Canadian Stamps !!  


Canada is one of the largest countries in the world, but it does not have a kajillion people living there. It is made up of 10 provinces and 3 northern territories. Its Capital is Ottawa, in the province of Ontario.

The provinces and their capital cities are:

British Columbia (Victoria)
Alberta (Edmonton)
Saskatchewan (Regina)
Manitoba (Winnipeg)
Ontario (Toronto)
Quebec (Quebec City)
New Brunswick (Fredricton)
Nova Scotia (Halifax)
Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown)
Newfoundland (St. John's)

The northern territories and their capital cities are:

Yukon Territory (Whitehorse)
Northwest Territories (Yellowknife)
Nunavut (Iqaluit)


The first Canadian stamps were made in 1851 . When Canada first began using postage stamps, the money used there was British money. So, stamps cost anywhere from half a penny to twelve pence. Those old Canadian stamps are now quite valuable to have. They did not have perforations (those jagged edges on modern stamps). You had to cut them out of sheets of usually 100 stamps to a sheet. In later years, they began punching holes in the sheets that made it easier to tear the stamps from the sheets. Those holes are called perforations. Stamps with no perforations are called "imperforate".

In those days, some provinces that were not yet part of Canada used their own postage stamps. You might find stamps for British Columbia and Vancouver Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland . Canadian stamps were used in what are now called Ontario and Quebec; or in the central part of Canada, which is now Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta; or also in the northern territories.

All those different kinds of stamps came from what can be called "British North America", because they were still part of Great Britain, and they were in North America. The club that specializes in those stamps, and even the modern stamps of Canada, is the "British North America Philatelic Society", or "BNAPS" .

In 1859, Canada began to use its own money, dollars and cents, and the prices for stamps changed to that new system. Canada became a country of its own in 1867 and only Newfoundland still was separate and used its own stamps. In 1949, Newfoundland joined the rest of Canada and began using Canadian stamps. Whewwww!! Just a little complicated !!

Canadian stamps often have a picture of the King or Queen of England on them, because Canada has always had close connections with England. But Canadian stamps are also known for their beautiful pictures of wildlife and the scenery of the country. Just like most other countries, Canada also has made stamps to honour important people, including national heroes like Terry Fox.

To see some examples of Canadian stamps, just .


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