[CPC press release
Dinosaurs come to life on Canada Post stamps

OTTAWA, April 9, 2015 /CNW/ – With a unique 3-D-like design that breaks through the boundaries of a typical stamp, Canada Post brings to life five prehistoric animals that once roamed Canada. The prehistoric beasts in this new stamp issue – Dinos of Canada – range from Tyrannosaurus rex, depicted in a light feathery coat with cavernous jaws agape, to Euoplocephalus tutus, whose tail ended in a massive club.

“Canada’s rich geography and spectacular landscape define this country and who we are,” says the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, responsible for Canada Post. “We have a special fascination for the creatures that walked this land in the ancient past. With these stamps, we rediscover the magic they hold for us.” [Raitt is shown at right with Canada Post president and CEO Deepak Chopra, the Toronto Raptor and students from Jesse Ketchum Public School.]

“Canadians young and old marvel at these wonders of nature and will be intrigued to discover in this stamp issue fascinating clues to the lives these dinosaurs lived,” says Canada Post President and CEO Deepak Chopra. “Our stamp program tells Canada’s story. This is a story like no other.”

The animals pulse with life, charged by the multilevel embossing and holographic foiling used in most of the designs. They tear their way through barren background images of Dinosaur Provincial Park, one of Canada’s richest sources of dinosaur fossils.

Wild-eyed and sharp-toothed, the creatures are vividly illustrated by highly regarded paleoartist Julius Csotonyi of Vancouver. Design is by Andrew Perro of Toronto, who has designed several Canadian stamps.

“It was important to strike an effective balance in pose and colour patterns that were gripping and imposing yet scientifically accurate or plausible,” says Csotonyi, an award-winning natural history illustrator and biological sciences graduate.

Canada has proven a rich hunting ground for dinosaur remains, with discoveries made from the badlands of Alberta to the Bay of Fundy area. The finds selected for this stamp issue were made in Western Canada and chosen in consultation with the Canadian Museum of Nature.

The animals depicted are:

• Tylosaurus pembinensis, a giant sea-dwelling reptile that could open its jaws wide like a snake and swallow large prey. It patrolled the inland sea that divided North America 80 million years ago. A skeleton displayed at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Modern, Man. is the largest mosasaur skeleton on exhibit in the world. Nicknamed “Bruce,” the centre refers to it as “the T. rex of the sea.”
• Chasmosaurus belli, a relative of the famous Triceratops. Its large frill was supported by a bony framework that was likely used for display, not defence. A baby Chasmosaurus was recently found in Dinosaur Provincial Park. It was less than three years old when it died.
• Tyrannosaurus rex, the “tyrant king” of dinosaurs. High school teacher Robert Gebhardt discovered one of the largest and most complete skeletons of its kind in Saskatchewan in 1991. The skeleton has been nicknamed “Scotty.”
• Ornithomimus edmontonicus, now known to have sported long arm feathers. It used its speed to outrun predators and to hunt for prey, which included small lizards and mammals.
• Euoplocephalus tutus, an herb-eater that was known for its spiky, plated armour. Its complex and unusual series of nasal passages may have warmed inhaled air, improved the animal’s sense of smell or helped it vocalize.

About the stamps
While each stamp frame is 28.5 mm x 28.5 mm, the dinosaurs burst out in varying configurations. The stamps are available in booklets of 10. They were printed by Lowe-Martin and designed by Andrew Perro with illustration by Julius Csotonyi and photography by Judy Arndt. The souvenir sheet of five stamps (below) measures 159 mm x 65 mm. The uncut press sheet of eight souvenir sheets measures 608 mm x 358 mm and features an enlargement of the T. rex that appears on the stamp. The cancel image on the Official First Day Cover is that of the Ornithomimus edmontonicus. The cancellation site is Drumheller, Alta., home of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, one of Canada’s most important dinosaur museums.

[press release]
Canada Post pushes envelope to issue Canada’s first fabric stamp
Two new stamps celebrate 50th anniversary of Canada’s flag

Pushing the boundaries of stamp production, Canada Post has created Canada’s first fabric stamp as a fitting celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag, a symbol cherished at home and widely recognized and respected abroad.

Denominated at $5, the innovative stamp uses a satin rayon fabric and special ink to create a durable and spectacular image. Canada Post is also issuing a celebratory Permanent rate stamp that showcases an undulating flag with a blue sky and “50” in the background.

“Our flag is a symbol that resonates with Canadians the world over,” says the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, responsible for Canada Post. “When we see our flag at home, it reminds us of our freedoms and values, and when we see it abroad, it reminds us of home.”

“The flag has become part of the fabric of our lives,” says Deepak Chopra, President and CEO of Canada Post (shown to the left of the Right Honourable David Johnston (right), Governor General of Canada. “As these stamps travel far and wide, they will be a fitting tribute.”

The flag was flown in public for the first time on February 15, 1965, at an inaugural ceremony before a crowd of thousands on Parliament Hill. It was immediately and enthusiastically embraced – but it had been borne of emotional debate. The first version had been sewn on short notice by a young amateur seamstress, Joan O’Malley, who was asked by her father, a senior civil servant, to sew prototypes during Canada’s flag debate. Her prototype flags helped bring Canada closer to the maple leaf.

The souvenir sheet for this issue is shown on the right.

Canada Post’s tributes to the flag were designed by Kosta Tsetsekas, a veteran stamp designer at Signals, a Vancouver design firm. He and the printer, Canadian Bank Note, collaborated on the painstaking production details of the fabric stamp. A series of tests refined the application of the ink on the fabric and ensured the die cutting would be precise. The result of this extensive planning is a consistently stunning production run that showcases the flag on fabric.

About the stamps
Canada Post is issuing two stamps to celebrate the anniversary of the flag. Canada’s first fabric stamp, printed on a satin rayon fabric, is a self-adhesive $5 stamp that measures 100 mm by 50 mm and is available as a souvenir sheet or affixed to an Official First Day Cover (OFDC) cancelled in Ottawa (shown on the right). One thousand limited edition uncut press sheets, signed by the original seamstress, Joan O’Malley, are also available to mark the occasion. In addition, a Permanent self-adhesive commemorative stamp that measures 40 mm by 32 mm is also available in booklets of 10 or affixed to an OFDC, also cancelled in Ottawa, ON (shown below) A postage-paid picture postcard is also available (below).

[press release]
Stamp celebrates life and legacy of Sir John A. Macdonald on the 200th anniversary of his birth

OTTAWA, Jan. 11, 2015 /CNW/ – On the 200th anniversary of Sir John A. Macdonald’s birth, Canada Post is issuing today a stamp to celebrate the country’s first prime minister, a nation builder whose achievements shaped the nation. Designed by Montréal’s Paprika, the stamp mixes a traditional photo with modern design to create a fresh look at a subject who has appeared on stamps many times over the past 100 years.

“Sir John A. Macdonald not only led negotiations that created our country, but he also guided a growing and maturing Canada,” says the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, responsible for Canada Post Corporation [shown in the photo below, with Canada Post President and CEO Deepak Chopra. “On the 200th anniversary of his birth, we remember that enduring legacy.”

Macdonald took a leading role during the Charlottetown and Québec conferences that laid the foundation for Confederation and the creation of Canada in 1867. Enormously popular, he won six out of seven post-Confederation elections. This made him prime minister for 19 of Canada’s first 24 years and the second-longest serving prime minister in Canadian history.

Macdonald expanded the country by including the provinces of Manitoba, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, as well as securing land that became today’s Northwest Territories and Nunavut. From building a transcontinental railway, founding the forerunner of the RCMP and creating the country’s first national park, to adopting British spelling rather than American, Macdonald had an enormous legacy.

His death in office in 1891 was marked by tributes from political allies and opponents alike. Thousands of people paid their respects when he lay in state in Parliament, and mourners lined the tracks as a train carried him to his resting place in his hometown of Kingston, Ontario.

“Our stamps have captured the story of Canada ever since Confederation and today we celebrate one of its key architects,” says Chopra [shown in the photo on the left, with the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada]. “Two hundred years after his birth, Sir John A. Macdonald remains a towering figure and this stamp celebrates his legacy.”

About the Stamp
The self-adhesive stamp measures 32 mm by 40 mm and is available in booklets of 10. The stamp is also available affixed to an Official First Day Cover cancelled in Kingston, Ontario. The cover’s modern design features a line map of the provinces that constituted Canada at Confederation. The stamp was designed by Louis Gagnon at Paprika in Montréal and printed by Canadian Bank Note Company with lithography in five colours.

Prime Minister Harper’s comments on Macdonald’s legacy can be found on the CTV website. Although there is no explicit mention in the text of the stamp, there is a photo of Harper and Chopra with the stamp design, and a link to the Canada Post press release.]