Canada Post’s new Remembrance Day stamp pays tribute to the Chinese Canadians who volunteered for secret Allied operations behind Japanese lines in Asia during the Second World War.
About 150 Chinese Canadians enlisted either in Force 136 under the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) or in Australia’s Services Reconnaissance Department. Trained in sabotage, wireless operation, parachuting, guerrilla warfare and jungle survival, these soldiers were deployed to support local resistance networks, gather intelligence and disrupt enemy operations. They faced extreme heat, insects and disease, as well as the constant threat of capture, torture and death. Some deployed near the end of the war while others were still training when the conflict ended.
Their service was particularly remarkable because Chinese Canadians were denied many of the rights enjoyed by other Canadians due to racial discrimination at the time.
“For Chinese Canadians prior to the Second World War and even during the Second World War, what really overarched their lives was this idea of exclusion,” says Catherine Clement, a community historian who has done extensive work on Chinese Canadian military history. “Exclusion from citizenship, exclusion from living wherever they wanted to, exclusion from certain kinds of professions.”
Even Chinese Canadians born in Canada were treated as second-class citizens and many were even issued immigration cards. In British Columbia, where most Chinese Canadians lived, many encountered segregation and employment restrictions. They were also denied the right to vote. When some attempted to enlist early in the war, they were turned away due to racial discrimination.
That changed when Japanese forces occupied territories across Southeast Asia. Allied planners needed volunteers with the language skills and cultural knowledge to work with local resistance groups and blend into the population. Chinese Canadians who had previously been rejected suddenly found themselves sought after for dangerous clandestine missions.
For many, volunteering was about more than supporting the Allied war effort. It was also an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to a country that did not yet recognize them as equals.
“They wanted to prove that they were Canadians, and they thought the best way to do that was to fight for this country,” Clement says.
Their wartime service strengthened the Chinese Canadian community’s campaign for equal rights. Returning veterans joined community organizations, media outlets, churches and labour unions in pressing for change. In 1947, two years after the end of the Second World War, Chinese Canadians were granted full citizenship and the right to vote. That same year, the Chinese Exclusion Act, which blocked almost all Chinese immigration to Canada, was repealed.
A design inspired by wartime documents
Designed by Toronto-based Clear Space, the stamp evokes the official military records of the period.
“Every soldier or member of the army had an official government certificate,” says Clear Space co-founder Will Hum. “It had their unit number, name and other elements. It looked like an official card at the time, with handwriting, courier font, very practical-looking. So I based the design around that aesthetic.”
The stamp features a black-and-white photograph taken in England in 1945. It shows Force 136 members who have returned from Asia and are awaiting repatriation to Canada. The image is overlaid with a red phoenix based on the badge of the Supreme Allied Command South East Asia.
Typewriter-style lettering and handwritten English, French and traditional Chinese calligraphy recall the utilitarian precision and human traces of wartime documents. Hum enlisted his father, James Hum, who was born in China, to create the Chinese calligraphy.
For Hum, the project carried personal significance.
“The Force 136 storyline, it resonates with me because as a Chinese Canadian, there’s a lot of gratitude for what these members went through and what they did,” he says. “They saw this as an opportunity to do something for the country and also for their culture – to gain some respect and eventually get the attention of the government.”
Sworn to secrecy, many Force 136 members rarely spoke about their service, even to their families. As a result, their history remained largely unknown for decades.
The new stamp helps bring that history into the light. It remembers the determination and courage of Chinese Canadians who volunteered to serve their country abroad while helping to transform it at home.
Product: FORCE 136 2026 BOOKLET OF 6 Permanent™ stamps
Article: 414333111
Quantity: 120,000 booklets of 6 Permanent™ stamps
Printing process: Lithography in 2 colours
Price: $7.44
Product: FORCE 136 2026 – Official First Day Cover
Article: 414333131
Quantity: 5,000
Cancellation site: Vancouver, British Columbia
Price: $2.24
Product: FORCE 136 2026 – Pane of 5 Permanent™ stamps
Article: 404333107
Quantity: 9,000
Price: $6.20
Design: Clear Space
Calligraphy: James Hum
Printer: Colour Innovation
Remembrance Day stamp honours Chinese Canadians who volunteered for Force 136
Available now