Celebrate Remembrance Day and the 100th anniversary of the Remembrance Poppy in Canada. This 2021 stamp issue marks the 100th anniversary of the official adoption of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance in Canada and the launch of the National Poppy Campaign. On July 6, 1921, France?s Anna Guerin urged the Great War Veterans? Association of Canada ? now The Royal Canadian Legion ? to adopt the flower as a symbol to honour those who died in service to their country during WWI. The National Poppy Campaign was launched later that year. Guerin had promoted the remembrance poppy for years among Allied nations as both a memorial and a means to raise funds for veterans and families of the fallen. Her efforts were influenced by an American initiative, founded by YMCA volunteer Moina Michael. Michael began collecting donations for silk poppies after reading Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae?s poem ?In Flanders Fields.? Millions of Canadians show respect and honour for veterans and fallen soldiers during the annual campaign, held in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day (November 11), by wearing a poppy. Poppies are also often at veterans? funerals and other commemorative events. The concept behind this big, bold stamp was not only to immortalize the crimson flower itself but also to offer another way to honour the more than 117,000 Canadians who have died in service to their country. ?I envisioned packages and letters literally wearing their own poppy,? says stamp designer Blair Thomson, an avid philatelist and design collector who shares both passions on his popular Instagram accounts, Graphilately and Canada Modern. ?My approach is to strip away all that?s unnecessary, focusing on the purest form of visual clarity, and eliminating distraction,? he explains. ?To me, simple, beautiful compositions have the greatest impact, are emotionally stimulating, and resonate longer in the mind.? With the printer?s help, Thomson custom-mixed ink to create an almost fluorescent red that, when printed, would match the vibrancy of The Royal Canadian Legion poppy. The stark white background gives the flower added pop, while metallic silver ink adds realism to the head of the pin.