Canada Post Pictorial Cancels
2007 Christmas
Canada Post's 2007 Christmas stamp set consisted of a single secular stamp featuring a reindeer, and three stamps with religious images illustrating the themes Hope, Joy, and Peace. This post shows covers which received related pictorial cancels within one month of the issue of the stamps.

Reindeer Stamp




First Day Cover


Stamp issued November 1, 2007

Pictorial Cancels

The following covers received pictorial cancels which featured reindeer.

Altona, British Columbia




Ashmont, Alberta




Delia, Alberta




Notre-Dame-Auxilatrice-De-Buckland, Quebec




Red Deer. Alberta





Religious Imagery Stamps




First Day Cover


November 1, 2007

Pictorial Cancels

Joy

Since the angel on the stamp is shown blowing a horn, the Smithers, B.C. cancel showing a man blowing an alpine horn seemed appropriate as was the Marion Bridge, N.S. cancel featuring musical notes.

Smithers, British Columbia




Marion Bridge, Nova Scotia




Peace

An interesting selection of cancels related to the peace theme are shown. The Hampton, N.B., cancel shows a dove of peace and honours John Peters Humphrey, the Canadian diplomat who drafted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. In 1995, the Pugwash conference, held in Pugwash, N.S., was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts on nuclear disarmament. The "Tree of Peace" is featured on the Ohsweken pictorial cancel. Ohsweken is a village on the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation Indian Reserve near Brantford, Ontario.


Hampton, New Brunswick




Pugwash, Nova Scotia




Taylor, British Columbia




Ohsweken, Ontario

Canada Post Pictorial Cancels
Newfoundland 2007

Since 2002, Canada Post has provided pictorial cancels to hundreds of post offices across the nation showcasing community history and events. [Canada Post provides a list of cancels in current use.]

In 2007, I mailed cacheted covers to the Newfoundland post offices which had received pictorial cancels and requested the application of the pictorial cancels. The preparation of the covers provided me the opportunity to learn a great deal about the history of Newfoundland as well as its celebrations.


Bonavista








Brigus






Cupids





Elliston







Ferryland






Grand Bank








Hearts Content






Pouch Cove







Ship Harbour







St. George's






Stephenville Crossing






Trinity






Winterton

The Banff-Windermere Highway

The "Banff-Windermere Highway", the first motor road across the Rockies, was officially opened on June 30, 1923. 



The highway was the last link in the "Great Circle Tour", a road some 5000 miles long, embracing 16 National Parks in the U.S. and Canada. To mark the historic opening, a slogan cancellation was used at the Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, and Winnipeg post offices.

GOVERNMENT MOTOR
HIGHWAY
BANFF-WINDERMERE
OPEN JUNE 30TH 1923

The Vancouver slogan cancellation was applied on June 1, 1923, to the above cover addressed to Narrabeen, Australia.


James Harkin : The Man Behind the Road
James Harkin (1875 - 1955) was appointed the first commissioner of the Dominion Parks Branch (now Parks Canada) in 1911, and over a period of 25 years organized a nation-wide system of parks. Harkin promoted the construction of the Banff-Windermere Highway so that people could enjoy some of Canada’s loveliest scenery while contributing dollars to the economy.











Official opening of the Banff-Windernere Highway

Kootenay Park and the Banff-Windermere Highway

Kootenay National Park was established in 1920 as part of an agreement between the provincial and federal governments to build the Banff-Windermere Highway. A strip of land five miles (eight kilometres) wide on each side of the highway was set aside as a national park.

Sinclair Canyon : Western Entrance to Kootenay National Park





The above photographs were taken at approximately the same location north of Radium Hot Springs.


Vista Lake

Prohibited Mail

The cover below was mailed from San Francisco to "The Army And Navy Veterans in Canada, Quebec Unit 33, on June 1, 1934 :



The Canada Post Office refused to deliver the letter which was returned to sender with the following instructional handstamp:

MAIL FOR THIS ADDRESS PROHIBITED

CORRESPONDENCE POUR CETTE
ADRESSE PROHIBEE

Why was mail to veterans in Canada prohibited by the Canada Post Office? The ticket below which was purchased separately from the above cover provides the answer.





The Army And Navy Veterans in Canada, Quebec Unit 33 was selling "memberships" to its "Charity Subscription Fund". The organization claimed that the money raised was given to veteran charities, pension services, and organizations. For a $1.00 membership fee, a member was eligible to win a cash prize whose distribution was based on the outcome of a horse race. The membership above was for the 24th charity subscription fund which was linked to the June 6, 1934, Epsom Derby won by Windsor Lad.

 Windsor Lad

Winner 1934 Derby

 According to the membership shown above, Unit 33 had raised over four and three-quarter million dollars in cash to date. The membership scheme of course was designed to circumvent the law against lottery tickets.

Prohibited Mail

It was an indictable offence under the Criminal Code to make, sell or procure lottery tickets, or to mail any articles concerning lottery tickets. The Postmaster General was given the power to make regulations deeming what would be and would not be deemed mailable matter with respect to lotteries. Letters, circulars or other articles that dealt with illegal lotteries was deemed to be non-mailable matter and returned to the sender.

The post office appears to have been satisfied that correspondence to Quebec Unit 33 related to illegal lotteries and went so far as to prohibit the organization from receiving mail. It would be interesting to learn how the organization dealt with the prohibition.