COVER N.97 - CANADA

Postmark: Canada Post Postes Canada Toronto, ON. Toronto's First Post Office 04-04-2022 
Posted on the 4th April; received on the 15th April 2022
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Jeff was one of the first kind persons who accepted to swap covers with me when I first started this blog, so I was elated to open my mailbox and find an unannounced cover again sent by him from Canada. 

And what a cover it was. From the layout of the stamps and labels to the colour of the envelope, everything was thought to create a sense of harmony with undeniable good taste. Thank you so much, Jeff!

Canada Post has, for quite a number of years now, maintained a tradition of issuing an annual stamp set  dedicated to flowers. 

This year the honour fell upon the world famous Calla lily, of which the white Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) is the most common and generally known. The Zantedeschia genus comprises eight species (and several cultivars), and it originated in the South and Centre of Africa and is now globally disseminated (I'm thinking of my little garden...) and doing so well, that in some places it is considered a pest.

The Calla edition stamps were  issued on 01MAR2022, being offered on coils or booklets or in a lovely souvenir sheet containing the two P rate (Permanent Domestic) stamps.

This souvenir sheet would also be issued with the CAPEX 22 logo overprinted on it, 

with a view to promoting the International One Frame Stamp Championship Exhibition CAPEX 2022, that will take place in Toronto, from the 9th till the 12th June, this year, this being the sheet used on my cover.

Queen  Elizabeth II, celebrated her Platinum Jubilee on February, this year, what clearly illustrates the longevity of her reign. A quick consultation over Wikipedia and I'm informed that Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, "is the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch, the longest-serving female head of state in history, the oldest living and longest-reigning current monarch, and the oldest and longest-serving incumbent head of state".

It came as no surprise then that her Platinum Jubilee should be celebrated by the Commoweath Realms of which she is the Head of State with a stamp emission as it was the case for Canada.

The all silver P rated stamp featuring the well known Munchin profile used on UK definitive stamps was issued on 07FEB2022.

The distinctive postmark used on the stamps belongs to the oldest Post office in Toronto, which also houses a small postal museum if I recollect well from what Jeff once told me.