TheQueen Elizabeth II domestic rate stamp was adefinitive stamp issued byCanada Post, and bearing the image ofElizabeth II,Queen of Canada from 1952 to2022. Eight versions of the stamp were issued from 2003 to 2019.
Canada has depictedits sovereigns on stamps since 1851; that tradition continues into the present day. Since 1939, the image ofQueenElizabeth II has appeared on 59 stamps issued inCanada, most of themdefinitives.[1][2] Canada Post spokesperson Cindy Daoust was quoted as stating that stamps bearing the image of the Queen now "outsells other stamps, ten to one, whether it's a commemorative edition or definitive one."[3]
AtRideau Hall, on December 19, 2003,Governor GeneralAdrienne Clarkson, along withCanada Post President and CEOAndré Ouellet, and Canadian pop music artist and photographerBryan Adams, unveiled a 49 cent domestic rate Canada Postdefinitive stamp bearing the image of Queen Elizabeth II. Canada Post issued this stamp partly at the urging of theMonarchist League of Canada; the definitives were issued as doublecommemorative-definitives (normally these types of stamps are different) to mark the Queen'sGolden Jubilee.[4][5]
Using a black-and-white photographic portrait of the Queen, taken by Adams during a five-minute session with the Queen atBuckingham Palace, Saskia van Kampen of the Toronto graphics firm Gottschalk + Ash cropped the image, placed the Queen's face off-centre and gave it asepia tone wash. The informal portrait was a break from the tradition of using official portraits or effigies of monarchs on Canadian stamps. Adams said of his picture as a "glimpse of the real person... The thing that made this photo win out, was her charming smile. It is a one in a million." This stamp was released again on December 20, 2004, as a 50 cent domestic with a blue wash, chosen to contrast with the colour of the previous stamp. As a security measure, but also to provide greater depth of colour, the blue tint consisted of six different colours.
On January 14, 2019, another permanent stamp was introduced, featuring a picture taken in 2017, atPortsmouth,England.
 2003 49 cent stamp |  2004 50 cent stamp |  2006 Permanent stamp |  2008 Permanent stamp |  2009 Permanent stamp |  2010 Permanent stamp |  2013 Permanent stamp |  2019 Permanent stamp |
It was announced on September 19, 2006, that a series of new definitives would be issued in December of that year, as anon-denominated stamp, which will remain valid for domestic first class mail (up to 30g) through any future postal rate increases. The new series included aQueen stamp, which used a colour image taken duringher tour to celebrate the centennials ofSaskatchewan andAlberta. A "P" in the lower right-hand corner appears instead of a numerical value to indicate it is good for the basic domestic letter rate.[6] The second version of this stamp was issued on December 27, 2007, featuring an image of the Queen during her 2005 visit toSaskatchewan andAlberta.[7]
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