by catpaw | 22 Feb, 2025
Canadian novelist, broadcaster Morley Callaghan was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on February 22, 1903.
“He was, in a way, a founding father and patron saint of our national literature … The Margaret Atwoods, Timothy Findlays and Alice Munros who succeeded him . . . owe him a debt of gratitude.”
Philip Marchand, Toronto Star’s literary critic
Morley Callaghan
Stamp from the 50th Anniversary of the National Library of Canada series
Issued in 2003 by Canada Post
Designer: Katalin Kovats
Recipient of numerous awards and prizes, Callaghan received the 1951 Governor General’s Award for The Loved and the Lost. Possibly because of his speculations about time and eternity, Canadians have not always been friendly to Callaghan, but in the larger world of literature he remains a classic. Besides many honours and citations, he received the Royal Bank Award and was a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Morley Callaghan | The Canadian Encyclopedia
by catpaw | 15 Feb, 2025
February 15 is Flag Day in Canada.
Today is a special day for Canadians. We are flying the maple leaf from flag poles, balconies and everywhere we can think of plastering it. In an uncharacteristic flash of anger, Canadians have snatched back our beloved symbol from the convoy idiots who tarnished it with their extremist right wing nonsense and are waving it definitely in the face of the blatherings from a village idiot who resides in a white house to the south of us. Canadians are raising the flag in a show of pride in our quiet country and defiance to threats to our independence.
Our strength is in our diversity.
True North, Strong and Free.
50th Anniversary of Canadian flag
Issued by Canada Post 2015
Designers: Kosta Tsetsekas
You can read more about how the flag was picked from over 5,000 designs:
October 22, 1964 new official flag of Canada
by catpaw | 3 Feb, 2025
Shortly before 9pm on a cold February night, a devastating fire swept through Canada’s seat of government.
The Centre Block of Parliament Hill was destroyed on February 3, 1916 in 3 hours, resulting in the death of 7 people and the destruction of the Parliament buildings.
Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings
Issued by Canada’s post office in 1929
Designer: Herman Herbert Schwartz
Engraver: Robert Savage
Centre Block die proof, steel engraving, olive-green
Centre Block, Parliament Buildings before the 1916 fire.
Photographer unknown. Image courtesy Archives Canada.
A late evening session in the House of Common was in progress. Luckily, only 20 MPs were in attendance to listen to an MP drone on about about the need for better modes of transporting fish. A few journalists were roosted in the upper gallery, leaning over the railings, hoping for something newsworthy for the morning edition. At the same time Nova Scotia MP Francis Glass by-passed the session in favour of relaxing in the Common’s Reading room.
The fire started shortly before 9 p.m. Francis Glass, a Nova Scotia MP, was in the Commons Reading Room when he spotted flames. He called for help and a police constable rushed in to douse the blaze with a fire extinguisher. Instead, the spray scattered embers everywhere, kindling newspapers hanging from dowels along the walls.
“The room was a breeding ground for fire,” House of Commons Curator Johanna Mizgala said. “It was lined with freshly varnished wood panelling, with newspapers and magazines everywhere.”
Disaster and Determination: The heroes of the 1916 Parliament Hill fire
Glass rushed to warn his fellow MPs of the danger, bursting into the Commons with shouts of “FIRE”. Speaker Albert Sévigny, leapt to his feet and hurried to his quarters to evacuate his family. MPs and press at first didn’t realise how great the danger was, and took time to gather their belongings before leaving. Soon, they were overwhelmed by the thick, black smoke, until a clear minded MP urged members to form a chain and led them out.
View of the fire in the Centre Block, Parliament Buildings, seen from the West Block. Firefighters used a steam driven pumper connected to the city’s water mains. You can see the steam coming from the pumper.
Photographer unknown. Image courtesy Library and Archives Canada.
As fire fighters rushed to the Hill, Canada’s Prime Minister, Sir Robert Borden and his secretary were caught in the chaos inside. They dropped to their knees and blindly felt their way to safety. Up to that time, it had been a regular work day for the everyone. As news spread of the inferno blazing its way through the building, librarians, pages, clerks and maintenance staff, threw themselves into a frenzy of activity, saving whatever they could lay their hands. It took just half hour for the fire to rip through the Reading Room and race to the far end of the building where the Senate staff were..
Fire fighters desperately trying to douse the flames.
Unknown photographer. Courtesy Library and Archives Canada
Among the important articles saved were the Senate Mace and the Speaker’s Chair, some furniture, personal papers and works of art.
For the fourth time in its life, the full-length portrait of Queen Victoria that now hangs in the Senate of Canada Building was rescued. Because the painting was too bulky to be carried through the Senate doors, the canvas was sliced from its frame. In a remarkable coincidence, the Senate employee who helped rescue the painting, A. H. Todd, was the nephew of Alpheus Todd, the parliamentary official who saved the same portrait decades earlier when a mob torched the Parliament of the United Province of Canada in Montréal.
Disaster and Determination: The heroes of the 1916 Parliament Hill fire
Centre Block fire, Parliament Buildings. Photograph taken at 12:30 a.m., a few minutes before the tower collapsed.
Photographer unknown. Image courtesy Library and Archives Canada
Rescuers and fire fighters fought through the night to stop the fire, but it was hopeless. When the sun rose on February 4, 1916, it was clear not much was left. The only structure left largely intact was the Library of Parliament. The rest was gone.
Library of Parliament was the only major part of Parliament left standing.
Photo taken February 4, 1916 Unknown photographer. Courtesy Library and Archives Canada
Three Parliamentary employees were crushed to death while trying to save their friends and fellow workers. A ventilation tower collapsed and dropped down onto post office employee Randolph Fanning, Alphonse Desjardins, a boiler-room maintenance worker and his nephew also named Alphonse Desjardins, who was a police officer .
Despite Speaker Sévigny’s best efforts, two guests visiting his wife died of smoke inhalation. Unfortunately, instead of heading immediately for safety, they went back to the Sévigny apartment rooms to gather up their furs. The fire moved so quickly they were overcome and died of smoke inhalation before they could be rescued.
MP Bowman Brown Law from Nova Scotia, and assistant House clerk Jean-Baptiste Laplante, were never able to make it out of their upper floor offices. By the time they were alerted, the fire was out of control. They died of heat and smoke inhalation.
What caused the fire? It’s hard to say. Sabotage, careless smoking, bad wiring? Take your pick.
The Parliament Hill fire is one of the enduring mysteries of Canadian history.
It happened in the middle of the First World War, and there were many at the time who believed it had been deliberately set by German saboteurs.
Just weeks before the fire, an unsavoury American businessman told a newspaper editor that Germans were planning an attack on Ottawa’s capital buildings — the U.S. was not yet at war. American justice officials had received the tip, but the message apparently never made it to Canadian authorities.
Still, an official inquiry came up with no firm conclusion on whether it was arson, a careless smoker, or maybe faulty wiring.
Parliament Hill fire mystery still unsolved 100 years later | CBC News
by catpaw | 18 Jan, 2025
Willie O’Ree, the National Hockey League’s first Black player, made his NHL debut on January 18, 1958.
New Brunswick born, O’Ree, the grandchild of escaped slaves, played for the Boston Bruins from 1958 and 1961.
Willie O’Ree
Issued by Canada Post in 2023
Designer: Underline Studio
Illustrator: Mike McQuade
Photographer: Philip Cheung
Following a trailblazing career, O’Ree has continued to inspire generations of Canadians, dedicating his life to promoting diversity and inclusion in hockey. His work encourages young people to follow their dreams despite obstacles or prejudice. In 2018, O’Ree was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame for his work on and off the ice, and the NHL has since created the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award in his honour.
New stamp celebrates hockey pioneer Willie O’Ree | Canada Post
by catpaw | 17 Jan, 2025 | country Stamps, Catpaw's Picks, Stamps
Canada’s 2025 stamp program has arrived. In words only, but I’ll take it. Normally this page is published well before the holidays, but 2025 was very late appearing. At least it is here and this year Canada Post isn’t pulling any punches with some of the content – they have dived deep into Canada’s history, warts and all.
But first, a number of old friends return including Canada Post’s Community Foundation fundraising semi-postal stamp. Funds raised from this go to support children and youth programs across the country. Also making a return are the popular Eid, Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas stamps.
2024’s Community stamp by designer/artist Seung Jai Paek. Seung has designed 2 previous stamps for Canada Post, Diwali 2021 and Year of the Rat 2020
Spring isn’t official until the annual Spring Flower stamp makes its appearance in March. This year, the 19th in the series, will feature peonies. Last year Canada Post treated us to 2 Wildflowers by designer Andrew Perro and artist Alain Massicotte.
Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) and spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata) Released March 1, 2024
Black History Month will focus on the heartbreaking story of Marie Joseph Angélique, a slave in New France who ended her short life tortured and executed by the government. This stamp will start the program and should appear in the next week, just prior to the start of Black History Month in February. This series, along with the fall Truth and Reconciliation set are some of Canada Post’s most powerful stamps. They offer a look into our history, and not just the nice bits that make people happy. Canada’s history is complex and riddled with incredibly dark chapters of inhumanity and kudos to Canada Post for shining a light on it.
Accompanying the Truth set, will be the fourth Celebrating Indigenous Leaders stamps issued to coincide with National Indigenous Peoples Day June 21. This is a true powerhouse series that draws attention to the leaders in the First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities. You can read more about last year’s 3 here.
Indigenous Leaders III Souvenir Sheet 2024
Elisapie | ᐃᓕᓴᐱ (b. Elisapie Isaac, 1977)
Josephine Mandamin – Anishinaabe Elder
Christi Belcourt apihtâwikosisâniskwêw / mânitow sâkahikanihk (b. 1966) – Métis artist, environmentalist and community organiser
Remembrance Day this year will continue with Canada Post’s exploration of Canadian history with a set featuring Canadian war heroes who “broke down barriers to serve their country”. Again, there is a lot to chose from, but it will be worth the wait.
A second set of Canadian Graphic Novelists will appear, possibly in May, like last year’s stamps. The first edition was released in May 2024, featuring Chester Brown – Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography, Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki – This One Summer, Michel Rabagliati – Paul Paul à Québec and Seth – Clyde Fans. Subplot Design Inc designed the first series.
Canada Post will pay tribute to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney who died last February. It might appear mid February, but that’s a guess.
Rounding out the program will be three new topics. The first shines “a light on the dark history of civilian internment in Canada”. This is a much under read part of Canada’s history. Most are now familiar with the WW2 Japanese Interment, but very little is written about the WW1 camps that included Ukrainian Canadians, the homeless, conscientious objectors, political and cultural prisoners, to name some of the targeted groups. WW2 saw Germans, Italians, Japanese, and Jewish refugees imprisoned, at first with NAZI prisoners of war. Once again, we’ll have to wait to see this set.
The second new topic will appear in May, just before Pride month, with a focus on “places and events that set the stage for the evolution of 2SLGBTQIA+ rights” in Canada. .
The last set will make a certain friend happy – fungi! Yes, our friend the fungi will be featured on a pair(?) of stamps. I’m assuming a pair because last year’s spring nature stamps highlighted Endangered Frogs, with two stamps.
The fungus will likely show up mid April. But, with Canada Post, you never know. They are cagey about the details and keep us guessing. In anticipation I’m going to lay out my guesses about release dates and see if I get them right. Oh and expect a stamp or two not on this list. Occasionally we are treated to an unplanned stamp.
January
From Far and Away
4th in series
4 oversized rate stamps, sold in coils and booklets
- Restigouche River in New Brunswick – photographer Guylaine Bégin
- Admiralty Islands, Thousand Islands – photographer Ian Coristine
- Qarlinngua sea arch in Arctic Bay, Nunavut – photogarpher Clare Kines
- Point Prim Lighthouse, PEI – photographer Sander Meurs
Designer: Stéphane Huot
Release date: January 13, 2025
Black History Month – Marie Joseph Angélique
1 stamp, FDC, cancel booklet of 6
note how the front and back of the FDC are part of the map.
Marie Joseph was a Black slave in Montreal. She was accused of arson as a way of escaping, subsequently, imprisoned, tortured for a confession, found guilty and executed.
In that final interrogation, Angélique continued to deny that she had set the fire, and so the judge called in Mathieu Leveille, the “master of the means of torture,” and he applied the boots to Angélique’s legs and began to pound and shatter them with his hammer. Angélique broke under the relentless application of the torturer’s instrument of punishment, and she screamed that it was her who had set the fire, but that she did it all by herself. The judge was satisfied – but not completely, because Angélique still refused to name Claude Thibault as her accomplice.
She did confess her guilt, not that confession would save her. With or without it, he would still be hanged.
The Hanging of Angélique: The untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montreal, by Afua Cooper. (Harper Perennial 2006), Chapter XII, pp. 282-283.
Artist Alexis Eke wrote on her Instagram page about designing the Angélique portrait:
Had the honour of illustrating a stamp for Canada Post, highlighting the story of Marie-Josèphe Angélique. Although we don’t have any photos of Angélique, her story as an enslaved Black woman in Montreal has become a symbol of Black resistance and freedom to many.
I’m so grateful to have contributed to Canada’s history in such a unique way and to see my work on letters, packages and postcards all across Canada ❤️ Thank you @canadapostagram for the incredible opportunity!
Alexis Eke (@alexis.eke) • Instagram photos and videos
No portraits of Angélique exist. Elke based her dynamic illustration on a photograph of Haitian Canadian actor and model Penande Estime, taken by Jorge Camarotti. It captures the defiance and pride of Marie Joseph Angélique.
Artist: Alexis Eke
Eke is an Afro-Caribbean artist artist, based in Toronto. Her work has been used by the AGO, Canada Goose, Penguin Random House, The Walrus and CBC, to name a few of her clients. She writes in her bio:
… she aims to increase the representation of black women in design and offer a space for deep reflection. … Her work reflects her cultural and personal experiences as a woman of Caribbean upbringing with a strong Christian faith, and asks “How are Black women represented in the art world?”
About — Alexis Eke
Designer: Nathalie Cusson of Scooter Design
Release date: January 31. 2025
March
Spring Flower – Peonies
2 stamps, souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel, booklets of 10
Cytherea’ and ‘Marie-Victorin’ are two hybrids created by Canadian-born horticulturists.
The semi-double Cytherea was registered in 1953 by Arthur Percy Saunders, an expert on peony hybridization. He was the son of the first director of Canada’s Central Experimental Farm.
Marie-Victorin was first propagated in 2004 by Lindsay D’Aoust and named after Brother Marie-Victorin (1885-1944), founder of the Montréal Botanical Garden.
The series began in 2007. You can see the entire series here Canada’s Spring Flowers. – 17 years & counting. It’s been updated to 2025.
- 2007 – lilacs
- 2008 – peonies
- 2009 – rhododendrons
- 2010 – African violets
- 2011 – sunflowers
- 2012 – day lilies
- 2013 – magnolias
- 2014 – roses
- 2015 – pansies
- 2016 – hydrangeas
- 2017 – daisies
- 2018 – lotus
- 2019 – gardenias
- 2020 – dahlias
- 2021 – crab apple blossoms
- 2022 – calla lilies
- 2023 – ranunculus
- 2024 – wildflowers
- 2025 – peonies
Photographer: Jeffery Ofori
Designer: Stéphane Huot
Release date: March 3, 2025
Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha – Canadian Prayer Rug
7th in series
1 stamp, booklet of 6, FDC, cancel
EID this year started March 30th and ended March 31.
This stamp is a celebration of multi-faith outreach between Canada’s Indigenous and Muslim communities. The rug was designed by Métis artist Kit Craven and Muslim weaver Noor Iqbal, using knowledge gained from conversations with Indigenous Elders and descendants of early Muslim settlers. It’s a special endeavour was created in 2016 by the Green Room in Edmonton.
The rug’s design depicts Alberta’s diverse landscapes and distinct seasons. At its centre are an archway and a lodgepole pine – a tree that supports teepees and lodges and is reminiscent of the cypress of settler homelands.
Weaved with locally sourced wool, dyes and other materials, the prayer rug reflects the rich cultural and geographical history of the region, bringing together elements that honour the community’s heritage.
More than a work of art, the rug symbolizes unity and multiculturalism within Treaty 6 Territory, which includes Edmonton. It celebrates the deep, enduring connection between Indigenous and Muslim communities, which helped to open the country’s first mosque in Edmonton in 1938.
Prayer rug celebrating ties between Indigenous and Muslim peoples adorns new Eid stamp | Canada Post
Designer: Kristine Do
Illustrations: Kit Craven
Photographer: Maya Visnyei
Do also created the 2024 EID stamps Eid Festival 2024 : Ma`mul Pastries
Release date: March 10, 2025
Right Honourable Brian Mulroney
1 stamp, booklet of 10, FDC, cancel
Conservative party Prime Minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.
Mulroney, who served as prime minister from 1984 to 1993, believed that Canadian democracy “is advanced by the collision of great ideas and the articulation of competing visions of the country.” Having won back-to-back Conservative majorities in the 1984 and 1988 federal elections – a feat that hadn’t been achieved in Canada since the Liberals secured a second term in 1953 – he spent his tenure pursuing a vision and championing ideas that were transformative. Brian Mulroney: booklet of 10 Permanent™ stamps – Canada Post
He died February 29, 2024.
Designer: Paprika
Stamp photographer: Bill McCarthy
Booklet cover photographer: Tony Bock
Release date: March 21, 2025
April
Blue Rodeo
1 stamp, booklets of 6, FDC, cancel
Formed 1984 in Toronto, Blue Rodeo is a legend in Canadian rock history. Still going strong, 41 years later, they have accrued an armload of honours including 12 JUNO Awards, induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame and a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Featured on the stamp:
Mike Boguski, Jimmy Bowskill, Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor – front row, and Colin Cripps, Bazil Donovan and Glenn Milchem in the back row.
About | BlueRodeo.com
This stamp is part of a long, storied series celebrating Canadian music talent such as Robert Charlebois (2009), The Tragically Hip (2013), Beau Dommage (2013), Stan Rogers (2021) and Sarah McLachlan (2024)
Designer: Jim Ryce
Artist: Katy Lemay
Release date: April 4, 2025
Community Foundation Semi-Postal
1 stamp, booklet of 10, prepaid postcard, FDC, cancel
This annual semi-postal raises funds for a variety of community based children’s charities, community programs and schools.
Designer: Paprika
Artist: Anne-Julie Dudemaine
Dudemaine is a Montreal based illustrator, muralist and pattern designer. You can see more of her work here Anne-Julie Dudemaine.
Eeeee! A real bucket list project: I got to illustrate a stamp for Canada Post!
Big thanks to the team at Paprika and to Rachel Huard for the art direction and trust.
The booklet of 10 stamps is part of the 2025 Canada Post Community Foundation edition. For every booklet sold, $1 goes to organizations that support children and youth across the country.
Anne-Julie Dudemaine (@annejulie_dudemaine) • Instagram photos and videos
Release date: April 30, 2025
Fungi
Canada’s Iconic Graphic Novelists
2nd edition
May
2SLGBTQIA+ rights
June
Indigenous Leaders
4rd in series
Released for National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21
September
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
You can read more about this day and see the previous stamps here. I’ll be updating the page when the new set comes out.
Diwali
Remembrance Day
November
Christmas – secular and sacred
Hanukkah
Right Honourable Brian Mulroney TBA
