Canada Day
July 1st is Canada Day, our national holiday marking the establishment of Canada as a self-governing country, on July 1, 1867. It is a federal holiday, the most important patriotic day of the year. Prior to 1982, it was called Dominion Day. Commemoratives Special commemorative stamps have been issued in some years to celebrate Canada Day. During the reign of George V, two different stamps were issued to celebrate the Anniversary of Confederation. In 1917, one stamp was put out for the 50th Anniversary; the same image in a different colour was issued for the 60th Anniversary in 1927.
- #135 – Fathers of Confederation at the Charlottetown Conference (a painting by Robert Harris). This 3˘ brown, issued in 1917, cut 7 men off the right side of the original painting. At the top corners are the years 1867 and 1917, with “Canada Postage” and “Three Cents” above the picture.
- #142 – Same painting issued in 1927, a 2˘ green this time, restored the 7 men on the right. This one has the years 1867 and 1927 in the top corners, with “Confederation” and "Canada" in an arc above the painting.
The set of stamps marking the 60th Anniversary in 1927 all had “Confederation” and "Canada" in an arc at the top, and included:
#141 - 1˘ stamp of Sir John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada#142 - 2˘ Fathers of Confederation, (above)#143 - 3˘ Parliament Buildings, with the years 1867 and 1927 in the top corners#144 - 5˘ of Sir Wilfred Laurier, the first French-Canadian prime Minister, from 1896-1911. This stamp is badly centered.#145 - A blue 12˘ Map of Canada shows all of Canada in medium blue, with the original four provinces shown in dark blue. The dark blue area has the year 1867, while the larger area has the year 1927.In 1965, Canada adopted the Maple Leaf flag, and its image was the Canada Day stamp that year. For 1967, a flag stamp with the Centennial logo was put out in January, and one for Queen Elizabeth’s visit was issued for July 1st.
- #439 is the stamp issued for July 1st in 1965 when Canada’s official flag was adopted
- #453 was issued at the beginning of Canada’s Centennial Year, showing the Centennial logo, the world with Canada highlighted and the years 1867-1967
- #471 – Queen Elizabeth II, with the Centennial symbol
After that, there was a hiatus on special Dominion Day stamps until 1981. (The name was changed to Canada Day in 1982.) Since then, it has been pretty well an annual event. The topics include paintings, pictures of forts, inventors and inventions, scenery and the Maple Leaf flag. The following four maps show Canada's development from 1867 to 1949. This se-tenant set was issued for Canada Day 1981.
- #890 - Canada at Confederation in 1867, showing the four provinces of the new country: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia & New Brunswick.
- #891 - In 1873 we acquired Rupert’s Land from the Hudson's Bay Company (large purple area) & British Columbia, another colony, agreed to join (light blue area).
- #892 - In 1905 Alberta & Saskatchewan became provinces, with Manitoba still a small area, and Ontario & Quebec not quite up to the final size of today.
- #893 - 1949 Newfoundland joins Confederation, and all 10provinces and 2 territories appear as on today's maps.
As samples of the paintings done for Canada Day:
- #964 - Alberta grain elevator 30˘, from a mini sheet of 12 se-tenant #955-66 paintings in 1982 , 1 for each province & territory
- #1020 – Manitoba grain field 32˘, from a mini sheet of 12 paintings (#1016-27) in 1984, Provincial landscapes painted by Jean Paul Lemieux.
Different sizes of stamps were created together in the booklet pane below, the 32˘ forts put out for Canada day in 1983. Each picture illustrates some aspect of the particular place. This was the first time that commemorative stamps were issued in a booklet only.
The pair in the next row are samples of the 32˘ and 34˘ forts.- #984 - Fort William, at the mouth of a river flowing into Lake Superior in Ontario, had a wooden palisade and contained barns, storage for furs, a canoe shed and bunk houses. It was built by The North West Co. as the meeting place for for the Great Rendezvous of trappers from the west & Traders coming up from Montreal in the east. Actors in costume play the parts of those characters, so that it represents the fur trade in 1815. This is a sample of one of the medium sized stamps in the booklet. (The fort has been recreated just outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario - come and see it!)
- #1054 - The 34˘ forts booklet issued in 1985 had a similar layout to the earlier booklet, of 3 different sizes of stamps. This one is Fort Whoop-up in Alberta, also with a wooden palisade, and is a sample of one of the small sized stamps in the booklet.
Invention blueprints, a set of stamps from 1986 at the 34˘ value, depicted significant Canadian technology:
- #1099 - rotary snow plow developed in 1869 & shown mounted on a locomotive
- #1100 - Canadarm from 1986, mounted on the Space Shuttle
- #1101 - anti-gravity flight suit created in 1938, shown used by a pilot of a WWII era prop plane
- #1102 - the variable pitch propeller built in 1923 and used on a bi-plane
Communications innovations with a depiction of the inventor and diagrams of the inventions were issued for Canada Day in 1987 with a set of four 36˘ value.
- #1135 - AM Radio, R.A. Fessenden, in 1900. The amplitude modulation waves are illustrated.
- #1136 - Newsprint Pulp, C. Fenerty, 1838. Fittingly, a rolled-up newspaper is shown.
- #1137 - Half-tone Engraving, G.E. Desbarats and W. Leggo, 1869. An old camera is used on this one, and dots like those used in half-tone photos are shown in the background, grading from small to large size.
- #1138 - America’s first Undersea Telegraph from New Brusnswick to Prince Edward Island, F.N. Gisborne, 1852. The illustration is of a ship with cable suspended from it, with a map in the background.
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- #1316 - This shows a stylized maple leaf in 40˘ face value. It was issued in 1991, and an arc of words across the top of the stamp says “Canada Day" in English and French, with the year. Looks like paint squiggles, doesn't it?
- #1474 - In 1993, a sheet of 12 stamps (#1472-83) of 43˘ face, was issued, showing scenes from Provincial & Territorial Parks, 1 from each province & territory. The one I am using is of Prince Edward Island, showing the reddish soil typical of the island, and a lighthouse.
- #1524b - The 1994 Canada Day issue was the 43˘ Maple Trees, a sheet of 12 different maple trees from across the country. They were numbered 1524 a-l. This one is the Sugar Maple, since Canada is known for maple syrup.
- #1429 – In 1992, the first stamps printed on the diagonal were issued, at 42˘ face (#1420-31). It was a mini sheet of 12 provincial scenes, and this one is of a British Columbia fishing boat.
Flags have been used a few times too, and a maple leaf.
- #1278 - Our flag's 25th Anniversary was celebrated on Canada Day in 1990 as a 39˘ issue, with fireworks in the background.
- #1546 - In 1995 a non-denominated flag came out, which was valued at 43˘, the first class letter rate in 1995. It celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the flag.
- #1607 - This one from 1996 appears to be a quilt making a 45˘ Maple Leaf. It was only issued as a self-adhesive stamp with straight cut edges, in a mini-sheet of 12.
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