The National Archives of Canada, in cooperation with Canada Post, launched the Canadian Postal Archives Web site on August 31, 2001.

The new Canadian Postal Archives Web site - accessible at  www.archives.ca - contains the first 5,000 philatelic documents which have been digitized for easier access by all Canadians. The site will be fully developed over the next three years to reflect the core philatelic archival collection and library of the National Archives and will eventually contain some 16,000 digitized items. This new site would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of Canada Post.

The Canadian Postal Archives Web site will provide a single point of entry, in both official languages, to information on stamps and postal history. It contains information on the history and production of each stamp issued by Canada since 1851. There are also descriptions of more than 35,000 documents from the philatelic collections, as well as thematic virtual exhibitions and a research device accessible by both visual and keyword screens. In addition, several thematic games allow visitors to discover and explore the treasures of this philatelic heritage.

The site includes search engines that are linked to the Philatelic Library's catalogue database, to a database relating to post offices, to the general inventory of collections, to descriptions of historical files from the Post Office Department and other databases of photographic, documentary art and audio visual records.

Visitors to the Canadian Postal Archives Web site will also have links to related sites such as Canada Post Corporation, the Canadian Postal Museum, the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada and the British North America Philatelic Society.

With approximately 1,000,000 items, the philatelic collections are composed of postage stamps and related materials, including all aspects of original stamp design up to final production; postal stationary; selected postally used covers; cancellation proofs; philatelic labels and revenue stamps. The philatelic collections continue to grow due to the regular addition of original documents from Canada Post and, to a lesser extent, to the acquisition of philatelic documents from the private sector. The foreign stamps received from the Universal Postal Union and the hundreds of thousands of postal markings and cancellations, which represent an important source of information for postal historians, should also be mentioned.

The National Archives of Canada is located at 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa K1A 0N3.