The
postal historyPostal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the collecting of covers and associated material illustrating historical episodes of postal systems...
of CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
falls into four major periods:
FrenchNew France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River, by Jacques Cartier in 1534, to the cession of New France to Spain and Britain in 1763...
control (1604-1763),
BritishCanada was under British Empire control from 1764 to 1867. Several major events took place during this time, including the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Rebellions of 1837.-New France under British Rule:...
control (1763-1841), the
Province of CanadaThe Province of Canada or the United Province of Canada was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of 1837.The Province of...
(1841-1867), and the Dominion of Canada, since 1867.
French control
Th earliest reference to a
postal serviceMail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects, wherein written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal...
is of
courierA courier is a person or company employed to deliver messages, packages and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of services, and committed delivery times, which are optional for...
s in 1705, namely the "first courier"
Pedro da SilvaFor the Brazilian decathlete with the same name see Pedro da Silva Pedro da Silva was the first post courier in New France, in what was to become part of Canada...
,carrying the Governor's despatches by boat, along with (for a fee) private letters. A regular postal system was proposed in 1721, but would have been too expensive at the time, and was not created until 1734, when a road existed between
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
and
QuebecQuebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking identity and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Post houses were established at intervals of nine miles (14 km) or so, along with ferries across the rivers. Fees were 10 sols between the two major cities, and 5 sols to
Trois-Rivières, QuebecTrois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, located along the densely populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers. It was founded in 1634, the second permanent settlement in New France...
.
British control
The British captured Montreal in 1760, and shortly thereafter established a military postal system that handled letters between Quebec and Montreal, and from Montreal to
Albany, New YorkAlbany is a city in the United States of America; it is the capital of the state of New York and the county seat of Albany County. Albany is roughly 136 miles north of the city of New York, and slightly south of the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The city sits on the Hudson River and...
.
The peace treaty of 1763 inaugurated the development of a civilian post. The
Postmasters GeneralA Postmaster General is the national politician in charge of the postal system of a country. In most nations he or she is an appointed official of cabinet rank.See:* Postmaster General of the United Kingdom* United States Postmaster General...
of the American colonies,
Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, soldier, and diplomat...
and William Foxcroft surveyed a route between New York and Quebec, and contracted Quebec-Montreal mail to a Hugh Finlay, who provided a weekly service at 8d per letter. Mail to New York took two weeks and cost about a shilling. The service was quite successful, the Quebec-Montreal route increasing to twice/week, and eventually branching out to include Skenesborough.
The
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , also sometimes known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen united former British colonies in North America, and concluded in a global war between several European great powers...
disrupted mail to New York, and also showed the weakness in not having an all-British route to Halifax,
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is a Canadian province located on Canada's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. Its capital, Halifax, is a major economic centre of the region. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of...
, and in 1787 a complicated route was set up through
Riviere du LoupThe Rivière du Loup is a river in southeastern Quebec which empties into the Saint Lawrence River at the city of Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec.There is a hydroelectric plant on the river near the city....
, Fredericton,
Digby- Geographic locations :Australia*Digby, VictoriaCanada* Digby, Nova Scotia, town** Digby Airport* Digby, Nova Scotia , eastern half of Digby County* Digby County, Nova Scotia* Digby Neck, peninsula in Digby County...
, and
AnnapolisAnnapolis, Nova Scotia can refer to:* Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, a historic town, former colonial capital of Nova Scotia and currently the county seat for Annapolis County* Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, one of Nova Scotia's 18 counties...
.
Upper CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a British colony located in what is now the southern portion of the Province of Ontario in Canada. Upper Canada officially existed from 26 December 1791 to 10 February 1841 and generally comprised present-day Southern Ontario...
had its own semi-monthly route through
KingstonKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, where Lake Ontario runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin.Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County...
,
NiagaraNiagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA.-History:The original site was a Neutral Nation...
,
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
, and as far as
MichilimackinacMichilimackinac is a name for the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Today it is mostly within the boundaries of Michigan, in the United States....
on
Lake HuronLake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the east by Ontario, Canada and on the west by Michigan, USA. The name of the lake is derived from early French explorers who named it based on the Huron people inhabiting the region.-Geography:Lake Huron is the second...
.
Finlay was succeeded in 1800 by
George HeriotGeorge Heriot was a Scottish-Canadian civil servant, author and artist. He is most notable as a major figure in early Canadian art.-Early life:...
, then in 1816
Daniel SutherlandDaniel Alexander Sutherland , nicknamed "Fighting Dan", was an American businessperson and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives during the 1920s as the delegate from what was then the Alaska Territory.Sutherland was born in Pleasant Bay, Canada on Cape Breton Island...
took over as Postmaster General. By this time dozens of post offices were being opened. 1816 was also when the postal services of
Prince Edward IslandPrince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
and
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is a Canadian province located on Canada's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. Its capital, Halifax, is a major economic centre of the region. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of...
were separated, and not rejoined until 1868.
Postmarks had been in use since 1764, Finlay having been introduced to them by Franklin. The earliest markings were town names in a straight line.
As is typical of the period, the postal service introduced ever-more-complicated systems of rates for mail, depending on destination and distance. In 1840
Rowland HillSir Rowland Hill KCB, FRS was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of penny postage, and his solution of pre payment, and later served as a government postal official...
proposed a uniform rate for
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
that could be prepaid by
postage stampA postage stamp is adhesive paper evidence of a fee paid for postal services. Usually a small rectangle attached to an envelope, the stamp signifies the person sending it has fully or partly paid for delivery...
s, and on May 25, 1849, the Legislative Assembly of Canada resolved to adopt the use of stamps in Canada.
Province of Canada
The first stamps of the province were in the values of 3d, 6d, and 12d. Designed by Sir
Sandford FlemingSir Sandford Fleming was a Scottish-born Canadian engineer and inventor, known for proposing worldwide standard time zones, Canada's postage stamp, a huge body of surveying and map making, engineering much of the Intercolonial Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, and being a founding member...
, the
Threepenny Beaver depicted a
beaverThe beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, Castor canadensis and Castor fiber . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
in an oval frame, and is considered the first Canadian postage stamp. In fact was the first official postage stamp anywhere to picture an animal, though an unofficial postmaster's provisional from
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
had shown two bears in 1845. The 6d was a portrait of Prince Albert and the 12d (1 shilling) a portrait of Queen
VictoriaVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
. The first issues were made on
laid paperLaid paper is a type of paper having a ribbed texture imparted by the manufacturing process. In the 19th century its use diminished as it was largely supplanted by wove paper...
, which did not stick as well to envelopes, and so in 1852 the printers switched to
wove paperWove paper is a writing paper with a uniform surface, not ribbed or watermarked.The papermaking mould's wires run parallel to each other to produce laid paper, but they are woven together into a fine wire mesh for wove paper...
. Thus the earliest issues on laid paper are quite rare; a grand total of only 1,450 copies of the 12d were ever issued, and copies today sell for upwards of US$50,000 apiece.
In the late 1850s, the postal service came out with new values: ½d, 7½d, and 10d, the first two depicting Victoria, and the 10d featuring a portrait of
Jacques CartierJacques Cartier was a French explorer who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big settlements he saw...
. The 7½d was unusual in that it was also denominated "6 Pence Sterling". In 1858 stamps began to be
perforatedFor postage stamps, separation is the means by which individual stamps are made easily detachable from each other.Methods of separation include:# perforation - cutting rows and columns of small holes...
.
In 1859 the province standardized on a single decimal monetary system, which also meant new stamps would be needed. In general the existing designs were used, resulting in a series of five stamps of values from 1¢ to 17¢, plus a 2¢ value issued in 1864.
Dominion of Canada, Victorian period
The Dominion came into existence July 1, 1867, assembled from colonies each of which had their own stamps, so the new government issued a new series of stamps on April 1, 1868, superseding all previous issues. These featured a profile of Queen Victoria, based on an engraving by Charles Henry Jeens and became known to philatelists as the "Large Queens". They ranged in value from ½¢ to 15¢. While mostly printed on wove paper, a few of the 1¢, 2¢, and 3¢ values were also printed on laid paper; only two examples of the
Canada 2c Large Queen on laid paperThe 2¢ Large Queen on laid paper is the rarest postage stamp of Canada. Printed in 1868, it was not discovered until 1925, and so far only two are known to exist....
are known, making it Canada's rarest stamp.
The Large Queens had a relatively short life, being replaced in 1870 by the "Small Queens", smaller stamps of the same basic design, adopted to be able to produce more stamps more quickly. The Small Queens came in a number of printings between 1870 and 1897. In 1893 20¢ and 50¢ stamps came out with a 3/4 portrait of Victoria.
When
Prince Edward IslandPrince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
became a Canadian province in 1873, it sold off all of its remaining pre-Canadian stamps at discounted prices, flooding the market with over 1.5 million cheap stamps. Since these stamps had next to no value,
forgersIn general, philatelic fakes and forgeries refers to labels that look like postage stamps but are not. Most have been produced to deceive or defraud...
had no compelling reason to make copies. Today, since forged versions of Prince Edward Island stamps are harder to find than the original, the forgeries are more valuable.
Library and Archives CanadaLibrary and Archives Canada is a Canadian federal government department responsible for the collection and preservation of the documentary heritage of Canada through texts, pictures and other documents relevant to the history of Canada, the culture of Canada and the politics of Canada...
holds a forged, lithographed version of a stamp from 1870 that features an engraving of Queen Victoria.
In 1897 the
American Bank Note CompanyThe American Bank Note Company was a major worldwide engraver of national currency and postage stamps. Currently it engraves and prints stock and bond certificates.-History:Robert Scot, the first official engraver of the young U.S...
secured the contract to print stamps for Canada, which lasted until 1923. The company's first job was to print a series for the
Diamond JubileeA Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person (e.g. wedding anniversary, length of time a monarch has reigned as...
celebrating the 60th year of Queen Victoria and the 30th year of confederation, the first commemorative stamps of Canada. The design was a side-by-side of the Chalon vignette of the young Victoria and the likeness photographed by
Alexander BassanoAlexander Bassano was the leading high society portrait photographer in Victorian London.He was the second youngest child of Clemente Bassano, originally a fishmonger of Cranbourne Street, later an oilman and Italian warehouseman of Jermyn Street, London. He opened his first studio in 1850 in...
in 1887. The series included 16 denominations ranging from ½¢ to five dollars, a princely sum in those days, and more aimed at collectors than mailers. Only 9,937 of the $4 value were ever sold, and unsurprisingly they are rare and expensive today.
1897 also saw the
Maple Leaf Issue, regular stamps with the central design based on a Jubilee portrait for Victoria, with
mapleAcer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as Maple. Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification, favour inclusion in Sapindaceae...
leaves in each corner. It was in use for only a few months before being replaced by a modified design that replaced the lower leaves with numerals of value, motivated by the French-speaking population who found it difficult to read the textual denomination on the original design. (The
Universal Postal UnionThe Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, and hence the worldwide postal system. Each member country agrees to the same set of terms for conducting international postal duties...
would require the use of Arabic numerals in 1907.)
In 1898, a first step towards Imperial Penny Postage happened when a number of Dominions agreed on a uniform rate of 1d (2¢ in Canada). Canada issued an interesting stamp depicting a map of the entire world, with British possessions marked in red, inscribed "XMAS 1898" (the rate took effect on Christmas Day), and "WE HOLD A VASTER EMPIRE THAN HAS BEEN" underneath, a line extracted from "A Song of Empire" composed by Sir
Lewis MorrisLewis Morris was an American slaver and developer from Morrisania, New York. He was born at the house of Morrisania. He signed the U.S...
in 1887.
The stamp was notable as the first multi-colour stamp of Canada, and also for the tremendous variability of the red highlighting, resulting in amusing geographical incongruities.
Edward VII
Upon the accession of King
Edward VIIEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910...
, the basic maple leaf was retained but updated with a portrait of Edward wearing the
ermineErmine has several meanings:-* A common name for the stoat * The white fur and black tail end of this animal, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials...
Robes of State. Canada's first experiments with
coil stampA coil stamp is a type of postage stamp sold in strips one stamp wide. The name derives from the usual handling of long strips, which is to coil them into rolls, in a manner reminiscent of adhesive tape rolls...
s occurred during this period.
George V
King
George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
was depicted in 1911 as
Admiral of the FleetAdmiral of the Fleet is a rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10.The rank evolved from the ancient sailing days of the Royal Navy. The fleet was divided into three divisions and each designated a colour, that of Red, White, or Blue...
in a widely-admired design that continued in use until 1928.
1928 saw the "Scroll Issue", so-called because "CANADA" appeared in a scroll across the top. This was the first issue to be bilingual. The pictorials are among the finest stamps ever produced, especially the 50¢ value
Bluenose stampThe Bluenose is the nickname for a 50-cent definitive postage stamp issued by the Canadian Post Office on 8 January 1929 as part of the King George V "Scroll Issue”. Scott number is 158 with a perforation of 12...
portraying the legendary
schoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being shorter or the same height as the rear masts...
BluenoseBluenose was a Canadian schooner from Nova Scotia, a celebrated racing ship and a symbol of the province...
.
The "
Arch Issue" of 1930 was similarly elegant. The last issue for George V, in 1935, was called the "
Dated Die Issue" because the year appeared in very small print in the design.
George VI
Because it was so short, no stamps were issued to commemorate the reign of Edward VIII.
The dated die concept was used in 1937 as well, in the stamps issued for newly-crowned King
George VIGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 11 December 1936 until his death...
. A group of three stamps in May 1939 marked a royal visit.
Soon after the Commonwealth was plunged into war; the War issue of 1942 highlighted Canada's contributions. While the low values showed the King wearing the uniforms of the different services, the higher values showed Canada's role in growing food and the production of munitions, including a
Ram tankThe Tank Cruiser, Ram was a Cruiser tank designed and built by Canada in the Second World War, based on the U.S. M3 Medium tank.- Development :...
, a
corvetteA corvette is a small, manoeuvrable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or Fast Attack Craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role. During the Age of Sail, corvettes were smaller than frigates and larger than...
, and a
destroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers .Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance...
.
In 1946 the "Peace issue" showed scenes and economic activities around the country. From the late 1940s on, the issuance of commemoratives became a regular even, with two in 1947, but gradually increasing. The last regular stamps of George VI came out in 1951.
The Elizabethan era
The first definitive issue for
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
's reign was based on a portrait by Yusuf Karsh, and was issued on a plain background in five values on 1953-05-01.
The Karsh series was replaced in the following year by a new design based on the portrait by
Dorothy WildingDorothy Wilding was a noted English society photographer from Gloucester. She wanted to become an actress or artist but this career was disallowed by her uncle, in whose family she lived, so she chose the art of photography which she started to learn from the age of sixteen.By 1929 she had already...
that was also used in the United Kingdom. The 5¢ value was issued on April 1 with the introduction of the new domestic first class letter rate. Five more values in this series were introduced on June 10. It was with this series that the post office bean experimenting with fluorescence on stamps, resulting in a number of challenging varieties over the life of this and the next two series.
The Wilding series was replaced by the "Cameo" series, a horizontal design by Ernst Roch. The series began with the 5¢ value on 1962-10-03. The 1¢ and 4¢ values were released on 1963-02-04, and the 2¢ and 3¢ values followed on May 2.
From the 1960s on, Canadian stamp policies have favoured issuing a relatively large number of single commemoratives valued at the prevailing first-class rate. In its commemorative issues Canada has made extensive use of works by well-known artists and until very recently has not used images of living people on its stamps.
Definitive series have tended to be combinations of design types, each applying to a range of values. For instance, the definitives of the late 1980s featured native wildlife for values up to 80 cents, and Canadian architecture for the dollar values, while those of the early 1990s used berries for the lowest values, and fruit trees for the higher values, and continuing with architecture for the highest values.
.
In December, 2003 Canada Post issued a new 49 cent definitive stamp bearing the image of the Queen, using a photograph taken by rock star
Bryan AdamsBryan Adams, OC, OBC is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter and photographer. Adams was first nominated at the 28th Grammy Awards for Reckless and "It's Only Love" and won the Grammy and in 1992 won the award for "Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media"...
. A similar redenominated stamp was issued in 2005 as a 50 cent denomination, and a 51 cent denomination in 2006 (see
Queen Elizabeth II definitive stamp (Canada)The Queen Elizabeth II definitive stamp is a domestic rate stamp issued by Canada Post, and bearing the image of Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada. Four versions of the stamp have been issued since 2003....
).
See also: List of people on stamps of Canada, People on stamps of Canadian provinces
Sources
External links