Inspired by the Canadian art of the Victorian era, this three-stamp set casts both a nostalgic glance back at Christmases past and an optimistic look forward to the hope of a new millennium. Using soft, warm colours in romantic Victorian fashion, the stamps depict cherubic, rosy-cheeked children as angels. The set was designed by Kosta Tsetsekas and Bonne Zabolotney of Vancouver and issued November 4, 1999.

Each shaped after a different style of kite, the four stamps in this special set celebrate a 2000-year tradition of artistry and graceful flight. Designed by Debbie Adams of Toronto, these stamps were issued on October 1, 1999 at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, where Alexander Graham Bell performed experiments with kites. Traditional Japanese and Chinese varieties are featured, as well as an acrobatic sport kite and a military kite.

Honouring 100 years of educational outreach, the Frontier College commemorative stamp was issued on September 24, 1999. Its rich imagery ­ featuring a teacher-labourer tilling a field that is also a book ­ evokes the leadership role Frontier College has played over a century educating adults, youth and children. The stamp was designed by Renata Chubb of Toronto's Q30 Design Inc., and illustrated by Alain Massicotte of Quebec.

Designed in Halifax by Fraser Ross and illustrated by Bonnie Ross, this single domestic-rate stamp was issued on September 21, 1999 to mark the 50th anniversary of NATO ­ the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. With drama and intensity, the stamp depicts the flags of NATO's member countries sweeping from a stormy horizon to the clear skies of peace under the unifying banner of NATO itself.

Issued on September 4, 1999, this four-stamp pane celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the Canadian International Air Show. The eye-catching pane features a quartet of distinctive aircraft against a background of sky, with a formation of Canada's world-famous Snowbirds soaring across each pane. It was created by Toronto's Tiit Telmet and Marko Barac of Telmet Design Associates.

Meticulously researched and rendered, this 16-pane set commemorates the 75^th anniversary of Canada's Air Forces. Each precise, detailed stamp illustrates an aircraft with a special place in the history of Canada's air forces, from the Burgess-Dunne Seaplane of 1914 to the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 in active service today. The stamp set was designed by Tiit Telmet and Marko Barac of Toronto's Telmet Design Associates and issued September 4, 1999.

This stamp commemorates the 125th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union, a body created to foster the free exchange of international mail. Issued on August 26, 1999, the stamp depicts the organization's logo spread across a map of the world, and makes emphatic use of the colour green to indicate the territory formed by the UPU. The stamp was designed by Pierre-Yves Pelletier of Montreal, Quebec.

Celebrating the return of the World Rowing Championships to St. Catherines, Ontario, this single domestic-rate stamp was issued on August 22, 1999. Its design ­ by Paul Haslip of Toronto's HM&E Incorporated ­ evokes the power and spirit of the rower's sport. The repeated layering of a single, high-contrast image creates a sense of movement and energy, emphasized by the stamp's bold colour scheme.

The Orchid issue is doing double-duty this year. Originally released April 27 as a four-stamp set, it will appear again this summer as a souvenir sheet marking Canada's participation in the CHINA '99 World Philatelic Exhibition in Beijing. CHINA '99 is part of the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

As Winnipeg welcomed 5,000 athletes for the 13th Pan American Games, Canada Post was proud to release this four-stamp commemorative set on July 12, 1999. The theme of the 1999 Pan Am Games ­ "Where the Americas come to play" ­ is expressed in the stamps' lively, illustrative approach using the Games' own distinctive colour palette. A team at Winnipeg's Circle Design Incorporated collaborated to bring the 1999 Pan Am Games stamp into being.

Highlighting the work of renowned Quebec artist Jean Dallaire (1916-1965), this 95 cent commemorative was issued July 3, 1999. In Coq licorne (1952), Dallaire endowed the proud symbol of France with the horn of the unicorn, expressing his love for the country where he was interned during the Second World War. This stamp, designed by Montreal's Pierre-Yves Pelletier, is the twelfth in the Masterpieces series.

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Quebec Bar Association, this handsome commemorative stamp was released June 3, 1999. Paying tribute to the association's role in the building of Quebec, designer Pierre Fontaine of Longueuil, Quebec chose to cast its logo in limestone ­ a material representative of the historic buildings of Old Montreal and Quebec City, the two main centres of the association's activities.

Issued June 2, 1999, this full-colour stamp series honours four of Canada's most outstanding horses: thoroughbred Northern Dancer, rodeo bronc Kingsway Skoal, harness racer Armbro Flight, and show jumper Big Ben. Designer Pierre-Yves Pelletier of Montreal, well known to collectors for his work over the years, relied upon archival action photographs to create the dynamic images of these celebrated animals.