from Canada Post’s Details magazine; these stamps will be issued January 15th:

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand
      on guard for thee.

Excerpt from Canada’s national anthem (music by Calixa Lavallé, English lyrics by Robert Stanley Weir, based on the French lyrics by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier)

There are so many beautiful places to see across Canada, it’s a constant temptation to pack your bags, hit the road and explore this fabulous country from one end to the other. If that’s not practical, our new definitive stamp series — From Far and Wide — promises to satisfy even the most restless of armchair travelers and inspire all of us to see more of this land first-hand.

Definitive stamps are typically smaller than commemoratives, so they can pose a special challenge for designers: after all, it’s not easy to depict a magnificent landscape on a canvas that is only 24 mm by 20 mm in size. But for Montréal designer Stéphane Huot, the solution was simple: “Since the stamps in this series are so tiny, our objective was to keep the design as simple as possible — so as not to detract from the visual impact of these incredible photographs.”

The nine-stamp issue includes five Permanent domestic stamps, along with one design for each U.S., oversized and international denominations. The ninth stamp in the set is our single-purchase $1 domestic rate. The first in a multi-year series, these stunning stamps will take you on a journey to some of the most breathtaking locations in Canada:

St. John’s (N.L.), Permanent
The brightly painted jelly bean houses of St. John’s are a popular tourist attraction. Many of the homes, which stand on the hill overlooking the harbour, were built following the Great Fire of 1892. The charming rainbow colours are the result of a city revitalization initiative that began in the 1970s.

Hopewell Rocks (N.B.), Permanent
It has taken millions of years for the wind and tides to carve the massive flowerpot structures that make up the Bay of Fundy’s Hopewell Rocks.

MacMillan Provincial Park (B.C.), Permanent
An old-growth forest of Douglas fir has been preserved in British Columbia’s MacMillan Provincial Park on Vancouver Island. At Cathedral Grove ( featured on the stamp), visitors can walk on trails beneath the towering trees, some of which are more than 800 years old.

Prince Edward Island National Park (P.E.I.), Permanent
Encompassing more than 65 kilometres of the island’s north shore, Prince Edward Island National Park offers a bounty of beaches, red sandstone cliffs wind-sculpted sand dunes and sites such as the heritage lighthouse at Covehead Harbour and one of the country’s most popular heritage places, the 19th-century farmhouse made famous by Lucy Maud Montgomery in her 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables.

Parc national de l’île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé (Que.), Permanent
The abundance of natural, historic and cultural heritage found at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in the Parc national de l’île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher- Percé has delighted visitors from across the country and around the world.

Pisew Falls Provincial Park (Man.), single-stamp domestic rate
Manitoba’s Pisew Falls Provincial Park is situated in a remote wilderness area roughly 700 kilometres north of Winnipeg. With a 13-metre vertical drop, the falls that lend their name to the park are the second highest in Manitoba. Pisew comes from the Cree word for lynx since the hissing waters bring to mind the sound of this northern wild cat.

Point Pelee National Park (Ont.), U.S. rate
Celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2018, Point Pelee National Park is found at the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland (50 kilometres southeast of Windsor, Ontario). Point Pelee provides habitat for many species of bird, turtle and dragonfly. The park is an important migration point for monarch butterflies heading south.

Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve (N.W.T.), oversized rate
Located in the traditional lands of the Sh•htaot’ine (Mountain Dene) in the south-west of the N.W.T., close to the Yukon border, Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve is one of Canada’s newest national parks. It is named after the Nááts’įhch’oh mountain, historically a powerful place for the people of the Sahtu.

Arctic Bay (Nunavut), international rate
A traditional community located in the northwest corner of Baffin Island, Arctic Bay has been inhabited by nomadic Arctic peoples for 5,000 years and currently boasts a population of more than 850. Its Inuktitut name, Ikpiarjuk (ᐃᒃᐱᐊᕐᔪᒃ), means “the pocket,” which describes the way the community is surrounded by hills on three sides.

[press release]
From Far and Wide: New nine-stamp issue showcases Canada’s visual splendor
Picturesque stamps capture the beauty of some of our country’s most scenic and unique locations

OTTAWA – Canada Post has issued the first nine stamps in a multi-year series that captures stunning landscapes across the country through a traveller’s view of must-see destinations.

With a title inspired by a line in our national anthem, these beautiful stamps are now available to whisk Canadians away on a vivid visual journey to some of the most incredible places this country has to offer. Known by collectors as “definitives,” these are the smaller, workhorse stamps used most often for everyday mailings – and therefore the postage most Canadians see on much of their mail.

Nine stamps form a breathtaking cross-country journey
The nine-stamp issue includes five Permanent™ stamps plus one each in the US-rate, Oversized-rate and International-rate denominations, and the single-purchase $1 domestic rate. The locations featured on the 2018 edition of the new series are:

• The “jellybean houses” of St. John’s (N.L.)
• Hopewell Rocks (N.B.)
• Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park (B.C.)
• Covehead Harbour in Prince Edward Island National Park (P.E.I.)
• Percé Rock in Parc national de l’Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé (Que.)
• Pisew Falls Provincial Park (Man.)
• Point Pelee National Park (Ont.)
• Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve (Nt.)
• Arctic Bay (Nvt.)

The Permanent™ domestic booklets are available in 10- and 30-stamp booklets (two or six of each image respectively), while the US-rate, Oversized-rate and International-rate denominations are available in booklets of six. The issue also includes a souvenir sheet and a variety of stamp formats for collectors, as well as an Official First Day Cover, cancelled in Leamington, ON, to mark the 100th anniversary of nearby Point Pelee National Park, featured on the $1.20 US-rate stamp. The issue was designed by Stéphane Huot of Montréal and printed by the Lowe-Martin Group.

These stamps will be issued January 15th, when additional information will be provided.

From Canada Post’s Details magazine:

They say “every dog has its day,” but from February 16, 2018, to February 4, 2019, those born in the Year of the Dog will have plenty of days to call their own. They certainly deserve it.

Those lucky enough to be born in the Year of the Dog are some of the most loyal and likeable people around. Possessing many of the same positive attributes as our favourite canines, they are known to be trustworthy, protective, courageous and driven by a sense of duty and justice. If you’re lucky enough to befriend a Dog, your happiness means the world to him or her. And while they can be stubborn and snappy at times, Dogs get along with just about everyone – and are particularly compatible with Rabbits, Tigers and Horses. Famous Canadians born in the Year of the Dog include Justin Bieber, Leonard Cohen and Lucy Maud Montgomery.

This year’s lunar New Year stamp issue was designed by Roy White and Liz Wurzinger at Subplot Design Inc. in Vancouver. When asked about their influences and inspiration, the two highlight the importance of the lantern as a quintessential symbol of the lunar New Year celebrations: “We wanted it to play a pivotal role in the design of these stamps, so we came up with the idea of translating Meimei Mao’s intricate dog illustrations onto these beautiful, illuminated lanterns. Raeff Mile’s photographs of them capture the warmth, richness and depth we were striving for.”

[press release]
Canada Post welcomes Year of the Dog – Lunar New Year stamps adorned in red and gold

VANCOUVER, Jan. 15, 2018 /CNW/ – Canada Post has released its annual two-stamp issue to mark the Lunar New Year, the 10th in this most recent lunar series. True to the traditional aspects of the celebration, the Year of the Dog stamps incorporate Chinese lanterns as a central design element. A Permanent™ domestic-rate stamp features an endearing small dog that looks ready to rush headlong into the year ahead, while the international-rate stamp shows a larger, dignified canine, one foot raised in anticipation. The customary red and gold dominate the design.

“Canada Post is proud to once again mark the vibrant and festive occasion that is the Lunar New Year, celebrated by Canadians of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and other East Asian heritage,” says Canada Post President and CEO Deepak Chopra. “The annual unveiling of this stamp issue has become a much-anticipated event.”

Designed by Vancouver’s Subplot Design Inc., with illustration by Meimei Mao and photography by Raeff Miles, the Year of the Dog stamp issue includes:

• A traditional gummed pane of 25 domestic-rate stamps, which includes four Chinese blessings, presented in calligraphy by Albert Ng, member of the Order of Ontario, plus both Permanent™ domestic- and international-rate stamp booklets and a broad selection of philatelic collectibles.
• The international-rate official first day cover (OFDC), which also features a traditional Chinese blessing, is unsealed to facilitate the Chinese New Year tradition of giving money in a red envelope.

The Year of the Dog begins on February 16, 2018, and runs to February 4, 2019. Loyal, trustworthy and courageous, the easy-going individuals born under the sign of the Dog are believed to willingly put others’ well-being above their own. Famous Canadians born under this sign include Justin Bieber, Leonard Cohen and Lucy Maud Montgomery.