Part of the Black History Month series, this 2024 Official First Day cover pays tribute to Mary Ann Shadd, an abolitionist, educator and lawyer who was the first Black woman to publish a newspaper in North America.

Through her newspaper, the Provincial Freeman, Shadd played an important role in promoting Canada as a place for Black people to settle, raise families and contribute as free citizens.

Black History Month honours the many Canadians throughout history whose voices have contributed to the struggle to end racism and discrimination.

Good to know

Canada Post has issued stamps to mark Black History Month since 2009
The Official First Day Cover is cancelled in Chatham ON, where Mary Ann Shadd spent most of her time while living in Canada, and it is where she ran the racially integrated Mission School
Mary Ann Shadd was North America’s first female newspaper publisher

About the issue

Canada Post commemorates the notable achievements of Canadians of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Annual stamps and collectible Official First Day Covers have been issued to celebrate Black History Month since 2009.

Many Black Canadians have been honoured on stamps for their efforts to break new ground and set an example for coming generations – despite facing racism and discrimination themselves.

About Mary Ann Shadd

Mary Ann Shadd (1823-93), founder of the Provincial Freeman, was North America’s first Black female newspaper publisher. Born to free parents in Wilmington, Delaware (then a slave state), she moved to Windsor, Canada West (now Ontario), where she established a racially integrated school in 1851, followed by the Provincial Freeman in 1853. Initially keeping her name off the masthead to avoid bias against a female editor, Shadd used the newspaper to encourage Black immigration to Canada, promote integration into white society and inform readers of the realities of Black life in Canada West, including discrimination and segregation.

In addition to her work as an educator, publisher and abolitionist, she advocated for women’s rights. During the American Civil War, she returned to the United States to help recruit soldiers for the Union Army and later studied at Howard University, becoming the second Black woman in the U.S. to obtain a law degree. She continued to fight for equality for Black people and women’s rights for the rest of her life.

In 1994, Shadd was designated a national historic person in Canada.

The OFDC is cancelled in Chatham, Ontario is where Mary Ann Shadd spent most of her while living in Canada. There, she also ran the racially integrated Mission School.

The cancel image is an illustration of Mary Ann Shadd’s printing press (courtesy of the Buxton National Historic Site & Museum).

About the design

The front of the Official First Day Cover features an archival map of a portion of North America, with the gold dots indicating the locations of (from left to right) Windsor, Chatham and Toronto, Ontario, and Wilmington, Delaware – some of the cities where Shadd lived, taught and/or worked. The connected dots are meant to mimic stars in a constellation – a subtle reference to the North Star, which reputedly helped those following the Underground Railroad to find their way to freedom, and a visual metaphor for the way Shadd charted her own path.

Also on the front cover is an archival photo of St. Lawrence Hall, in Toronto, where Mary Ann Shadd attended the North American Convention of Colored Freemen in 1851 before she moved to Windsor.

The purple tone is a colour favoured by the women’s suffrage movement, symbolizes freedom, dignity and loyalty to the cause.

The back features words that describe Shadd: Abolitionist, Educator, Publisher, Lawyer, Writer.

Product # 414252131

Mary Ann Shadd: Official First Day Cover