Canada Post turns Remembrance Day toward a less-told story this year. On November 3, a new “Private Singh” Permanent-rate stamp reaches post offices just as poppies begin to appear on coats and lapels, as a symbol of remembrance. The design shows a Sikh Canadian soldier at attention—quiet, respectful, instantly legible on envelopes and FDCs—but it also points past the image to the people who served.
That thread often leads to Kitchener, Ontario. There lies Private Buckam Singh—widely cited as the youngest known Sikh-Canadian to enlist for World War I and one of the few who actually reached the Western Front. His rediscovered papers and grave site drew local historians and school groups first, then national attention, helping put Sikh names back into Canada’s wartime record.
As a collectible, “Private Singh” is easy to build into an album. Canada Post issues it as a booklet of six Permanent stamps, a pane of five, and an Official First Day Cover, so a mint single, a multiple, and a postmarked example all fit neatly without breaking a set. For topical stamp collectors, it’s a strong military-heritage piece; for Canada specialists, it lines up with modern remembrance issues that reliably sell through.
The poppy remains the national symbol each November, but this stamp nudges the story wider. Sikh regiments served across the British Empire; Sikh families also sent sons from Canadian towns and farms. A small community, a few names, a lasting contribution—now given daily reach through routine mail.
