Mint, Canada Post release coin, stamp to mark suffrage centennial

A stamp and coin were released to the public on International Women's Day to mark the women's suffrage centennial.

Tétro Design, based in Winnipeg, created both a circulation stamp and a cover designed for collectors.

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The stamp features the letters "O" and "T" in the black-and-gold word "Vote," which together create the Venus symbol of femininity. It reads "Canada Women's suffrage" in English and French, and has the dates 1916 to 2016.

The collectors cover features Nellie McClung, whose leadership in the women's suffrage movement helped some women win the vote in Manitoba elections in 1916.

Manitoba was the first province where women were permitted to vote and hold office.

There are 140,000 booklets of 10 circulation stamps available at postal outlets across Canada. There are 9,000 of the covers with the image of Nellie McClung. 

5 million coins

The Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a limited edition $1 coin to mark the anniversary.

"It is especially fitting that this coin was produced in Winnipeg, in the province where women first won the right to vote in 1916,"  Sandra Hanington, the president and CEO of the mint, said in a statement.

Artist Laurie McGaw designed the coin. One side of the coin shows a woman casting a ballot with a child by her side and the inscriptions "Women's right to vote" and 1916-2016."

Five million of the coins were put into circulation across the country Tuesday.

"Canadians from coast to coast to coast should look for this coin and collect it as a reminder that equality endures as a fundamental value of Canadian society," Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in a statement.