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
by catpaw | 7 Jan, 2025
Engineer, inventor and stamp designer Sir Sandford Fleming was born January 7, 1827.
Sir Sandford Fleming, civil engineer (b at Kirkcaldy, Scot 7 Jan 1827; d at Halifax 22 July 1915). He was Canada’s foremost railway surveyor and construction engineer of the 19th century and a distinguished inventor and scientist.
Sir Sandford Fleming | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Sir Sanford Fleming Archives Canada/C-14128
Among his lasting contributions to the world was the creation of standardized time zones.
He suggested a 24-hour clock for the whole world with a central time and every other place changing an hour later or earlier based on 15 degrees of longitude. He wrote a pair of papers on the subject that he presented in 1879, 1881, and 1884, to an ever increasing audience of significance. By 1929, every country in the world had adopted the time zones.
Sandford Fleming Biography – Interesting Engineering
Fleming was also Canada’s first stamp designer. He was behind the creation of the 3 Pence Beaver. Technically it was issued by the Province of Canada in 1851, 16 years before Confederation but it’s considered the first official Canadian stamp.
The first three stamps from Canada, in order, were the beaver, Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. Yes, Canada put a toothy rodent on a stamp before the Queen.
Three Pence Beaver, 1851
Photo of engraver Alfred Jones
Sir Sandford Fleming designed the original 3 pence beaver, in collaboration with Canada’s first postmaster general, the Honourable James Morris and engraver Alfred Jones. The stamp is notable because it was the first postage stamp in the world, to use an animal. Up to that time, the usual images depicted coat of arms, royalty, and heads of state, not tree gnawing rodents. The Right Honourable Rodent, known by his formal name Castor Canadensis or North American beaver, played a crucial part in the development of Canada and is one of the country’s national symbols, which is why Fleming chose the noble beaver.
The new red stamp came in large sheets with no perforation marks. Each stamp would be carefully (hopefully) cut out by post office clerks, which led to some pretty wonky margins around the illustration. A total of 250,000 stamps were released on April 23, 1851. It was reprinted in 1852 and 1853, producing a number of subtle colour variations (from red to deep red, orange red, brown red and vermillion) as well as re-entry errors and a rare cracked plate. It takes a careful eye to distinguish all the variations, Add to that, forgeries abound, which is why a stamp with large, clean margins is so valued. In April 1859 the 3 penny was re-issued using perforations, doing away with the need for scissors. This also led to a cottage industry of people carefully snipping off the perforations to make their 3 penny stamp look like the original, far more valuable imperforates. A clean, broad margin was a good indicator that the stamp hadn’t been altered.
Archives Canada holds an outstanding copy of the original essay proof. The clarity of the scan allows us to see many of the fine details that are lost in the printed stamp. Among the features often blurred out of existence is the happy little sun in the background that is barely visible in the stamps. The fine details in the waterfall are equally obscured by the printing process.
Essay of the Three Pence Beaver
You can read a bit more about Canada’s love of the beaver https://bittergrounds.com/behold-the-terrifying-creature-castor-canadensis-a-very-brief-look-at-the-canadian-beaver-in-design
by catpaw | 5 Jan, 2025
On January 5, 1987, Margaret Laurence, one of Canada’s most beloved writers, died at her home in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada.
“I was an extremely fortunate child. As someone who has always been interested in reading and in writing (which I began to do in about Grade 2 or 3), I always had someone there who encouraged me.”
Margaret Laurence in a 1983 letter.
The author of Canadian classics The Stone Angel (1964), A Jest of God (1966), The Fire-dwellers (1969) and The Diviners (1974), she also found time to inspire a new generation of writers through mentorships and a writers-in-residence program at the University of Toronto in 1974. She was also the recipient of numerous honours and awards throughout her career: Governor-General’s Award for A Jest Of God (1967), Companion of the Order of Canada (1972) and 14 honourary degrees from various Canadian universities.
Through her writing, and lectures, Margaret continued to advocate for “peace, social justice, the equality of women, environmental protection” until the end of her life. (r.f. Biography – Margaret Laurence Home)
Margaret Laurence, 1926-1987
From the Canadian Authors series
Issued by Canada Post in 1996
Designer: Alain Leduc
Her treatment by the narrow minded that screamed for her books to be censored will always be a blot on Canada’s literary tradition. Laurence found herself caught in the middle of a battle by a small, vocal and unrelenting group who wanted her books pulled first from high school curriculum. The Diviners was a staple in senior English classes since the mid to late 60s, but in 1976, objections raised by two men from Laurence’s hometown, dragged her into the battle. Her publisher, Jack McClelland of McClelland & Stewart later described a conversation he had with Laurence about the fight.
She replied that there had been “several very nasty letters in the Globe [and Mail], saying, in effect, that The Diviners is ‘loaded with vulgar language’ and ‘disgusting’ sex scenes. It would be awfully nice if someone could write a few letters simply in support of the merits of the novel itself.” She went on to say: “All phone calls have been supportive, so far. I got one anonymous nasty letter from someone in Peterborough, grouping me with Jacqueline Susann and Xaviera Hollander … it’s a bit odd to have this happening in my own Village. I’d feel worse if it were Neepawa, Man. tho.” (Laurence was born in Neepawa, Manitoba)
The Censorship of Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, 1976-1985 | Digital Collections @ Mac
Jim Telford, a board of education trustee and member of the Pentecostal community, and Rev. Sam Buick deemed Laurence’s books obscene, specifically targeting The Diviners, claiming it “reeked of sordidness”. The fight to keep her novel on the curriculum was taken to the board level and in a vote of 10-6, the district school opted to keep it of the reading list. But the fight was far from over. Rev. Buick was determined to censor Laurence’s books, ensuring high school students were never exposed to ideas he personally didn’t approve. He launched another campaign, this time garnering 4,000 names on a petition demanding a renewed debate over keeping The Diviners in schools. He also mobilised candidates to run for school boards, in an attempt to hijack the process. Fortunately, all three of Buick’s candidates went down in flames when the election rolled around.
Photo of Margaret Laurence, taken 5 months before her death in 1987. Photo by David Laurence)
Not satisfied with fighting the battle in Laurence’s backyard, Buick enlisted the aid of Rev. Ken Campbell of Milton and his ultra religious, evangelical organisation Renaissance Canada. This is an organisation that continues to push for religion to “reclaim the sphere of education”. It’s no small wonder that Margaret Laurence found herself on the receiving end of so much hatred. This was the same group, who invited well known religious extremist Anita Bryant to speak in Toronto and later invited to Peterborough. Their aim was to have “porn stamped out of schools”, although it wasn’t in the schools to start with. Does this sound familiar? Everything old is new again.
Laurence voiced her worries in a letter to McClelland in a 1977 exchange:
… Guess who is coming to Peterborough on April 28? Anita Bryant, with the Rev. Ken Campbell from Milton, Ont. It is believed that part of their revival meeting will have to do with “porn in the schools”…here we go again! When I think of a possible repeat of The Diviners controversy a year or so ago, I could throw up. This time, however, they’ll be touring the country, and it has come to my attention that a good few books apart from mine will come under fire, and already are doing so. In N.S. a group of fanatics at are trying to get Buckler’s The Mountain and The Valley banned! Ye gods, what next? It’s very depressing. So, on this cheery note, I’ll end.
Letter to Jack McClelland, February 23, 1976
2nd page of Margaret Laurence’s letter to Jack McClelland Dated Feb. 1976
Courtesy McMaster Digital Archives.
McClelland, ever the pragmatist answered with an epic smackdown of Bryant and her ilk:
Dear Margaret
That’s some letter! I am glad they ban your book in Peterborough. I am writing to The Examiner today suggesting that they are banned your book in Peterborough. I am writing to The Examiner today suggesting that they are on the right track: that all your books should be banned forthwith: that all your awards should be withdrawn because you are corrupting our children.
The fact is, my dear Margaret, that I was paying you a great compliment. A modest collection like HUNTING TIGERS UNDER GLASS! Do you know how many copies of that modest book sold in the original editions? At a guess 1,823. We could publish ROAD TO THE ISLES (ugh! it is a horrid title) in a simple, unassuming little edition which will sell 3-4,000 copies. No problem. However, because you are Margaret Laurence, if we dress the book up a little physically (the price will neem outrageous today whether we do or whether we don’t) the fact is I believe we can sell at least 10,000 and perhaps many more if we make it look like a book and not like a modest collection of essays. What it is, in fact, is a collection of really outstanding writing. It is very interesting and it will appeal. If we dress the book and make it look like what it is, it will appeal to a market far beyond the academic or the in-group.
And what is wrong with trying to dress a book up a little bit? Alfred Knopf did this for years and I don’t remember anybody complaining about it. All I want to do is make it look like something that somebody wants to own.
Letter to Margaret Laurence, March 10, 1976
Letter from publisher Jack McClelland to Margaret Laurence, March 10, 1976
Courtesy McMaster Digital Archives.
The following year, groups organised and sponsored by the Renaissance succeeded in having three books, including The Diviners, pulled from the Huron district school curricula. Suddenly censorship was more than just a small group screaming into the void. The well organised and rabidly vocal fundamentalist groups sparked a response from the press, The Writers’ Union of Canada, the Canadian Library Association, The Canadian Booksellers Association, and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation to lobby against censorship. The Freedom of Expression Committee was formed which pushed to eventually have the Freedom to Read Week established in 1984. This was the first concerted effort to combat Rev. Campbell’s growing influence.
The fight to remove Margaret Laurence’s books from schools dragged on for nearly a decade, with a second major attempt made, in Peterborough, in 1985. Laurence was better prepared this time and fought back. This was her home town, and she had had enough.
This time Laurence did not remain in the background – she vigorously defended her book. Possibly she and McClelland exchanged thoughts on this latest incident but their correspondence is not extant in archival records at McMaster University Library. McClelland, however, did reflect in his incomplete memoir which is housed in his papers at McMaster : “I am reminded of the agony and disquiet that this deeply caring, deeply moral and dedicated woman suffered as a result of concerted attacks by mindless, self-appointed censors in Lakefield and Peterborough County, who attempted to have her works removed from school and library shelves. It was an outrage. It was an experience that hurt her deeply but one which she fought eloquently with grace and conviction.”
The Censorship of Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, 1976-1985 | Digital Collections @ Mac
The fight took a terrible toll on Laurence. She was, as McClelland described her, “a deeply caring, deeply moral and dedicated” writer who never recovered from the vitriol coming from the “religious” protesters. The book had been read by thousands of Canadian students, and none of us were in the slightest damaged by reading it, unless you consider being inspired to read and write a sin. Her works touched a generation, especially girls, who were introduced to strong women who lived and enjoyed their lives. And no, despite the claims from one Peterborough city councillor, that reading books like The Diviners will lead to an increase in teen pregnancy, not one pregnancy resulted from reading the novel.
The likes of Rev. Campbell, who would find another 15 minutes of fame picketing the Morgentaler clinic in Toronto, and making vulnerable women’s lives a living hell, kept pushing censorship to the point where Diviners is rarely taught in school now.
Within a year of the 1985 censorship bid, Laurence was dead from cancer. The continued war with censorship helped wear her out. She was devastated by the hatred and deliberate misleading descriptions of her books as porn and immoral.
Writer Timothy Findley observed: “no other writer in Canadian history suffered more at the hands of these professional naysayers, book-banners and censors than Laurence.” She had a strong Christian faith and was deeply wounded by the suggestion that she and her novels lacked a strong moral core. She was never able to finish her novel of a small town teacher’s battle with fundamentalist Christians. Instead her epithet, perhaps fittingly so, is her last novel, The Diviners.
The Censorship of Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, 1976-1985 | Digital Collections @ Mac
NOTES:
When the censorship row was going in the 70s and later her death, I was devastated. I followed the fights, and tried to understand what the problem was with her books. By 1978, I had read all her novels and was inspired to seek out other Canadian authors. My choice in reading was directly attributable to the power of Laurence’s prose. She was direct, eloquent, but never flowery in her descriptions. She elevated plain language into wonderous stories. When she died, I was gutted and wondered if any of those challenging her books had bothered reading them. Or did they skip over paragraphs, like naughty school kids bent over the school dictionary, looking for the naughty bits. It’s not a matter of they didn’t want their children to read a certain book, which is fair. They wanted to steal the opportunity from all of us. Not their choice.
I leaned heavily on McMaster University’s excellent digital archives, and especially Sheila Turcon’s well written article The Censorship of Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, 1976-1985. You can find the entire article, plus digitised documents here The Censorship of Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, 1976-1985 | Digital Collections @ Mac.
With deepest thanks to McMaster and the Canadian government for making such a treasure trove of documents freely available to the public.
You can support the fight against censorship here Welcome to Freedom to Read – Freedom to Read. This year the week will take place from February 23 – March 1, 2025.
Do Margaret proud and read a challenged book today.
You can find a list here Challenged Works Archive – Freedom to Read.
by catpaw | 1 Jan, 2025
Since 1920, the brave, the foolhardy and the crazy indulge in a January 1 ritual, the Polar Bear Dip.
The event began in Vancouver and has since spread across Canada, the US, Netherlands, Greenland, New Zealand, UK, South Korea and the Antarctic. The bravest get into swimsuits, break the ice and take a plunge into the freezing waters. Some locations indulge later in the year, but rationally, it takes place on January 1.
New Year’s Day Polar Bear Dips in Canada – 2025
Since I am neither brave nor foolhardy and not quite crazy enough, I’ll stay inside where it’s warm and admire 2 of my favourite polar bear stamps.
Polar Bear
Part of the Old Banknotes 2018 series
Released by Greenland in 2018
Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)
Part of the Canadian Fauna definitives
Designers: Alain Leduc, Steven Slipp
Engraver: Martin Mörck
