New Canada Post stamps created by Maritime artist honour Earth Day and Mother’s Day

In honour of Earth Day and Mother’s Day, Canada Post issued new stamps designed by Maritimer Meredith MacKinlay.

For its 12th annual Canada Post Community Foundation, the postal operator reached out to graphic designers across Canada to create a stamp that features artistic interpretations of Canadian wildlife.

The stamp celebrated the bond between sea otters and red-necked grebe mothers and their babies.

MacKinlay was among three other designers that Canada Post reached out to in order to provide samples for the project and present them to the team.

“I wanted to do something really different that hadn’t been done before,” said MacKinlay. “I was thinking about what represents home and mother’s love, so I began thinking of things like quilting, crafts, knitting, and just making things with your hands.”

MacKinlay decided embroidery and bead work would best illustrate the theme. With the help of Indigenous illustrator, embroider and designer Caroline Brown, the design came to life. However, that is when the real work started.

“She had sketched things up and we’d say, ‘Let’s have the grebe’s neck looking at the mother.’ So you really finesse those details like crazy.”

After a year-and-a-half of tweaks, the final design got the stamp of approval.

“It’s meaningful that there’s something I’ve done, and especially something I’ve done with such a close friend of mine, that will be a very small part of Canadian history,” said MacKinlay.

The stamp was officially released in April.