IQALUIT, Nunavut — The creation of the northern territory of Nunavut on April 1, 1999, is celebrated in the latest stamp to mark Canada's 150th birthday.
Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna — along with the territory's commissioner and the Speaker in the legislature — unveiled the stamp in the capital of Iqaluit on Tuesday.
The creation of Nunavut was part of an aboriginal land claim settlement and was the first major change to Canada's map since Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation in 1949.
The territory encompasses about one-fifth of the country's land mass and is home to fewer than 40,000 people, most of them Inuit.
Nunavut means "our land" in the Inuit language
The maple-leaf-shaped stamp is the seventh of 10 being released by Canada Post to commemorate memorable events since the country's centennial in 1967.
It features an image of Leah Ejangiaq Kines, photographed by her spouse Clare Kines, both of whom are residents of Arctic Bay.
The last of the stamps is to be unveiled on Thursday, the day the whole set goes on sale.
The Canadian Press
