| Added by |
 Alain Martineau
|
| General Description : | Layout: Booklet of 6 stamps Denomination: $2.50 (international rate) Illustration: Mark Summers OFDC: Vancouver BC In the spring of 1914, a sad, two-month drama unfolded in Vancouver. The 376 passengers of the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru arrived in Burrard Inlet on May 23, but officials allowed only a handful into Canada – 20 returning residents, along with the ship’s doctor and his family. The remainder waited on board in difficult conditions for some 60 days until the ship, most of its passengers and their hopes for a better life were escorted away from the harbour by the Royal Canadian Navy. The arrival of the Komagata Maru passengers – all British subjects and mostly Sikhs from Punjab, India – presented a major challenge to regulations aimed at barring Asian immigrants from Canada. Those regulations included a “continuous journey” clause and stipulated that immigrants must have $200 in cash – an obligation most found impossible to meet. Forced to leave Vancouver on July 23, the passengers returned to India, where approximately 20 of them were shot and others imprisoned. The regulations they boldly faced would change only 33 years later. Issued on the first day of Asian Heritage Month, this stamp commemorates the struggle of the Komagata Maru passengers and celebrates the contribution of the South Asian community, and indeed all Asian Canadians, to Canada’s diversity and prosperity. |
| Face value | $2.50 Canadian Dollar |
| Catalog code (Michel) | CA MH0-513 |
| Catalog code (Scott) | CA 2732a |
| Catalog code | Canada post # 413932111; Yvert et Tellier CA C2978 Stanley Gibbons CA 3028a |
| Stamp colour | Multicolor |
| Stamp use | Booklet stamp |
| Print run | 250,000 booklets |
| Issue date | 01/05/2014 |
| Designer | Louis Gagnon, Paprika, Montréal QC |
| Paper type | TRC - Tullis Russell Coatings |
| Print technique | Lithography in 5 colours |
| Printed by | Canadian Bank Note |
| Perforation | simulated perforation |
| Height | 38.00 mm |
| Width | 31.00 mm |
| Catalog prices | No catalog prices set yet |
