50 Years for Canada’s Flag

By Baron Henri Estramant. 

Fifty years ago, on 15 February 1965, the Dominion of Canada’s national flag was first flown at an official ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. At the stroke of noon, the then Governor General, Georges Vanier, the XIV Prime Minister, Lester B. Pearson, parliamentarians and thousands of Canadians in attendance raised the flag while the crowd sang “O Canada”.

The flag’s design had been approved by the House of Commons and the Senate at the end of 1964 after considering over 2 000 possible designs. After parliamentary approval, the design was given regal assent by Her Majesty The Queen of Canada, Queen Elizabeth II.

In 2017 the Dominion shall fête its 150th anniversary since the formation of the Canadian Confederation.

• From about 1870, various forms of the Canadian Red Ensign were used on land and sea as Canada’s unofficial flag but were never officially adopted as the national flag. Until the adoption of the present national flag, Britain’s Royal Union flag (Union Jack) was Canada’s only official national flag.

• In 1964, the all-party Parliamentary Committee considered nearly 2,000 designs over the course of six weeks before ultimately recommending the single leaf, red-and-white design proposed by Canadian historian George F.G. Stanley.

• The design of the national flag pays homage to Canada’s natural and cultural history through the use of the maple leaf and Canada’s national red and white colours.

• Red and white were proclaimed as Canada’s national colours by King George V in 1921.

• The maple leaf, as found on the national flag, is a stylised design. The symbolism lies in the maple leaf itself, which is the traditional emblem of Canada. There is no special significance to the eleven points.