New stamp to honour Mandela

Former president Nelson Mandela has been honoured by Canada in a new postage stamp bearing his face.

The stamp, unveiled on Tuesday at the Nelson Mandela Park Public school in Toronto, features a photograph of Mandela from his first visit to that country in 1990 with the South African flag and country’s landscape as it’s background. It will be sold in booklets of 10 from tomorrow.

In a statement by president and CEO of Canada Post Deepak Chopra,  said the stamp programme "seeks to tell the stories of people who have had a powerful effect on our society, and Nelson Mandela's story is among the most powerful".

“It's a great day for the students of this school who have this connection and it's a great day for Canadians who have this admiration for Nelson Mandela,” said Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, who attended the unveiling and recalled Mandela's 2001 visit to the Toronto school that's now named after him.

Mandela who died at age 95 in December 2013, is said to have visited the country three times and called Canada “a home away from home”. He received the Order of Canada and became an honorary Canadian citizen.