons. The Russian Bear vs Canadian Beaver hockey stamp, is considered an iconic images of the Canada vs USSR hockey matchups in 1972 (which will be celebrated with a stamp next year). Mosher has also written/contributed to 51 books, including one celebrating Duncan Macpherson. Winner of 2 National Newspaper Awards plus gold National Magazine Award and a member of the Canadian Cartoonist’s Hall of Fame, Mosher was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2003.
- Duncan Macpherson – Macpherson described himself as a “heckler”, which was reflected in his style. 6 time winner of the National Newspaper Awards, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts medal winner, member of the News Hall of Fame (1976) and Order of Canada( 1987), Macpherson’s often biting political editorials stung more than one Federal politician.
- Bruce MacKinnon – Winner of 6 National Newspaper Awards, the 2014 World Press Freedom Award, the 2017 Townsie Award and Member of the Order of Canada (2016). His sharp and poignant editorial cartoons reflect a deep concern for the often forgotten or under threat people of the world. His work reflects a global concern, not just a Canadian one. His Lady Justice, produced after Brett Kavanaugh’s hearings, became a powerful viral image that is as powerful today as it was the day he published it.
Designer: Réjean Myette, using artwork from each of the artists
Myette leads the graphic design group, Fugazi. They have been responsible for 9 stamps, including the 2020 Remembrance Day set featuring Mary Riter Hamilton’s artwork and the now classic 2010 $10 Blue Whale stamp.
Release date: October 8, 2021
Christopher Plummer (1929 – 2021)
1 stamp, booklet of 10
Designer: Steven Slipp
Illustrator: Spooky Pooka
Release date: October 14, 2021
Diwali
1 stamp, booklet of 10, FDC, cancel
Designer Seung Jai Paek layered the Rangoli pattern featured on this stamp with meaning. A lotus flower, symbolic of new beginnings, forms both the outline and inset; a ring of heart-shaped diyas expresses love and gratitude; and the Indian spice box (called a masala dabba) in the centre of the design alludes to the food shared during Diwali. Intricate pattern on new Diwali stamp welcomes good fortune | Canada Post (canadapost-postescanada.ca)
Designer: Seung Jai Paek
Paek co-designed the 2019 Year of the Pig (Pigsy) set with Albert Ng.
Release date: October 19, 2021
The Soldiers of Valour Road
1 stamp, booklet of 10, 3 FDCs, 1 cancel, souvenir sheet, framed souvenir sheet
- Lionel (Leo) Clarke, VC (1892-1916)
- Robert Shankland, VC, DCM (1887-1968)
- Frederick William Hall, VC (1885-1915)
Winnipeg’s Valour Road – VALOUR CANADA
Designer: Soapbox Design
Illustrator: Richard Nalli-Petta
Release date: October 21, 2021
Remembrance Poppy, 100th Anniversary
1 stamp, FDC, cancel, booklet of 10
Designer: Blair Thomson, Believe in
Release date: October 29, 2021
November
Hanukkah (2021)
1 stamp, booklet of 10
Designer: Joseph Gault, Avi Dunkelman
Release date: November 8, 2021
Christmas
Angels
1 stamp, booklet of 10, FDC, cancel
Designer: Stéphane Huot
Illustrator: Luc Melanson
Release date: November 1, 2021
Holiday Portraits
3 stamps, 3 booklets of 12 (Santa) and 6, souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel
Stamp Designers: Larry Burke, Anna Stredulinsky | Burke & Burke
Illustrator: Geneviève Godbout
Release date: November 1, 2021
Buffy Sainte-Marie
1 stamp in booklet of 10, FDC, cancel, framed stamp & FDC
Sainte-Marie has spent her whole life creating, and her artistry, humanitarian efforts, and Indigenous leadership have made her a unique force in the music industry. In 1969, she made one of the world’s first electronic vocal albums; in 1982 she became the only Indigenous person to win an Oscar; she spent five years on Sesame Street where she became the first woman to breastfeed on national television. She’s been blacklisted and silenced. She’s written pop standards sung and recorded by the likes of Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley, Donovan, Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes. She penned “Universal Soldier,” the definitive anti-war anthem of the 20th century. She is an icon who keeps one foot firmly planted on either side of the North American border, in the unsurrendered territories that comprise Canada and the USA.
In 2017’s climate of damaging #fakenews and toxic hubris, Buffy Sainte-Marie’s incisive honesty, clarity, and intelligent compassion stand out in sharp relief.
There’s still work to be done, and that work is Medicine Songs.
BIOGRAPHY – Buffy Sainte-Marie
Designer: Paprika Designs
Stamp photographer: Simon Fowler from album Coincidence and Likely Stories
Booklet cover: courtesy of Ovation Guitars/GEWA Music
Release date: November 19, 2021
Margaret Atwood
ATWOOD stamp ART_100_WG5_02
1 stamp in booklet of 10, FDC, cancel, framed stamp & FDC
[Winner of] Giller Prize, the Man Booker Prize, two Governor General’s Awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Franz Kafka International Literary Prize and the PEN Pinter Award. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres du France, an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and, in 1981, she was named a Companion of the Order of Canada. Margaret Atwood: Permanent<sup>TM</sup> domestic rate stamps – booklet of 10 – Canada Post (canadapost-postescanada.ca)
Designer: Steven Slipp
Release date: November 25, 2021
Today is September 8, 2021, Canada post was to introduce a new postage stamp today. I have seen no publication of this stamp anywhere. Are you able to answer my question?
Well, sometimes they don’t hit their target date. It may be postponed.