Canadian Stamps!!

Canada is one of the largest countries in the world, but it does not have a kajillion people living there. It consists of ten provinces and three territories. Its capital is Ottawa, Ontario.

The first Canadian stamps were issued in 1851 . When Canada first began using postage stamps, the money used there was British money (pounds, shillings, and pence). Stamps cost anywhere from half a penny to twelve pence. These Canadian stamps are now quite valuable. They did not have perforations. You had to cut them out of sheets of 100 to 120 stamps. Stamps with no perforations are called "imperforate".

In those days, some provinces that were not yet part of Canada issued their own postage stamps. You might find stamps for British Columbia and Vancouver Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland . Only Canadian stamps were used in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the territories. All these stamps come from what is called "British North America" because Canada and the provinces were part of the British Empire, and they were in North America.

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, but Newfoundland remained a colony of Great Britain and used its own stamps until 1949 when it joined the rest of Canada. Whewwww!! Just a little complicated!!

Many Canadian stamps have a picture of the King or Queen of Great Britain, because the King or Queen is also Canada's monarch. But Canadian stamps are also known for their beautiful pictures of wildlife and the scenery of the country. And like most other countries, Canada has issued stamps to honour important people and national heroes like Terry Fox.

To see examples of Canadian stamps, just .