At the onset of the twentieth century there was a resurgance of French Canadian nationalism in the Province of Quebec, centred on the adoption of a flag representing the French Canadian people. Several ideas were proposed that culminated in the adoption in 1903 of the "Carillon Sacré-Cœur" as the French Canadian national flag. The blue background represents the ancient flag used by Montcalm when he repelled the English forces at Fort Carillon in 1758. The white cross and the heart of Jesus represent faith in the Catholic Church, maple branches are from the national tree, and the fleurs de lys in each corner represent ties to France. To help promote this new flag, stamps with the slogan "Cœur de Jésus Notre Roi Sauvez Notre Patrie le Canada Français" were designed by Sister Marie de l'Eucharistie (Elmina Lefebvre) of the Sisters of Charity in Quebec City and distributed by the weekly Montreal newspaper, Le Messager Canadien.
There are two varieties of this stamp known, this is Type 1, with darker blue in the background, but this example is a lighter shade. Listed in Ronald Lafrenière's "Field Guide to the Cinderella Stamps of Canada" as #cc3810.1.
This example is G (numerous creases as if folded multiple times). Approximate Image Size: 19 x 22 mm.
A modern representation of the stamp:
