FLAG DAY IN CANADA

 Today, February 15th, is not only ‘Flag Day’, it is also the 54th anniversary of Canada’s flag. It was on February 15, 1965, after much controversy, that the red maple leaf was hoisted in Ottawa at the Peace Tower.

The Red Ensign

The debate over a new flag divided English speaking Canadian anglophones and Imperialists who wanted to keep the Red Ensign that had been Canada’s flag since before Confederation.

Among the most vocal supporters of the Red Ensign was the Royal Canadian Legion Veterans who had gone to war under the Ensign.

Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, announced the year before, in 1964, that a new national flag would be brought in during his tenure and he had two preferred choices. Three maple leafs on a white background with a blue bar on either side and a single maple leaf with blue bars.

Lester Pearson's choice

As the debate waged on, almost 3,000 designs with traditional ‘Canadiana’ such as beavers, mountains, Mounties and hockey players were submitted to a flag committee, until December, 1964 when the debate was closed by the government.

Ultimate Choice: The Maple leaf designed by George F. Stanley and John Matheson was based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada.

The Canadian Red Ensign is still part of the Royal Canadian Legion colour party and has also officially been declared to fly with the Canadian Maple Leaf at the Canadian National Vimy war memorial in France.

The Red Maple Leaf flag flies on my house year-round.