'O Canada' on the 2011 Canadian Flag Definitive Stamps Series

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The sheer number of places where the Canadian flag is found was the creative impetus to this stamp series. According to Liz Wong, Stamp Design Manager for the series, the challenge was to take a very common but much beloved image like the flag, an image people are familiar with seeing on a stamp, but approach it in a fresh new way and present the flag in ways in which it’s actually used. “The Canadian Pride series draws your attention to both the common – and uncommon – places the flag appears.”

The five Permanent domestic stamps in this year’s issue demonstrate both personal and official appearances of the flag; on a traveller’s backpack, a hot air balloon, the Canadarm, and both a Canadian soldier’s and a search and rescue expert’s uniforms.

The stylized “O” (for “O Canada”) not only acts as a symbol of the national anthem, it also serves as a means of focusing attention on the flag and its surroundings.

Liz Wong adds that “by framing the visual with the “O” of “O Canada”, this stamp series is totally and unapologetically patriotic.”

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