---

Founded in 1971 and opened in 1974, the National Postal Museum joined the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 1988. In 1996, the name changed to Canadian Postal Museum (CPM). The Canadian Postal Museum operates a complete museum programme and acts as a repository to hold objects in trust for the Canadian public. Its mission is to preserve and interpret the material heritage of postal communication within the context of global and societal communications, especially, but not exclusively, in Canada.

photos: Harry Foster and Brigitte Campeau

Deriving from its mandate and the nature of its collection, the Canadian Postal Museum has the following message to convey to its clients:

• Human beings are by nature social beings. We have a fundamental need to communicate with one another. In order to facilitate indirect communication we have, through the ages, developed a postal system whereby a written message may be transmitted from sender to receiver by an intermediary.
• The nature of the postal system has changed over time and space in response to socio-cultural, political, economic, geographical and technological factors.
• In Canada, much evidence may be found of the existence of a postal system and its evolution over time. Using this evidence, we propose to lead you on a discovery of the role played by the postal system in forging social bonds between Canadians and with the rest of the world.
• Postal communication, regardless of time or place, is composed of a series of actions. In their simplest terms, these actions may be expressed as:
  ...Creation of a message
  ...Mailing
  ...Sorting and delivery
  ...Receipt
  ...Reaction, motivating the creation of another message.

Posting the message: mail boxes from the Canadian Postal Museum collection photo: Claire Dufour

Stamp Quest^TM*
A fun, interactive introduction to the world of stamps and stamp-collecting. Test your collector's skills and learn all about the fascinating world of philately.
*Canada Post Corporation
photo: Steven Darby


Write like an Egyptian!
Discover fascinating facts about the scribes and their status in Egyptian society, messages and writing tools of Ancient Egypt and write your own message the pharaoh way!
photo: Steven Darby


What's New in Philately
Each year, several new Canadian stamps are commemorating events and people. New issues of Canadian postage stamps will be presented as they are released to the public.
Sponsored by Canada Post Corporation.
photo: Steven Darby


A Glimpse at the Collection
Have you ever wondered what the Canadian Postal Museum collects? From toys and quilts to mailboxes and mailbags, come see our open storage exhibition and find out for yourself just how vast our collection is!
photo: Steven Darby

Reflections of Canada - The National Stamp Collection is the first exhibition to present all the stamps ever issued in Canada, including those issued by provinces before they joined Confederation, approximately 2500 stamps. This project is the result of an unprecedented three-way partnership between the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Canada Post and the National Archives of Canada.
photo: Harry Foster

For further information call: (819) 776-8200; fax: (819) 776-7062

Purchase postal souvenirs in the Cyberboutique