2026 FIFA World Cup: Canada

The host country has been eliminated from the competition in the knockout phase following a 3-0 loss to Morocco. We thoroughly enjoyed the Canadian soccer team. After ice hockey, soccer has become a popular sport in Canada, especially among young people. More young people sign up for soccer clubs than for ice hockey clubs. Ice hockey is a more expensive sport than soccer. But what do you know about Canadian icons such as the Maple Leaf and maple syrup?

Canada and flag

The capital of Canada is Ottawa, and the largest cities are Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary. With a surface area of ​​9.984.670 km², Canada is the largest country in the world after Russia. The name Canada is derived from the Iroquois word kanata, which means settlement. The country had been inhabited by Indigenous peoples and Inuit for thousands of years before it was explored and colonized by Europeans, particularly the French and English, starting in the 16th century. France lost its colony of New France to the English in 1763. In 1867, four English colonies formed the Canadian Confederation. With the Statute of Westminster in 1931, Canada gained greater autonomy within the British Empire, and in 1982, the country also formally became fully independent from the United Kingdom through the Canada Act.

Canada is a federal state with 10 provinces and 3 territories and a parliamentary constitutional monarchy (a Commonwealth realm). The head of state of Canada is King Charles III, who is represented in Canada by the Governor General, while the head of government is the Prime Minister. It is a bilingual country where both English and French have official status. Canada is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, APEC, OAS, the UN, the Francophonie, and NATO.

The current flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf Flag and in French l'Unifolié ("The One-Leafed"), is the national flag of Canada. It is red with a white square in the center, containing a red stylized maple leaf with eleven points.

In 1964, Prime Minister Lester Bowles Pearson established a committee to resolve the ongoing issue regarding the lack of an official Canadian flag. This sparked a major debate about replacing the Union Flag. From three options, the design featuring a maple leaf by George Stanley, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was selected. The flag was hoisted for the first time on February 15, 1965. This day has become a national holiday and is known as National Flag of Canada Day.

The Canadian Red Ensign was unofficially in use since the 1890s and was approved in 1945 for use “at any place or occasion that makes it desirable to fly a distinctive Canadian flag”. In addition to the Maple Leaf Flag, the flag of the United Kingdom (Royal Union Flag in Canada) also has official status in Canada. This flag symbolizes the bond with the Commonwealth of Nations and the British Crown: the British monarch is also the head of state of Canada. The British flag is also part of various Canadian provincial flags.

There is no law prescribing how the national flag should be handled, but there are agreements and protocols serving as a guideline for displaying the flag and its place in the order of precedence, in which it takes precedence over the aforementioned and most other flags. All kinds of flags made for Canadian officials, government agencies, and armed forces feature the maple leaf motif in one way or another, either by depicting the Canadian flag in a canton or by using maple leaves in the design.

Syrup season, the sweet spring tradition of Quebec

It is fantastic that Canada Post honors the traditions of maple syrup making throughout Canada with these beautiful new stamps featuring the iconic round syrup tin from Quebec. On March 19, 2026, Canada Post issued two stamps in honor of the sugar huts where the sap is boiled to make maple syrup.

“The vivid sights, sounds, and smells of the sugar season come to life around springtime in the sugar houses throughout Quebec,” according to Canada Post. “The traditions surrounding the sugar season are such an integral part of Quebec culture and identity that they have been designated as part of the province’s intangible heritage.”

The fixed-rate stamps (currently $1,24) are issued as two side-by-side copies in a booklet of six. The stamps are perforated on the sides and have a curved top and bottom, giving them the shape of maple syrup cans, a reference to the traditions of the Sugar Huts.

Stamp booklet with images of the interiors of maple sugar huts.

The illustrations on the tin labels depict both an outdoor and an indoor scene. “Inspired by popular, commercial, and advertising art from the 40s and 50s, the illustrations evoke colorful scenes of people enjoying meals together and spending time outdoors,” according to Canada Post. Every spring, the sap from the sugar maple trees is brought to the sugar huts to be boiled down into syrup. This process defines the sugar season in Quebec, where more than 90 percent of Canadian maple syrup is produced. Although current traditions surrounding sugar huts date back nearly two centuries, Canada Post explained that maple syrup existed before European colonization. Indigenous peoples were already producing it and shared their knowledge with the first French colonists.