Sarah McLachlan sings "O' Canada" before the B.C. Lions and Calgary Stampeders play the CFL Western semifinal football game in Vancouver, B.C., Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
VANCOUVER – Gazing at her newly unveiled commemorative Canada Post stamp, musician Sarah McLachlan says she feels deeply proud to be Canadian.
She called the unveiling a “pinch me moment,” adding that she views the stamp the same way she does music: that it represents connection and communication.
The B.C.-based singer-songwriter is a Grammy and Juno Award winner and has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.
McLachlan previously earned a place in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2017, was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 1999 and was invested into the Order of British Columbia in 2001. She will also be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on Sept. 28.
The stamp unveiling ceremony took place at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music in Vancouver, which is a non-profit that the singer founded in 2002 to offer inclusive and barrier-free access to music education for youth.
Recognizing her commitment to Vancouver, Mayor Ken Sim also attended the event, where he unveiled a written proclamation from the city that Sept. 17, 2024, be Sarah McLachlan Day.
McLachlan said though she has received awards in the past, the stamp lands “pretty high” on her rankings.
“It still doesn’t feel real to see my face on a stamp but it’s amazingly cool,” she said during the ceremony, later calling it “pretty iconic.”
McLachlan has spent the summer performing the 30th anniversary tour of her breakout album “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy.”
“I haven’t toured like that for 10 years, and it was so much fun,” she told reporters on Tuesday.
The 30-stop North America tour, which began in May, is scheduled to wrap up in Victoria in November.
But, she noted new music is on the way.
“I’ve been to the studio all week, (am) almost finished a new record and hopefully (there will be) a late spring release,” she said with a smile.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
